Appeal No. 96-3919 Application 08/224,163 The references of record relied upon by the examiner in support of a rejection under 35 U.S.C. § 103 are: Neidhardt et al. (Neidhardt) 3,733,139 May 15, 1973 British Patent (Downes) 8,626 May 20, 1891 German Patent (Manzardo) 13,735 May 17, 19563 Claims 12 and 13 stand rejected under 35 U.S.C. § 112, second paragraph, “as being indefinite for failing to particularly point out and distinctly claim the subject matter which applicant regards as the invention” (answer, page 3). Claims 1-5 and 12-14 stand rejected under 35 U.S.C. § 103 as being unpatentable over British Patent No. 8,626 to Downes in view of German Patent No. 13,735 to Manzardo and further in view of Neidhardt. The 35 U.S.C. § 112, Second Paragraph, Rejection Considering first the 35 U.S.C. § 112, second paragraph, rejection, the examiner correctly notes that the term “said blade portion” in claim 12 and the term “said arm portion” in claim 13 lack a proper antecedent basis. Based on these examples of claim deficiencies, the examiner concludes that claims 12 and 13 are indefinite. 3Our understanding of this German language patent is derived from a translation prepared in the Patent and Trademark Office, a copy of which is appended to this opinion. -3-Page: Previous 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 NextLast modified: November 3, 2007