Appeal No. 1998-2096
Application No. 08/586,966
cutting edges to the central axial leg portion and that the
examiner’s proposed modifications of Chandler are based on
hindsight. We agree.
In this regard, we share the appellants’ view that there
is nothing in the cited Chandler reference to suggest the
claimed invention. Chandler is concerned, as is the
appellants, with reducing the energy required to drive known
plate or wing type ground anchors into the ground. Chandler’s
disclosed solution is to provide the ground anchor with an
axially extended chisel or star drill having sharpened edges.
According to Chandler, the chisel point facilitates
penetration of the ground anchor into hard soil, breaks
obstructions and reduces the energy required to advance the
anchor into the soil. See col. 1, ll. 48-52 and col. 2, ll.
11-21. We find no teaching or suggestion in Chandler that
further ease of penetration or reduction in driving energy
would be obtained by providing a plurality of smaller leading
chisel or drill edges longitudinally offset with respect to
each other. Further, while Chandler provides a first curved
lip porion 19 at the back end of the central body to
facilitate tilting of the anchor in the ground, there is no
9
Page: Previous 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 Next
Last modified: November 3, 2007