Appeal No. 1997-0500
Application 08/404,704
According to appellants, replacing the screw-type bezel of
Leone with the bayonet fastener of Wetterhorn would still not
teach or suggest using the bezel to remove the gauge from the
housing [id., pages 9-10]. The examiner responds that it “is
self-evident that the entire Leone device may be extracted by
grasping the bezel and pulling the gauge from the panel”
[answer, page 3].
After a careful consideration of the record in this
case, we agree with appellants that the examiner has failed to
establish a prima facie case of the obviousness of the
appealed claims. As noted from positions discussed above, the
examiner in the final rejection stated that the gauge in Leone
could be removed by hand, but in the answer the examiner now
states that the bezel in Leone can remove the entire Leone
device including the gauge.
The bezel in Leone is not adapted to remove the gauge
when it is removed. When the bezel 14 in Leone is unscrewed
from external threads 36, the bezel is removable by itself or
with the attached crystal 16. The mechanism case 10 and the
overlap portion 28 of Leone are not connected to the bezel in
8
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