Appeal No. 1998-1435 Page 14
Application No. 08/132,584
slot .... Heated air is circulated through
the tubular elements under pressure and is
expelled from the elongate slot as a
concentrated narrow band of high speed hot
air which is directed against the ink-
printed copy sheets 18A to evaporate the
volatile solvent and water therefrom to
release solvent and water vapor which is
withdrawn by the extraction unit 28.
Col. 4, l. 67 - col. 5, l. 8. Figure 1 of the reference shows
that the vapor extraction unit is positioned directly above
the air gap between the air knives. Because of this
positioning, the vapor extraction unit would necessarily
extract heated air through the air gap.
Because Bird's vapor extraction unit would extract heated
air through the gap between its air knives, we are persuaded
that these teaching would have suggested ipso facto the
limitations of "installing first and second dryer heads in
side-by-side relation on the press in a position facing a
dryer exposure zone, the dryer heads being separated from each
other by a longitudinal air gap ... extracting the heated air
from the exposure zone through the longitudinal air gap."
Therefore, we affirm the rejection of claims 31-36 as obvious
over Bird in view of Halley and Henricks. Our affirmance is
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