Appeal No. 2003-0669
Application 09/407,116
drop of the fluid [column 1, line 58, through column 2,
line 21].
The examiner concedes (see page 4 in the answer) that Daily
lacks response to the limitations in independent claim 1, and the
corresponding limitations in independent claims 10, 15 and 18,
relating to the surface irregularities. As indicated above,
claim 1 requires a tube including an inner surface with surface
irregularities having sharp points. Similarly, claim 10 requires
a plurality of tubes each having an irregular inner surface
having sharp points, claim 15 requires a tube and an electrode
wherein one of the inner surface of the tube and the outer
surface of the electrode includes surface irregularities having
sharp points, and claim 18 requires the step of providing surface
irregularities having sharp points on one of the inner surface of
a tube and the outer surface of an electrode. To overcome the
acknowledged shortcomings of Daily relative to these claim
limitations, the examiner turns to Onishi.
Onishi discloses an air conditioning heat exchanger capable
of functioning as either an evaporator or a condenser for
transferring heat between a refrigerant flowing through heat
transfer tubes 1 and air flowing outside the tubes. The inner
walls of the tubes embody a multiplicity of crossing spiral
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