Appeal No. 1997-0262
Application 08/286,795
as the references as a whole would teach
the artisan that such a tab may be used in
the air bag art with a nut and bolt
connection. Such a structure would be
equivalent [to] the nut and bolt
arrangement of Hirabayashi.
Thus, it appears to be the examiner’s position that
it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art
to provide tabs like those seen in Figure 10 of Sakakida (on
the tethers (151)) on the ends of the tether strap (16) in
Hirabayashi where the strap (16) is attached to the housing
base plate (6) by bolts (18) and nuts received thereon. Even
if this combination were made, we fail to see that the subject
matter set forth in appellants’ claims 1, 3 and 5, and claims
8, 10 and 12, would have in any way been obvious to one of
ordinary skill in the art based on the applied references.
The connection focussed on by the examiner in this rejection
is that between the tether of Hirabayashi and the airbag
housing, not the connection between the tether and the cover
as is defined in the claims on appeal. The connection in
Hirabayashi between the cover (9) and the
10
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