Appeal No. 96-1898
Application No. 07/921,826
Claims 1 and 3 through 23 stand rejected under 35 U.S.C.
103. As evidence of obviousness, the examiner cites Ferrer
and Joseph with regard to claims 1, 3 through 10 and 12
through 22, adding Blaha with regard to claim 11. The
examiner cites Ferrer and Burns with regard to claim 23.
Claims 12 through 22 stand further rejected under 35 U.S.C.
112, first and second paragraphs.
Reference is made to the briefs and answers for the
respective positions of appellant and the examiner.
OPINION
At the outset, we make some observations about the
handling of the prosecution of this case by both appellant and
the examiner, as well as presumptions we have made in
determining the issues and reaching our decision herein.
The exact claims on appeal and the number thereof is
confusing since there appears to have been 23 claims, with
claim 2 being canceled; yet the new principal brief, filed
August 22, 1996 (Paper No. 18) has an appendix showing 24
claims with claim 2 being canceled. Further, statements in
the briefs and answers, directed toward the rejections and
3
Page: Previous 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 Next
Last modified: November 3, 2007