Appeal No. 2001-0534 Page 6
Application No. 09/271,626
The unmanned aircraft 26 of the present invention is
designed for highly efficient flight in order to stay
aloft for periods of months and possibly years before
requiring landing and servicing. The aircraft 26 may thus
be recovered and re-launched at an extremely low cost, as
opposed to conventional satellites. One advantage is that
the payload does not have to be an extremely costly unit,
as the cost of placing cargo on board the aircraft is
substantially reduced. Thus, for example, possible
payloads include simple cargo, high resolution cameras,
infrared scanners, radar equipment, parachutes containing
search and rescue containers, chemical sampling units,
and other equipment. Some of the missions of which the
aircraft is capable include a communications link,
atmospheric studies, geophysical surveys, pollution
monitoring, aerial video recording, Coast Guard patrol,
search and rescue (SAR), forest fire prevention,
anti-submarine warfare, drug enforcement, missile
detection, etc. The options are essentially limitless as
the cost of putting cargo on board the aircraft and
placing the aircraft aloft is dramatically reduced
compared to conventional satellites. [Emphasis ours.]
Primiani's invention relates to fire fighting equipment
and methods and more particularly to extinguishing fires by
employing capsules of solid carbon dioxide launched into a
fire to cool the fire and deprive the fire of needed oxygen.
Figure 1 of Primiani is a top view showing fighting a forest
fire in progress while Figure 3 of Primiani shows early
detection and response to a forest fire at its inception.
Primiani teaches (column 4, line 62, to column 5, line 9) that
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