Appeal No. 98-0952
Application No. 08/399,434
According to Exhibit A, the U.K. handle (42) includes the
two arm or leg portions extending from unmarked attachment
bolts and a cross piece extending between the arm portions.
According to the examiner’s notations on Exhibit A, the arm
portions taken together with the cross piece define a “bow”
terminating at opposite ends in head elements in the region of
the unmarked attachment bolts. In his answer (see page 8),
the examiner states that the “bow” in the U.K. patent has a
curvilinear shape in a vertical plane to meet the limitation
pertaining to the handle in claim 17.
We cannot accept the examiner’s interpretation of the
U.K. patent as outlined supra. A bow, according to its
applicable, common meaning in Webster’s Third New
International Dictionary (G. & C. Merriam Company, 1971), is
“something bent into a simple curve.” In contrast, the cross
piece of the U.K. handle is straight in the region extending
between the arm portions, while the arm portions, which are
parallel to each other, are substantially straight in the
regions extending to the ends at the attachment bolts. Such a
configuration does not form a “bow” within the dictionary
meaning of the term. In short, the handle in the U.K. patent
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