Appeal No. 98-0028
Application No. 08/455,912
obviousness may be made from common knowledge and common sense
of the person of ordinary skill in the art without any
specific hint or suggestion in a particular reference (see In
re Bozek, 416 F.2d 1385, 1390, 163 USPQ 545, 549 (CCPA 1969)),
with skill being presumed on the part of the artisan, rather
than the lack thereof (see In re Sovish, 769 F.2d 738, 742,
226 USPQ 771, 774 (Fed. Cir. 1985)). Insofar as the
references themselves are concerned, we are bound to consider
the disclosure of each for what it fairly teaches one of
ordinary skill in the art, including not only the specific
teachings, but also the inferences which one of ordinary skill
in the art would reasonably have been expected to draw
therefrom (see In re Boe, 355 F.2d 961, 965, 148 USPQ 507, 510
(CCPA 1966) and In re Preda, 401 F.2d 825, 826, 159 USPQ 342,
344 (CCPA 1968)).
There are two independent claims before us on appeal.
The first of these is claim 1, a Jepson-type claim, which in
the preamble recites a tank for containing a fluid, the tank
having a wall of a selected material in which a bore is
provided for slidably receiving a fluid coupling secured in
4
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