Ex parte PULFORD - Page 4




              Appeal No. 1999-0641                                                                       Page 4                
              Application No. 08/536,654                                                                                       


              adjacent the driving shaft (5) (translation, page 5, lines 3-6, and the sentence bridging pages 5                
              and 6).  Additionally, a spring (10) is disposed inside the hub to bias the hub, and hence the                   
              fixed pin (9) and driven shaft (7), to the right as shown in Figures 1 and 2, to apply a coupling                
              force.  In order to release the coupling of the driven shaft (7) to the hub (body 1), the hub is                 
              pushed toward the driving shaft (5) away from the driven shaft (7).  It is clear from the Naitou                 
              title ("Simple Type Detachable Universal Joint") and disclosure that this detachable feature is                  
              one of the objectives of Naitou's invention (translation, page 3, lines 1-14, and page 6, lines 6-               
              12).                                                                                                             
                      The examiner implicitly concedes that Naitou lacks the hub (body 1) being "rigidly                       
              connected" to the first rotating member (driven shaft 7), but takes the position that                            
                      [r]igidly connecting the hub 1 to the rotating member 7 would prevent removal                            
                      of the rotating member from the hub and thereby ensure that torque is                                    
                      transmitted through the coupling.  It would have been obvious for one of                                 
                      ordinary skill at the time the invention was made to rigidly connect the rotating                        
                      member to the hub of Naitou so [sic: as] to ensure that torque is transmitted                            
                      through the coupling and prevent removal of the rotating member from the hub                             
                      [answer, page 4].                                                                                        
                      The appellant (brief, page 4) argues that the modification proposed by the examiner                      
              would destroy two important features of Naitou's invention, the detachable feature and the                       
              ability of the shaft (7) to move with respect to the body (1) as provided by the rounded corners                 
              (R ).  We agree with the appellant.  As discussed above, the Naitou disclosure emphasizes                        
                 1                                                                                                             
              repeatedly the importance of the shaft (7) being detachable from the body (1).  Additionally, the                









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