Appeal No. 98-1457 Page 16
Application No. 08/530,006
the record which leads me to believe that the I-shaped cross-
sectional configuration was selected and used by appellants
for other than its well-known strength-to-weight
characteristics.
Looking at the requirement of claim 1 calling for the
link to be formed of thermoplastic material, the disclosure of
Hynds that link 12, barrel portion 14 and ring portion 16 of
the suspension assembly "are integrally molded from a suitable
plastic material, e.g., DELRIN" (column 2, lines 27-28) is
sufficient, in my view, to establish prima facie that it also
would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to
form the corresponding elements of Crandall's suspension link
of thermoplastic material for the self evident purpose of
taking advantage of the well known characteristics of
thermoplastic material (e.g., weight reduction).
Thus, when the combined teachings of Crandall, Hynds and
Schlechtendahl are properly taken into consideration, such
teachings are sufficient to establish a prima facie case of
obviousness of the subject matter of claim 1. As to
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