Appeal No. 1997-1451
Application 08/145,974
relates to a structural member for protecting from corrosion
the steel rod of an earth tieback, this member is not involved
with the joint which connects reinforcing rods and
correspondingly is unrelated to the problem addressed and
solved by the appealed claim 1 structural member particularly
with respect to covering the joint and the corrodible surfaces
of the connected reinforcing rods.
These deficiencies of the applied prior art lead us to
conclude that the examiner's above quoted conclusion of
obviousness is not well taken. Indeed, this conclusion is not
supported by any specific explanation by the examiner as to
how or why one having an ordinary level of skill in the art
would have so combined the applied reference teachings as to
result in a structural member corresponding to the appealed
claim 1 subject matter. Moreover, we independently perceive
no way of so combining these reference teachings without the
use of impermissible hindsight guidance provided by the
appellant's own disclosure.
Under these circumstances, it is our determination that
the rejection before us is based upon the unwitting
-6-
Page: Previous 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Next
Last modified: November 3, 2007