Appeal No. 2004-1137
Application No. 09/734506
under 35 U.S.C. § 103(a) as obvious over Hansen. In this case,
the examiner contends that Hansen teaches a method of dispensing
and cooling a sample of a fluid withdrawn at a sampling location
by means of a sampler like that seen in the sole figure of the
Hansen patent. See particularly page 6 of the answer for the
examiner's position regarding Hansen.
On pages 22-24 of the brief, appellant argues that
independent claim 17 specifically recites two different
quantities: the "withdrawn fluid" and the "fluid sample," and
further requires that the "fluid sample" includes "a partial
volume of the withdrawn fluid," thus indicating that not all of
the withdrawn fluid that flows through the intake vessel is let
flow into the storage vessel. In appellant's view, Hansen does
not teach the step of letting only a portion of the withdrawn
fluid flow into the storage vessel (10). We do not agree. Like
the examiner, we point to the disclosure of Hansen at column 3,
lines 48-54, as indicating that not all of the withdrawn fluid
passing through the inlet tube (20) is allowed to flow into the
storage vessel (10), some portion of the fluid sample flows into
and through a portion of the inlet tube (20) and remains in the
inlet tube, where the surface of the liquid in the tube will heat
1717
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