Appeal No. 97-4212
Application No. 08/630,031
The appellants’ invention is directed to a bumper for an
automobile that is light weight, strong and elastic, and which
can absorb frontal impact and then return to its original
shape. As manifested in the claim, the invention comprises an
elongated tubular aluminum bumper beam that is curved in a
continuous arc between its ends, and an elongated steel
reinforcing plate having a length of about one-third of the
beam and being centered and rigidly secured to the back of the
beam. The steel plate is recited as being elastic and having
a relatively high elongation while the beam has a relatively
low elongation. It is the examiner’s view that all of the
claimed bumper structure is disclosed by Enomoto, except for
the reinforcing steel plate. It is the examiner’s position,
however, that this is taught by Killea, and that it would have
been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to provide
the Enomoto bumper beam with an elongated reinforcing plate
rigidly secured to its rear surface.
Enomoto discloses an aluminum bumper that appears from
the drawings to be curved over its entire length, although
that is not confirmed in the written description. It is
stated in the specification that aluminum has been adopted for
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