Appeal No. 1998-0863 Application 08/502,831 because radiant electric heaters generate such extreme heat levels, one skilled in the art would recognize that the plastic housing parts of convection heaters are not readily adaptable for use with radiant heaters unless some mechanism is provided to maintain the plastic housing parts relatively cool. Nothing in the Krichton patent or any other prior art of record suggests any mechanism for keeping the plastic housing parts of a radiant heater cool in spite of the extreme heat developed by a radiant heater. . . . Thus, one of ordinary skill in the art would not be motivated to utilize the plastic top cap of a convection heater such as the Patton heater with a radiant heater as disclosed in the Krichton patent. We are not persuaded by this argument. The Krichton heater, like that disclosed by appellants, is a radiant heater which also includes a fan (convective)(col. 1, lines 24 to 27). In Krichton, the fan 82 circulates air upward between the back of the reflector assembly 174 and the rear 24 of the housing, and then outward through slots 184 between the reflector elements. Krichton states at col. 1, lines 49 to 52, that “the moving air maintains the heater at a low temperature, thereby promoting efficiency and eliminating the dangers and discomforts to the user of high heater temperatures,” and further discloses at col. 5, lines 59 to 62, that this moving air flow cools the reflector elements. 5Page: Previous 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 NextLast modified: November 3, 2007