Ex parte COHEN - Page 5




          Appeal No. 1999-1812                                                        
          Application No. 08/692,761                                                  

          invention is patentable, resort to speculation, unfounded                   
          assumptions or hindsight reconstruction to supply deficiencies              
          in the factual basis.  Id.                                                  
               In the present case, the examiner concedes (answer, page               
          6) that Naito does not address the use of a removable fastener              
          for selectively detachably securing at least one of the links               
          8, 8A to the rollers 10, 23.  In an effort to fill this gap in              
          the evidentiary basis, the examiner states, without support,                
          that “disassembly of parts is a well known feature for                      
          allowing . . . insertion of a rope or cable in a hoist”                     
          (answer, page 5).  This is improper.  Warner, supra.  As to                 
          the examiner’s observation that an ordinarily skilled artisan               
          would be familiar with the use of various removable fasteners               
          such as lug nuts and wing nuts for fastening things together;               
          even if accepted, this circumstance does not suffice to                     
          establish the obviousness of the claimed subject matter as a                
          whole, which involves the use of a particular fastener means                
          (means for selectably detachable removal) in a particular                   
          environment (cable hoist controllers) at a particular location              
          (the connection of the linkage means to the rollers) for a                  
          particular purpose (to facilitate placement of the cable                    

                                          5                                           





Page:  Previous  1  2  3  4  5  6  7  8  Next 

Last modified: November 3, 2007