Appeal No. 99-0633 Page 8
Application No. 08/880,247
clip (21) and key are then forced to the extended position by
pressure exerted from springs (39) (column 3, line 69 through
column 4, line 22). Corwin does not disclose provision of any
indicia on the clip (21).
As seen from the above discussion, the clip (21) of
Corwin is disclosed for use in combination with a spring-
biased mechanism for selectively retaining a key in a
retracted position within a carrying case or releasing a key
to an extended position. There is nothing in Corwin which
would suggest the use of such a clip purely for application of
identification indicia, as a replacement for the indicia
plates of Levine, for example, or in combination with a
housing and closure as claimed.
The examiner submits that "one of ordinary skill in the
art would have found it obvious to cover the head of the key
[of Levine] with a single piece of foldable material so as to
provide a key identification system with fewer parts thus
reducing the likeliness [sic] of missing parts" (answer, page
7). However, it appears to us that this conclusion stems from
speculation, unfounded assumptions or hindsight
reconstruction, as we can find no factual basis for this
Page: Previous 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 Next
Last modified: November 3, 2007