Appeal No. 96-2299
Application No. 08/072,753
long tool life and economy of manufacture, whereas McKinney
and Witt disclose tools for working soft materials, and one of
ordinary skill in the art would have concluded that the
bearing structures of the two secondary references would not
have had sufficient strength to be used in the Dombrowski
setting (Brief, pages 4 and 5). It is noteworthy that the
appellants do not, however, quarrel with the suggestion given
by the examiner to combine the references, which is set forth
on page 4 of the Answer.
The purpose of pilot portion 56 in Dombrowski, guide
wheel 11 in McKinney and pilot 29 in Witt is the same, and
that is to follow the contour of a reference surface on the
workpiece so that a profiling tool accurately operates upon
the workpiece. In our view, one of ordinary skill in the art
would have recognized that the profiling tool guide elements
need be of sufficient strength to tolerate being pressed
against the reference finish surface without being deformed so
that their accuracy is not compromised, but they need not be
so strong as to be able to withstand the same level of stress
as is placed upon the cutting tool. This being the case, we
see no reason why the artisan would have been dissuaded from
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