Appeal No. 2000-0902
Application No. 08/804,466
the goggles (column 3, line 64 through column 4, line 24),
there would appear to be no cogent reason for providing an
additional buckle on the strap.
Moreover, the thrust of Zachry is the provision of a
strap retainer especially useful for safety equipment such as
goggles, face masks or respirators to protect the eyes and
face from foreign and often hazardous materials (column 2,
lines 39-43). To this end, goggles 50 are intended to be
quickly pulled over a hardhat or other headgear, placed over
the eyes, and the retaining strap then tightened by pulling
the end of the strap back away from the face and through the
clamp section 20 to securely tighten the goggles, all in a
matter of approximately
3 seconds (column 2, lines 10-21). In light of this intended
use, the critical need for providing secure retention of the
strap in a tightened condition would render the provision of
an additional buckle such as that shown in Currie of little or
no use, and in fact might even be counterproductive because it
may very well provide an additional point of strap release.
Finally, since neither of the references individually
teaches two distinct and separate strap sections each having
6
Page: Previous 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Next
Last modified: November 3, 2007