Appeal No. 97-0740
Application 08/144,818
The examiner states:
Given the relatively recent advent in
the basketball art of using a pickup truck
to mount and transport a knockdown
basketball backboard, goal and support, the
known concept in the basketball art of
foldably mounting a backboard support to a
trailer for transport thereof, and the
general knowledge of mounting foldable
supports to the bed of either a truck or
trailer so that the supported apparatus may
be deployed for use by unfolding the
support while still attached to the bed, it
would have been obvious to the person of
ordinary skill in the art to affix the base
of Gross to a trailer or the bed of a
pickup truck whereby it may be unfolded for
use and collapsed to facilitate portability
between different usage sites. [Examiner’s
Answer at page 5].
In regard to the requirement of claim 11 that the folded and
collapsed assembly "forms a compact package sized to fit
within said cavity of the pickup truck," the examiner states:
. . .the routineer would have been
particularly motivated to size Gross as
modified to fit within the cavity of the
pickup truck to eliminate hazards (for
example, to navigation over roadways) which
would be present if the apparatus overhung
the sides or rear of the truck. [Examiner’s
Answer at page 5].
In rejecting claims under 35 U.S.C. § 103, the examiner bears
the initial burden of presenting a prima facie case of
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