Appeal No. 97-4241
Application No. 08/183,066
opening (page 2, line 28 et seq.). Rainwater runs into these
depressions, and then is carried off through the elastic
pipes.
It is the objective of the Cannon reference to provide a
canopy in which the support poles need not be closely spaced
in order to prevent excessive sagging. This is accomplished
by using as a canopy sheets of stretch material having
inelastic or low stretch tendons such as that used in
automobile seat belts fastened to its edges (column 3, lines
14 and 15). Each panel is described as being “very resilient”
(column 4, lines 28 and 29). The canopy formed according to
this invention comprises a “basic rectangular array of four
panels (column 4, lines 20 and 21). The canopy is supported
by edge posts and center posts having guy wires which are
anchored in the ground.
It is axiomatic that the mere fact that the prior art
structure could be modified does not make such a modification
obvious unless the prior art suggests the desirability of
doing so. See In re Gordon, 733 F.2d 900, 902, 221 USPQ 1125,
1127 (Fed. Cir. 1984). It is our primary conclusion that one
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