Appeal No. 96-1602
Application 08/168,669
(a) claims 1-4 and 7, unpatentable over Skorka in view of Parrish, Muck, Marsh and
Miyazawa;
(b) claims 1-4 and 7, unpatentable over Hoerle in view of Marsh and Miyazawa; and
(c) claims 1-4 and 7, unpatentable over Skorka in view of Hoerle, Marsh and
Miyazawa.
Considering first rejection (a), independent claim 1 calls for, inter alia, “means along
the inner circumference of the inner race for cooperating with a bearing insert tool for
removing and inserting the bearing insert from the hub of the skate wheel . . . .”
Independent claim 7 contains a similar limitation but specifies the means in question as
being “an annular inner groove formed within the central axis bore along the inner
circumference of the inner race . . . .” The examiner concedes that Skorka, the primary
reference, does not teach this claimed feature. Nevertheless, the examiner has taken the
position that
Miyazawa et al. discloses using a groove 221a for cooperation with a
bearing puller to remove a bearing. Accordingly, one having ordinary skill in
the art would have found it obvious to provide a groove on the bearing
inserts of Skorka in order to provide for quick and easy removal of the
inserts by engagement of the groove with a bearing puller. [Answer, page 4.]
Recognizing that this modification would not necessarily result in a construction that
would correspond to the claimed subject matter (the claims call for the means for removing
and inserting, or annular groove, to be located along the inner circumference of the inner
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Last modified: November 3, 2007