Appeal No. 1998-1188 Page 10
Application No. 08/628,556
sunshade stick having a screw-point for easy penetration of
the ground (col. 1, lines 17-22 and col. 2, lines 52-54).
Specifically, the reference discloses a stick or support
member 2 for anchoring an umbrella including a pointed end or
spike 1 and a helical screw thread or blade 3 having a
diameter slightly greater than the diameter of the stick 2
(col. 1, lines 29-34). The examiner determined that EP ‘675
teaches a spike 1 having a smaller diameter that the stick 2
(final rejection, page 5). We agree. Figures 1, 4, 5 and 8
all show the spike 1 as having a smaller diameter that the
pole or stick 2. The expression “much smaller” does not
distinguish the claimed subject matter from what is shown in
EP ‘675, since the appellant has not defined the expression
with any particularity in the specification. Thus, the
expression is considered to read on the pointed end 1 and
stick 2 of EP ‘675.
The examiner concluded that it would have been obvious to
modify Hall by providing “a nail member having a smaller
diameter than the anchor pole, and a blade forms from two to
four turns around the spike” in order to facilitate insertion
of the support member into the ground, as suggested by EP ‘675
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