Appeal No. 2004-1622
Application No. 09/431,178
holes [44] are provided through the member so that the
coolant may flow from the pressurized chamber to the
Aouter@ surface thereof [column 2, lines 37 through
47].
Howald teaches that A[m]any interrelated factors contribute
to the effectiveness of the holes 44 in providing the desired
cooling action@ (column 5, lines 6 and 7). The factors discussed
include the cross-sectional shape of the holes, the diameter of
the holes, the angular disposition of the holes relative to the
outer surface, the arrangement of the holes on the outer surface,
the included angle of the holes, and the length to diameter ratio
of the holes (see, for example, column 2, line 53, through column
3, line 15; column 5, lines 7 through 18 and 62 through 68; and
column 6, lines 14 through 24).
Although Howald does not mention the ratio of the cross-
sectional areas of the hot-side and cold-side orifices as a
factor contributing to the effectiveness of the coolant holes,
the examiner submits that
[s]ince the originally filed disclosure of the
instant application fails to even mention any
criticality associated with the claimed range for the
abovementioned ratio of areas, it is reiterated that it
would not have been inventive to discover the optimum
range or another workable range for the abovementioned
ratio of areas by routine experimentation. . . .
It would thus have been obvious at the time of the
invention to perform routine experimentation in order
to optimize the relative areas of the hot-side orifice
and the cold-side orifice of Howald to a particular
5
Page: Previous 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Next
Last modified: November 3, 2007