Appeal No. 2001-1198 Page 4
Application No. 09/233,899
We will not sustain the rejection of claims 1 to 4 and 20
under 35 U.S.C. § 102(e) as being anticipated by Chow.
To support a rejection of a claim under 35 U.S.C. §
102(b), it must be shown that each element of the claim is
found, either expressly described or under principles of
inherency, in a single prior art reference. See Kalman v.
Kimberly-Clark Corp., 713 F.2d 760, 772, 218 USPQ 781, 789
(Fed. Cir. 1983), cert. denied, 465 U.S. 1026 (1984).
Claim 1, the only independent claim on appeal, reads as
follows:
Self-adjusting pliers for grasping a workpiece
comprising:
first and second plier members each including a
handle portion, a jaw portion, and an intermediate
portion therebetween;
first pivot means on said intermediate portions
permitting said jaw portions to converge on the workpiece
and grasp the workpiece in response to initial movement
of said handle portions toward each other;
second pivot means on said intermediate portions
permitting a further grasping force to be applied to the
workpiece in response to continued movement of said
handle portions toward each other;
said second pivot means including a pawl member
pivotally secured by a pawl pivot pin to said
intermediate portion of said first plier member and a
generally arcuate rack formed on said intermediate
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