Appeal No. 2006-2036 Page 9
Application No. 10/382,753
The portable containment device of Van Romer is designed to contain spills
during loading and offloading of pesticides during applications at on-site farm field
locations to prevent contact with the surrounding environment. (Van Romer, col.
1, lines 19-26). The Van Romer device is designed to withstand vehicle traffic
onto and off of the unit without altering the unit and specifically to withstand
vehicle traffic over the walls of the containment unit. (Van Romer, col. 2, lines 4-
11). Further, the chief concerns described for the design of the Van Romer device
were easy access and high likelihood of catching and preventing any spill from any
vehicle location. (Van Romer, col. 5, lines 6-8).
Telder teaches an oil changer provided with a hinged door to fit around the
nose wheel or landing gear of a single engine aircraft to ensure complete capture of
fluids from the engine compartment. (Telder, col. 2, lines 9-11 and col. 3, lines 55-
64). The Telder device is directed to capturing fluids only from the area below the
engine compartment and does not teach or suggest using the device to capture any
other fluids from beneath the aircraft.
As noted by the appellant, because the Van Romer device is designed to be
placed in the field and then driven onto by the aircraft, if the wheel cutout of
Telder were added, it would require the pilot to maneuver the aircraft to align the
landing gear in the cutout. This would be difficult to implement and would
frustrate the stated goal of Van Romer for easy access to the containment area.
Further, the Van Romer containment area is designed with the collapsible side
walls so that the wheels can be driven over the walls, and the entire plane can rest
over the containment area. If the wheel cutout of Telder were added to the
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