Appeal No. 2005-1539 5
Application No. 09/799,275
In addition to the foregoing, Barker also discloses (col. 3, lines 17-24) that it is
preferred that buffer member (2) be reversible, so that orientation of its upper and lower
surfaces (14) and (16) can be reversed. It is noted that such reversal provides a self-
cleaning feature in that any accumulated build-up of food debris on one surface would
be burnt off by turning over the plate so that that surface is facing the burner element
(8). Figure 3 of Barker shows a preferred form of reversible buffer member provided by
a symmetrical design of pockets (18) oppositely extending in similar or regular fashion
on both surfaces (14) and (16) of plate (12).
Appellant’s arguments on pages 9-11 of the brief appear to focus on Figure 1 of
Barker and the orientation of the buffer member (2) as seen therein. In particular,
appellants contend that Barker discloses the opposite of the grilling surface defined in
claim 16 on appeal, because Barker’s pyramid shaped members narrow upwardly,
rather than downwardly, and are thus distinct from the similar structures of appellants’
claimed grilling surface. This line of argument however ignores the disclosure in Barker
that the buffer member (2) is reversible, so that orientation of its upper and lower
surfaces (14) and (16) can be reversed, thereby providing a self-cleaning feature in that
any accumulated build-up of food debris on one surface would be burnt off by
Page: Previous 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 Next
Last modified: November 3, 2007