Appeal No. 98-1242 Page 5
Application No. 08/498,884
from a position adjacent the joints. We point out here that
while this strap is not “adjacent” the joints in the sense of
extending laterally from a position aligned with the joints, as
is disclosed by the appellant, it nevertheless is “adjacent”
the joints in that it lies near and is not distant from the
joints, which is all that is required by the claim. Finally,2
Ballard discloses means for fastening the strap (2) at the
wrist portion when the hand is formed into a fist, which strap
is capable of isolating wrist movement and maintaining the
user’s hand in a fisted condition. Given that the Ballard
strap is 85 inches long (column 1, line 53), it is capable of
performing the claimed function if it were wrapped about the
clenched fist and then anchored to the pad (unnumbered) on the
wrist portion of the glove, even though such a use is not
taught by the patentee.
The requirements for a second strap as recited in claim 2
are met by strap 10 of Ballard, which extends laterally away
from the body portion oppositely of the first strap and is
fastenable to the wrist portion oppositely of the first strap.
2See, for example, Merriam Webster’s Collegiate
Dictionary, Tenth Edition, 1996, page 14.
Page: Previous 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 Next
Last modified: November 3, 2007