Appeal No. 1999-1506
Application 08/815,151
of Crockett's disclosure of bolts 24, 26.
We will not sustain this rejection. Crockett does not
dislcose using bolts 24, 26 to lock the ends 20, 22 of members
14, 16 into the ladder rung, but rather bolts 24, 26 are
described as "stop bolts," such that (col. 4, lines 34 to 40):
When the insertable ends 20 and 22 are inserted into
opposite ends of a ladder rung and the ladder
support 10 is properly installed to the ladder into
which the insertable ends 20 and 22 are inserted,
stop bolt 24 prevents movement of the ladder support
in the direction of stop bolt 26 and stop bolt 26
prevents movement of the ladder support in the
direction of stop bolt 24.
We do not read this language as suggesting that bolts 24,
26 perform any locking functions, but rather that they act as
stops to prevent ends 20, 22 from being inserted too far into
the rung. Thus, since there is no teaching or suggestion in
Crockett for the use of bolts as a means for locking a member
into a ladder
rung, there is no basis for combining the references as the
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