Appeal No. 00-0910
Application No. 08/821,176
We shall take up first for consideration the double
patenting rejection based on the Scharboneau patent.
At the outset, we observe that during examination of the
parent application, the PTO made a restriction requirement
requiring applicants therein to elect for prosecution in that
case claims directed to either a modular steering wheel and
airbag combination or a method of assembling a steering wheel
and airbag. Applicants elected to prosecute the claims
directed to the modular steering wheel and airbag combination.
In that the above noted restriction requirement did not
involve restriction between the various aspects of the modular
steering wheel and airbag combination claimed in the
Scharboneau patent and the present application, and in that
the subject matter claimed in the present application is, for
the most part, also disclosed in the application that matured
into the Scharboneau patent, it appears that, as a broad
proposition, appellants were not prevented by the restriction
requirement made in the parent application from claiming the
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