Appeal 2006-3326
Application 09/881,909
by Fourier's Law of Heat Conduction, heat always flows from a high
temperature location to a low temperature location" (page 15 of Final
Rejection, last sentence). In our view, the Examiner has established a prima
facie case that the Wisniewski system inherently allows for the formation of
a thermal transfer bridge between the distal end of the structure and the
interior wall of the container. We note that Wisniewski specifically
discloses that "[t]he fin's length, thickness and shape were designed to
maintain efficient heat transfer during freezing and thawing [and that] [o]ne
important requirement is that the fins must be of sufficient thickness to allow
adequate heat transfer by conduction towards the wall of the pipe" (page
387, last para.).
We concur with the Examiner that the Wisniewski Declarations offer
little more than an unsupported opinion in which the declarant states, "[t]o
the best of my knowledge," no thermal bridge is formed in the Wisniewski
system because heat is not transferred from the fin through the medium to
the interior wall. The declarant comes to the conclusion that "the
temperature in the gap between the fin and the interior wall [in the
Wisniewski system] increases and then decreases from the distal end of the
fin to the interior wall … because the gap between the distal end of the fin
and the interior wall is too large" (page 3 of first Declaration, para. 8).
However, as noted by the Examiner, the declarant cannot remember the
distance between the distal end of the fin and the interior wall of the
Wisniewski container. The declarant states "[a]though I cannot remember
the exact distance between the fin tip and the interior wall of the Genentech
[Wisniewski] device, I know that this distance was greater than 4 inches"
6
Page: Previous 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 Next
Last modified: September 9, 2013