Appeal No. 2002-0357
Application 09/433,988
Conceding that the Mizuno bag does not meet the limitations
in independent claims 1, 11, 13, 17, 20, 24 and 25 requiring an
interior shelf, the examiner nonetheless concludes that “it would
have been obvious to place shelves, such as that in Shyr et al.
into the Mizuno #MTB bag . . . which could be frameless as taught
by Gerch ‘748, Gerch et al.[‘154], or Plough et al., to help
organize the bag by separating it into individual compartments”
(answer, page 4). Gerch ‘748, Gerch ‘154 and Plough, cited as
being exemplary of frameless bags which hold their shape,
respectively disclose a sports duffel bag having an expandable
side pocket for receiving a tennis racket head, a general purpose
sports/travel bag, and a bag particularly designed to accommodate
police equipment. Shyr discloses a soft-sided sports locker bag
having a hinged door-like end wall and removable interior shelves
which divide the bag into separate compartments for sports shoes,
uniforms, baseball caps, sweat bands, sunglasses, and the like.
The appellant’s position that the foregoing reference
combination advanced by the examiner stems solely from
impermissible hindsight is well taken. In short, there is
nothing in Gerch ‘748, Gerch ‘154, Plough and/or Shyr, and
particularly in Shyr, which would have suggested incorporating
one or more interior shelves into the particular baseball
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