Appeal No. 97-0828
Application 08/445,540
inferences of the prior art. Arguably, Bowen and Finken would
have suggested replacing Hale’s elastic strap 36 and belt
straps 38 with a pair of length-adjustable elastic straps.
The combined teachings of these references, however, would not
have suggested the elimination of Hale’s belt strap 20 so as
to permit the face mask to be slid from a first position over
the face area to a position over the top portion of the helmet
as required by claim 1. For one thing, Hale’s disclosure
indicates that the belt strap 20 is integral to the structural
relationship between the helmet and face mask which allows
them to be quickly and easily removed during the course of
play in a baseball game. Thus, Hale would appear to teach
away from the proposed elimination of the belt strap 20.
Moreover, the disclosure by Bowen, and apparently by Finken,
of goggles or eye shields which are capable of being moved
from a first position over the face area to a position over
the top portion of their associated helmets would appear to
have little, if any relevance, to Hale’s baseball head gear
and its intended manner of use.
Thus, the combined teachings of Hale, Bowen and Finken do
not justify the examiner’s conclusion that the subject matter
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