Appeal No. 2000-2006
Application No. 09/027,173
secured using a buckle system (41, 42). From these teachings,
the examiner has concluded that it would have been obvious to
one of ordinary skill in the art to employ a retroreflective
sheeting incorporated onto the webbing located on the
perimeter of the sheet in Hansen, as taught in Tolliver, for a
better safety measure and to employ non-elastic straps with
buckles instead of the elastic straps of Hansen, as taught in
Jones, to allow for more secure attachment of the tarpaulin to
the vehicle.
Having reviewed and evaluated the applied references, we
must agree with appellants that, even if combined in the
manner set forth by the examiner, the applied references would
not render obvious the tarpaulin defined in claim 1 on appeal.
In the first place, given the strong emphasis in Hansen
regarding the use of "elasticized" reinforcing and tie down
straps or cords (4, 10) and the problems solved by such
elasticized members, we see no reason why a person of ordinary
skill in the art would have been led to replace the
elasticized straps or cords in Hansen with non-elastic straps
as seen in Jones, especially since Hansen already additionally
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