Ex Parte JOHNSON - Page 5




              Appeal No. 2002-1054                                                                  Page 5                
              Application No. 09/436,333                                                                                  


              1974).  Thus, we sustain the examiner's rejection of appealed claim 10 under 35 U.S.C.                      
              § 103.                                                                                                      
                     We will also sustain the rejection as it is directed to claim 11 because each one                    
              of Eastman and Cooley discloses a quadrilateral with pairs of opposing walls.                               
                     In regard to claims 12 and 13, we note that Eastman discloses that the support                       
              member is a planar plate and that the quadrilateral includes separate wall supports for                     
              the planar plate.  Therefore, we will sustain the rejection as it is directed to claims 12                  
              and 13.                                                                                                     
                     Claim 14 recites that the quadrilateral includes wall-mounted rollers to facilitate                  
              the slidable movement of the support member.  The examiner states:                                          
                            It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art                                
                            to have employed standard roller draw hardware in the                                         
                            constuction of the device of Cooley as modified above by                                      
                            Eastman, et. al., motivated by the ease of operation                                          
                            achieved thereby.  [answer at page 3]                                                         
                     In our view, there is no motivation of including rollers in either the Eastman or                    
              Cooley container.  The examiner’s conclusion that the inclusion or rollers would achieve                    
              ease of operation is speculative in nature and is not based on a factual basis.  A                          
              rejection based on § 103 must rest on a factual basis with these facts being interpreted                    
              without hindsight reconstruction of the invention from the prior art.  The examiner may                     
              not, because of doubt that the invention is patentable, resort to speculation, unfounded                    









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