Appeal No. 97-1242
Application 08/226,521
(Figures 1 and 5) whereby when the movable disk-like member
contacts the rigid backing the member is not subject to injury
due to excessive pressure, i.e., no undue stretching or rupture
of the disk-like member can take place.
In applying the test for obviousness, this panel of 3
the board determines that it would have been obvious to one
having ordinary skill in the art, from a combined consideration
of the applied teachings, to configure the upper surface of the
lower disk-shaped wall member 18 of Yumoto with a curved region
corresponding to the wave configuration of the diaphragm member
15, 16. In our opinion, the incentive on the part of one having
ordinary skill in the art for making this modification would have
simply been to gain the art recognized advantage thereof, i.e.,
protecting the diaphragm from undue stretching or rupture, as
taught by Jones. For this reason, the subject matter of claim 1
is unpatentable. We note that the particular content of claim 2
3The test for obviousness is what the combined teachings of
references would have suggested to one of ordinary skill in the
art. See In re Young, 927 F.2d 588, 591, 18 USPQ2d 1089, 1091
(Fed. Cir. 1991) and In re Keller, 642 F.2d 413, 425, 208 USPQ
871, 881 (CCPA 1981).
7
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