Appeal No. 2000-0520
Application No. 08/956,160
THE INVENTION
The invention relates to "balusters used as components
for railing assemblies" (specification, page 1). Claim 9 is
illustrative and reads as follows:
In a railing assembly including a top rail, a bottom
support, and a plurality of hollow plastic balusters having
upper and lower ends, a hollow reinforcing tube having an
upper end and a lower end extending through the hollow
interior of the balusters, and support means mounting the
balusters in spaced apart relation between the top rail and
bottom support, and retaining the respective ends of the
reinforcing tube, the improvements comprising the support
means for receiving the upper end of the baluster and
including a first support bracket secured to the top rail and
including a base portion provided with an aperture, an annular
wall surrounding the aperture and extending from the first
base portion for receipt of one end of the reinforcing tube;
and a second support bracket secured to the bottom support and
including a second base portion provided with an aperture, an
annular wall surrounding the aperture and extending from the
second base portion for receipt of the other end of the
reinforcing tube.
THE PRIOR ART
The items relied upon by the examiner as evidence of
2
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