Appeal 2007-0388
Application 10/337,459
of rotor disks and stator disks in Fig. 1. Moreover, Appellants contend that
"'brake heat sink' is a term of art for rotor/disk brakes, referring to the brake
stack of rotor disks and stator disks, as clearly shown in Applicants' Figures
1 and 4, denoted by numeral 10" (Appeal Br. 4). The Examiner does not
appear to dispute either that "brake heat sink" is a term of art referring to the
brake stack of rotor disks and stator disks or that this is the proper
construction of the claim terminology "brake heat sink." Accordingly,
consistent with Appellants' Specification and the undisputed use of that
terminology in the field of rotor/disk brakes, we interpret the claim
terminology "brake heat sink" as referring to the brake stack of rotor disks
and stator disks.
The Examiner finds that Stanton discloses all the limitations of
independent claims 1, 7, 12, and 16 except for the "entire" fuse extending
beyond the wheel structure (Answer 4). The Examiner determines that it
would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art to
mount the entire fusible element outside the wheel rim for the purpose of
increased sensitivity to the heat, as taught by Harvey (Answer 4).
Appellants argue that neither Stanton nor Harvey shows the entire
fuse extending toward the brake stack as required by the independent claims
(Appeal Br. 4). Accordingly, the next issue presented to us is whether either
of the applied references shows the entire fuse extending toward the brake
stack. Appellants' position on this issue is not well taken, as Stanton clearly
illustrates the entire fuse packing 42 extending toward the brake 15, which
brake comprises stacks of rotors 16 and stators 18.
Appellants also argue that the modification of Stanton proposed by the
Examiner would not have been obvious because Harvey is not concerned
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