Appeal No. 2000-1582
Application 08/697,034
Rejection (2)
In the group of claims to which this rejection applies,
claims 3, 4, and 20 call for, inter alia, the outer sheet of
the bumper to be stainless steel.
Matthysse discloses a laminated bumper in which the outer
sheet 12 is 301 stainless steel (col. 4, lines 4 to 8), 20 to
30 mils (.02 to .03 inches) thick (col. 3, lines 64 to 67),
and the reinforcing sheet 20 is fiber-reinforced plastic.
Both sheets are in the form of elongated channels (see
drawings), and the outer sheet may be buffed before it is
chrome plated (col. 4, lines 62 and 63). The examiner has
explained the basis of the rejection on page 8 of the answer
as:
The combination proposed by the examiner in the rejection
includes modifying the outer layer of Hagiwara to be a
stainless steel channel, as taught by Matthysse, and not
simply plating the plastic outer layer of Hagiwara, which
is not taught by the reference. The examiner has in no
way suggested that the plastic outer layer of Hagiwara
could be chrome plated.
From this explanation, we understand the examiner’s position
to be that it would have been obvious, in view of Matthysse,
to make Hagiwara’s outer sheet 11 out of stainless steel
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