Appeal No. 2000-1746
Application 08/791,098
on the basis of Krumholz in view of Baldwin, it is the
examiner’s position (final rejection, page 2), that Krumholz
discloses a device for restraining articles that have an
elongated portion, which device reads on appellant’s claim 1
except for the requirement of having a head formed as a series
of closed loops surrounding a central opening. To address this
difference, the examiner turns to Baldwin, urging that this
reference discloses (in Fig. 3) a restraining device including
an elongated portion having a head comprising a series of
elliptically-shaped loops (4) surrounding a central opening,
wherein the loops simulate the petals of a flower. From these
teachings, the examiner has concluded that it would have been
obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to modify the head
of the device in Krumholz to comprise elliptically-shaped
loops surrounding a central opening as taught by Baldwin, so
as to achieve a desired aesthetic effect, i.e., to have the
head simulate the petals of a flower.
Having reviewed and evaluated the applied references, we
must agree with appellant that the examiner’s position
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