Appeal No. 1999-0627 Page 5
Application No. 08/688,991
by the reference. Kalman v. Kimberly Clark Corp., 713 F.2d
760, 772, 218 USPQ 781, 789 (Fed. Cir. 1983), cert. denied,
465 U.S. 1026 (1984).
The examiner's findings are explained on pages 2 and 3 of
the answer, with reference to the examiner's marked-up copy of
Nunn's Figure 2 attached to the answer. Specifically, the
examiner has divided the Nunn handle into three sections and
considers the sections labeled by the examiner as F, I and R
to respond to the forward, intermediate and rear sections,
respectively, recited in claim 1. The examiner finds that the
rear section (R) is round in cross-section and has a larger
cross-sectional area than that of the forward section (F) and
that the intermediate section (I) is of smaller cross-
sectional area than both the forward and rear sections and
smoothly blended into the contours of each to create a
stretched hourglass handle shape. The appellants do not
contest these findings. The examiner further finds that: (1)
the rear section (R) is "slightly bulbous" and (2) the
forward and intermediate sections are aligned to establish a
longitudinal axis aligned with a tool head and the rear
section is slightly angled down from the axis, at the boss
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