Appeal No. 2004-0176 Page 3
Application No. 09/651,328
end into which a user exhales or inhales and a distal end in pneumatic communication
with the air reservoir. The term “reservoir” is defined on page 5 of appellant’s
specification as meaning “any type of air-fillable bladder, bulb or other vessel, semi-
flexible or substantially rigid, so long as a charge of air is retained sufficient [to] improve
the sound of the apparatus as compared to the absence of such a reservoir.”
Lamo, the primary reference relied upon by the examiner in rejecting appellant’s
claims, discloses a hands-free and mouth-free animal caller that can be foot operated
comprising a bellows assembly 60 contained within a cloth pouch-like housing 20 for
producing a strong current of air and a reed assembly 80 attached to the bellows
assembly 60 for producing different sounds or calls. The bellows assembly includes a
bellows housing 62 which further includes a loose synthetic fiber fill 70 located in the
internal volumetric space 72 thereof which automatically expands after being
compressed to allow air to be drawn into space 72 to expand the bellows housing 62 for
a physical inflating of the bellows assembly 60. The bellows housing 62 can also have
an external valve 74 on the outer surface area 76 thereof for partial inflation by air
(column 4, lines 12-24). As illustrated in Figure 1, in using Lamo’s device, the user
places his or her foot 14 on the outside top surface of the housing 20 such that the
user’s foot lightly applies pressure onto the bellows assembly 60 forcing air through the
connector tube 64 which in turn forces air through the sounding reed 90 with the sound
of the animal call exiting through tubes 96 and 102 (column 5, lines 30-37). As
explained in column 1, lines 12-46, Lamo’s animal caller permits the user to operate the
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Last modified: November 3, 2007