Appeal No. 2000-1667 Page 6
Application No. 09/071,305
buster 48 in order to loosen the road
material prior to plowing it laterally back
and forth with the blades 48 and 50
[Examiner’s Answer at page 6].
Constantin discloses a road maintainer which comprises a
middle buster 48 which includes a pair of conventional
shearing or cutting blades which cut into the road surface and
shear material from it as the middle buster 48 is pulled along
the road (Col. 2, lines 61 to Col. 3, line 2). The road
maintainer also includes side delivery blades 50 which cut
into the road surface laterally outwardly from the middle
buster 48 and deliver cut material in two ridges toward the
longitudinal center of the road maintainer (Col. 3, lines 16-
19). The examiner’s rejection states that it would be obvious
to provide a ripper bar in front of Constantin’s middle buster
48 in order to loosen road material prior to it being plowed
by blades 48 and 50. However, Constantin discloses that the
road surface is cut by two sets of blades i.e. the middle
buster 48 and the delivery blades 50. As such, we agree with
the appellant that as the road surface is already cut and
thereby loosened by blades 48 and 50, there is no motivation
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