Appeal No. 96-4039
Application 08/247,306
The Andersen patent discloses a device consisting of
two round, parallel plates, connected by an X-shaped web, for
holding the corners of four plywood panels being used as part of
a temporary deck on which a concrete slab is to be poured.
According to the patent, the device holds the corner of a warped
or twisted plywood panel in the plane of the deck, thereby
preventing displacement of the panel by wind, a gap in the deck
through which concrete can run, or workers tripping over an
uneven deck (col. 1, lines 16 to 24; col. 2, lines 51 to 64).
The examiner finds that (answer, page 4):
[I]t would have been obvious to one with
ordinary skill in the art to modify the
tie of Mason to include perpendicular
vane shelves extending between each pair
of an inside and an end plate as taught
by Andersen in order to provide increased
strength between the parallel plates and
thereby increase the overall strength of
the tie.
In response to appellants, he argues on page 7:
Applicant [sic] argues that the Andersen
fixture is for connecting together the four
corners of plywood panels which are to be
used as a floor on which to pour concrete,
particularly that it is a deck form panel
locking ring and not a wall form fixture. In
this case, however, both Mason and Andersen
teach fixtures for maintaining form panels in
planar alignment, for example against the
forces of pouring concrete. The material of
the panels (foam or plywood), and the
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