Appeal No. 2003-0609
Application No. 09/497,844
The examiner’s position
In rejecting the appealed claims as being anticipated by
Stern, the examiner turns to Figure 31B for its showing of an
elongated body 614 having a bore 618 extending therethrough, a flow
restrictor 624 formed by sleeve 616, and an exit port 620 having
outwardly flared walls. The examiner takes the position that the
flow restrictor of the Figure 31B nozzle starts at the back portion
of the sleeve 616 and ends at the narrowest portion of the channel
which, according to the examiner, is where the flared walls of the
exit port begin. Concerning the requirements of claim 12 that the
flow restrictor has a rectangular shaped cross section and that the
exit port is rectangular in shape, the examiner states the
following:
Stern et al. discloses another elongated body 874 having
a through bore with a rectangular cross section 878, see
figure 47, which can be used instead of the elongated
body 614 (see column 5, lines 22-24) and such a
rectangular shape would produce a fan shaped spray as
described at column 23, lines 39-42. [Answer, page 3.]
The examiner further explains the rejection on pages 5-6 of
the answer as follows (with emphasis added):
[S]ince the through bore [of example 874 of Figure 47]
has a rectangular shaped cross section and the restricted
channel [of the Figure 31A-31B embodiment] is formed by a
sleeve adapted to be placed on the outside of the body to
reduce the diameter or cross section of the channel (see
column 16, lines 54-65), then the restricted portion will
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