Appeal No. 97-0576
Application No. 08/308,876
that Griff and Brydson disclose that it is known to drive pairs
of screws in an extruder such that they co-rotate or counter-
rotate, that Skidmore discloses counter-rotating screws in a feed
device that have the configuration of the body sections recited
in appealed claim 9, and that Loomans discloses counter-rotating
screws in a feed device wherein the screw channel has a generally
U-shaped configuration. However, we find nothing in this mosaic
of references that would either teach or suggest the
modifications proposed by the examiner in the rejection of the
claims on appeal.
As stated in W.L. Gore & Assocs. v. Garlock, Inc.,
721 F.2d 1540, 1553, 220 USPQ 303, 312-13 (Fed. Cir. 1983), cert.
denied, 469 U.S. 851 (1984),
[t]o imbue one of ordinary skill in the
art with knowledge of the invention in
suit, when no prior art reference or
references of record convey or suggest
that knowledge, is to fall victim to the
insidious effect of a hindsight syndrome
wherein that which only the inventor
taught is used against its teacher.
It is our conclusion that the only reason to combine the
teachings of the applied references in the manner proposed by the
examiner results from a review of appellants' disclosure and the
application of impermissible hindsight. Thus, we cannot sustain
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