Appeal No. 1999-1042 Page 8
Application No. 08/781,220
that the three-sided devices of Russo or Schwartz be modified
so that they have five sides. That the prior art structure
could be modified does not make such a modification obvious
unless the prior art suggests the desirability of doing so.
See In re Gordon, 733 F.2d 900, 902, 221 USPQ 1125, 1127 (Fed.
Cir. 1984). In the present case, we point out that neither of
the primary references teaches that the devices disclosed
therein are capable of or intended to service more than one
patient and that the “flat-cornered triangular medical column”
disclosed in each appears to be a basic feature of invention.
Therefore, we fail to perceive any motivation for making the
change proposed by the examiner. In addition, in the absence
of a teaching to treat more than one patient from the same
column, we do not agree with the examiner that one of ordinary
skill in the art would have been motivated to place gas outlets
on all sides of the Russo and Schwartz devices. Lastly, since
minimizing the space of the base portion of the devices,
through which gas is supplied, appears not to be a concern of
either Russo or Schwartz, we also cannot agree that it would
have been obvious to make the width of the planar side panels
Page: Previous 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 Next
Last modified: November 3, 2007