Appeal No. 2004-0160
Application No. 09/939,993
mounting within the housing, an electric power source connected to
the electric fan, an end piece having an outermost end protruding
from the air inlet, and “means for venting air to the atmosphere,
bypassing the air outlet if the outermost end of the air outlet is
blocked, such that overheating of the fan is avoided.”2
The DE ‘484 reference pertains to a small hand-held device for
producing currents of warm air for thawing frozen vehicle door
locks. The DE ‘484 device comprises a housing enclosing an
electric motor driven fan 16 and an electric heating element 13.
The fan motor and heating element are powered by batteries 12. A
switch 19, 20, 24 is provided at the upper end of the housing for
simultaneously controlling the fan motor and the heating element.
The housing is provided with a rubber nozzle 1 at the lower end of
the housing from which warm air emerges.
Caruso, the secondary reference in each of the examiner’s
rejections, is directed to a hair dryer having a mobile housing 12
containing a pump 40 and a source of radiant heat 60, 64. A
2On page 10 of the specification, appellant discloses a
number of means for venting air to avoid air flow blockage. One
such means is illustrated in Figure 7, the elected species, where
an end piece 86 includes lateral holes 88 to allow air to flow
out if the outermost end 102 of the end piece is blocked. As
shown in Figure 7 and described in the specification, holes 88
are normally closed by flaps 90, which are opened by air pressure
if the outermost end of the end piece is blocked.
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Last modified: November 3, 2007