Appeal No. 97-2822
Application 08/455,900
cover plate or grate (32) of Emberson is "a continuous groove
extending completely around the annular extent of said
extension." Nothing in appellant's claim 11 requires that the
groove be smooth and/or be without other structure on the
upwardly disposed surface thereof, as appellant seems to urge on
page 18 of the brief. As for the requirement for "a pair of
oppositely located bores extending through said annular ring from
said upwardly disposed surface of said groove," we view the bores
in the ring (18) of Emberson which receive the
screws (24) to be broadly "oppositely located," in the sense that
at least two of these bores are disposed on opposite sides of a
central vertical plane passing through the center point of the
annular ring (18). With this understanding of Emberson and the
breadth of appellant's claim 11 on appeal, we will sustain the
examiner's rejection of independent claim 11 under 35 U.S.C.
§ 102(b).
We next consider the examiner's rejection of claims 10,
11, 13, 14 and 16 under § 103 as being unpatentable over
Emberson. In this instance, the examiner has taken the position
that to the extent the bores of Emberson may not be "oppositely
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