Appeal No. 1999-1899 Page 14
Application No. 08/932,090
Gueyrard's safety grid (3) (Fig. 1), like Heyl's grating
(124), teaches openings/inlets in the center which are primary
in that they would likely pass more particulate material than
the secondary openings/inlets nearer the periphery of the
safety grid.
The examiner states that the "French patent [Gueyrard] is
silent as to at least one secondary inlet" (answer, page 7)
and then argues, in effect, that it would have been obvious to
someone of ordinary skill in the art at the time of the
invention to substitute structure from Ruemelin's apparatus in
Gueyrard so as to result in an apparatus as claimed by
appellant's claim 1 (answer, page 8). The appellant's only
argument is that "[e]ven though the primary reference is
different, the secondary reference and the motivation for
combining are overwhelmingly the same" [as Heyl taken together
with Ruemelin] and "[t]his combination does not meet the claim
language stating that '... ambient air will be caused to flow
from outside the housing directly into said primary and
secondary inlets...'" (brief, pages 17 and 18). We do not
agree with the examiner or with the appellant.
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