Appeal No. 2000-0505
Application 08/856,743
conclusion that it would have been
obvious to manufacture the Koch bearing of appellants'
specific polymer is not supported by sufficient facts or
reasoning. In a bearing subjected to significant forces and
subjected to friction and wear, it is not clear that it would
have been obvious to substitute for the carefully machined
metallic bearing of Koch, a molded plastic member.
Finally, turning to the rejection of claims 1, 3, 4, 7
and 10 as unpatentable over Cox, here again, the examiner's
conclusion that it would have been obvious to form the Cox
bearing of a polymer is unsupported by facts or convincing
reasoning. The polish rod and the carrier bar, therefore, in
an oil well pumping jack are subjected to great forces, and
the examiner's unsupported conclusion that it would have been
obvious to use plastic or polymer for these components appears
to be based on mere supposition or conjecture. Therefore, the
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