Appeal No. 1998-0863
Application 08/502,831
Patton WH-80 discloses an electric heater in which, as
stated at page 9 of appellants’ brief, the portion of the
housing above the heater elements is formed from a
thermoplastic material. The examiner takes the position that
in view of Patton WH-80, “it would have been obvious to one of
ordinary skill in
the art to provide a thermoplastic top cap in lieu of the cap
of Krichton so that it remains cool to the touch, thereby
increasing user safety” (final rejection, page 3).
After fully considering the record in light of the
arguments presented in appellants’ brief and reply brief, and
in the examiner’s answer and supplemental answer, we conclude
that claim 11 is unpatentable over the applied prior art.
Appellants argue that claim 11 recites a radiant electric
heater, in which the reflector assembly becomes extremely hot,
whereas the Patton WH-80 is a convective heater which does not
have such a metal reflector. They assert that (brief, page
22):
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