Ex Parte Schulze et al - Page 6

              Appeal 2007-0689                                                                     
              Application 10/329,825                                                               
              applied by the Examiner to form the air spring piston of any of Hoffman,             
              Ebert, and Hillburger as a longitudinal-seam welded tube in the manner               
              taught by Holman.  The Examiner’s rejection of claim 9, and claims 11-15             
              depending from claim 9, cannot be sustained.                                         
                    Appellants admit that tubes made of either steel or aluminum were              
              known, at the time of Appellants’ invention, for use as air suspension pistons       
              (Specification [0006]) and that steel tube pistons are longitudinal-seam             
              welded and drawn (Specification [0007]).  Appellants also admit that                 
              aluminum tube pistons are extruded and drawn (Specification [0009]).                 
              Appellants additionally admit that German published application DE 41 42             
              325 A1 discloses longitudinal-seam welded tubes made from self-hardened              
              or hardenable aluminum alloy blanks for the production of chassis members            
              (Specification [0015]).  Upon return of jurisdiction of the present application      
              to the Examiner, the Examiner may wish to consider whether German                    
              published application DE 41 42 325 A1, either alone or in combination with           
              Appellants’ admissions, contains any teaching or suggestion to produce an            
              air suspension piston comprising a longitudinal-seam welded tube made                
              from a self-hardened aluminum alloy.                                                 












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