Appeal No. 1999-1491
Application No. 08/386,670
under 35 U.S.C. § 103(a) as being obvious over Ledesma in view
of Deck, we observe that Ledesma teaches a cushion or pad (10)
that is adapted to support a user on a support surface of a
support structure (12). As readily seen in Figure 1, the
cushion of Ledesma includes pads (14, 16) which define a
trough-shaped channel in the upper surface thereof, whereby
the user may be supported therein. The cushion of Ledesma
also includes a casing (20) for receiving the pads (14, 16).
The only feature of appellant’s cushion defined in claim 1 on
appeal that is lacking in Ledesma is the restraining strap
which extends transversely across the pad and releasably
secures the user in the trough-shaped channel. The examiner
has taken the position that it would have been obvious to one
of ordinary skill in the art at the time of appellant's
invention to provide a restraining strap on Ledesma's cushion
which extends transversely across the cushion in view of Deck
who discloses a neonatal cradle (11) which includes a foam
channel-shaped pad (19) which has a restraining strap
including a pair of strap portions (26, 27) extending across
the channel. The appellant has argued (brief, pages 12 and
13) that a restraining strap would be cumulative to Ledesma's
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