Appeal No. 2003-0669
Application 09/407,116
grooves 8 having sharp points (see Figures 15 and 16). Onishi
teaches that the grooves improve the coefficient of heat transfer
to and from the refrigerant and air for the reasons specified at
column 5, lines 1 through 30, and column 9, lines 29 through 63.
One of the stated reasons attributes the improved heat transfer
to an increase in refrigerant turbulence caused by the spiral
grooves.
In proposing to combine Daily and Onishi to reject the
claims on appeal, the examiner concludes that it would have been
obvious at the time the invention was made to a person having
ordinary skill in the art “to employ in Daily et al tubes having
internal cross grooves for the purpose of improving heat exchange
in both evaporating and condensing modes as recognized by Onishi
et al” (answer, page 4).
Considered objectively, the applied references present
Daily’s electrodes and Onishi’s surface irregularities (spiral
grooves) as alternative mechanisms for inducing fluid flow
turbulence and increasing heat transfer. Evidence thereof lies
in Daily’s express preference for electrodes in lieu of extended
surface forms, i.e., surface irregularities, which are viewed by
Dailey as being problematic. There is nothing in the collective
teachings of the two references which would have suggested
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