Appeal No. 1999-0652 Page 4
Application No. 08/699,262
tool. It is the examiner's position, however, that Bross
teaches an L-shaped tensioned clip secured through an aperture
of a tube (1) and held in place by the threaded member (3)
(answer, pages 3 and 4). According to the examiner,
[i]t would have been obvious to one of ordinary
skill in the art to add a removable clip like that
taught in Bross to the retractable pick member of Di
Stefano at cap 4 when it is desired to clip the
device of Di Stefano to a user's pocket in a manner
similar to that set forth in Bross. It would have
been an obvious matter of design choice to one of
ordinary skill in the art to extend the clip
approximately to the proximal end of the tube 1 of
Di Stefano since the longer the clip the more
securely it will be held in the user's pocket. The
pick and clip of modified Di Stefano are capable of
use as a lock pick and tension tool in much the same
manner as a bobby pin and paper clip are capable for
use as lock picking or tensioning tools [answer,
page 4].
The appellant argues that Di Stefano, which particularly
discloses a retractable ice pick, does not mention use of the
retractable tool disclosed therein as a lock pick and that,
accordingly, the tool is not a "lock pick" (brief, pages 5 and
6). The appellant further argues that the Bross clip is not
secured through an aperture of the tube (1) and that, in fact,
there is no aperture in the tube (brief, page 6).
Page: Previous 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Next
Last modified: November 3, 2007