Appeal No. 99-0073 Page 8
Application No. 08/562,166
area where the tibia is most discernable (final rejection,
page 2, and answer, page 4).
The appellants challenge the examiner's contention that
Alston discloses the method step of positioning a weight on
the shank of a limb against the predominant bone at a position
where the predominant bone is most discernable. Rather,
according to the appellants, "[t]he only method implied by the
Alston patent is the method of attaching two weights
arbitrarily on either side of a limb" (brief, page 4).
We agree with the appellants. Initially, it is not
apparent to us that Figure 2 shows an arrangement wherein
either of the weight units (7) is positioned on the forearm in
a predetermined area where the ulna is most discernable, as
suggested by the examiner. Even accepting the examiner's2
position that Figure 2 shows an arrangement wherein one of the
2In fact, we are not convinced that there is a particular
area on the forearm where either the radius or the ulna is
most discernable. In this regard, the forearm is not like the
lower leg, which does have a clearly identifiable region, the
shin, where the tibia is most discernable. Moreover, as the
ulna is the bone on the little-finger side of the forearm and
as neither of the weights (7) is shown in Figure 7 as being
positioned on the little-finger side of the forearm, it is not
clear which weight (7) the examiner regards as being
positioned in an area where the ulna is most discernable.
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