Appeal No. 1999-2544 Page 17
Application No. 08/796,513
appellant's claim 1, or heat the outer circumferential surface
of the fibers, as recited in the appellant's claims 1 and 12.
Lambert's heating of paper layers is not at all a teaching or
suggestion for heating hollow fibers on their outer
circumferential surface as recited in claims 1 and 12. For
these reasons, it does not appear to us that the suggested
combination of these prior art references, as proposed by the
examiner, would yield the apparatus defined in the appellant's
claims 1 and 12 on appeal.
Also, Jackson discloses (Fig. 6) that in the humidifier
the water vapor from the heated water permeates the thin walls
of the fibers and humidifies the dry air flowing through the
hollow fibers to saturation at body temperature which proceeds
into the patient (column 6, lines 28-37). There is, thus, no
necessity to modify Jackson, as the examiner suggests, by
providing an electrical heating means for heating to generate
vapor pressure within the device sufficient to cause passage
of water vapor but not liquid water through the wall of the
hollow tubes. For this reason, there is no basis for the
examiner's suggestion to modify Jackson by providing an
Page: Previous 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 Next
Last modified: November 3, 2007