Appeal No. 2000-1622
Application No. 08/752,445
as long as it is not least as wide as the water closet;
whether it is made any wider depends only on the space
available in the bathroom in which it is to be installed and
the distance which the designer wishes to have between the
lavatory (supported at 16) and the water closet. Thus, it
would have been obvious to make the carrier 50 of Groeniger
approximately the width of the water closet 55, this being a
matter of design choice dependent on the space available and
personal preference, not achieving a different purpose. Cf.
In re Gal, 980 F.2d 717, 719, 25 USPQ2d 1076, 1078 (Fed. Cir.
1992).
Conclusion
The examiner’s decision to reject claims 66 to 68, 70,
72, 75 and 78 to 85 under the second paragraph of § 112 is
reversed, and the reject claims 66, 68, 70, 72 and 75 to 86
under
§ 102(b) is affirmed as to claims 66 to 67, 76, 77, 82, 83 and
86, and reversed as to claims 68, 70, 72, 75, 78 to 81, 84 and
85. Claims 68, 70, 75 and 74 are rejected pursuant to 37 CFR
§ 1.196(b).
13
Page: Previous 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 Next
Last modified: November 3, 2007