Appeal No. 2000-0574
Application No. 08/876,321
We turn now to the examiner's rejection of claim 15,
which depends from claim 14 and further requires banding means
to secure the side members and lid assembly together, as being
unpatentable over Porch in view of MacDonald. We note that
Porch does not expressly disclose any means for holding the
stacked panels together in the unassembled condition for
shipping. We also observe, however, that, while there must be
some suggestion or motivation for one of ordinary skill in the
art to combine the teachings of references, it is not
necessary that such be found within the four corners of the
references themselves; a conclusion of obviousness may be made
from common knowledge and common sense of the person of
ordinary skill in the art without any specific hint or
suggestion in a particular reference. See In re Bozek, 416
F.2d 1385, 1390, 163 USPQ 545, 549 (CCPA 1969). In our
view, one of ordinary skill in the art at the time of
appellant's invention would have appreciated the desirability
of securing the stacked panels together for shipping to
prevent them from sliding around the railroad car or flatbed
truck (column 6, line 66). Further, the use of straps or
bands for use in securing items together was well known in the
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