Appeal No. 1999-0936
Application No. 08/890,263
suction cups, and the carriage members 60U, 60L that carry
them, in upper and lower positions is not a necessary
requirement. Accordingly, we are agreement with appellants5
that one of ordinary skill in the art would appreciate that
the inventive method disclosed in the patent utilizes first
and second rows of suction cups.
In light of the foregoing, we will not sustain the
standing rejection of reissue claim 3 under 35 U.S.C. § 112,
first paragraph.
Remand to the Examiner
Pursuant to 37 CFR § 1.196(e), this application is
remanded to the examiner to consider the following issue:
Does reissue claim 3, which is directed to a method
that includes the step of inserting the spread-apart
5See, for example, page 10, line 27, through page 11, line 5, of the
specification, which reads as follows (with italics added for emphasis):
Pluralities of suction cups 66U, 66L are disposed in aligned
combination, i.e. rows, with the respective carriage members 60U,
60L along the spanwise length thereof . . . . The suction cups
66U, 66L are operative to engage and hold the respective OML
surfaces of the leading edge sheath 120 with the vacuum source 68
actuated. Subsequent synchronized movement of the respective
carriage members 60U, 60L away from one another to the operating
position causes spreading of the sheath 120 to facilitate
insertion thereof in combination with the blade subassembly 132.
7
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