Appeal No. 98-2097
Application NO. 08/670,320
threaded connection which can become hard
to make up after periods of use and
exposure to the elements. Additionally, by
using the snap feature of the cap 40, a
fastener is eliminated and a neater design
is presented which is easier for the
fisherman to use.
To address the subject matter of claim 1 with its "snap-
fitted end cap," the examiner has applied as evidence of
obviousness the fishing reel drum teaching of Hardy, with its
"cover element 3 being fixed to the drum by means of rivets 6"
(page 1, lines 85, 86). Based upon the sole applied teaching
of Hardy, the examiner has concluded that "it would have been
obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art at the time
the
invention was made, to snap fit the cap 3 onto the side of the
reel by providing a rib on the spool and a circumferential
opening on the cap, in place of the rivets 6" (answer, page
6).
Appellants point out (main brief, page 5) that the
examiner has failed to find any other reference, alone or in
5
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Last modified: November 3, 2007