Appeal No. 2001-1280
Application No. 07/977,163
The prior art references of record relied upon by the
examiner in rejecting the appealed claims are:
Lawson 4,200,359 Apr. 29, 1980
Weureither 2,331,633 Jun. 6, 19743
(German patent)
The following rejections are before us for review.
Claim 17 stands rejected under 35 U.S.C. § 112, second
paragraph, as being indefinite for failing to particularly point
out and distinctly claim the subject matter which appellant
regards as the invention.4
Claims 11-14 and 16 stand rejected under 35 U.S.C. § 103(a)
as being unpatentable over Lawson in view of Weureither.
Reference is made to the brief5 (Paper No. 31, filed August
16, 1996) and reply brief (Paper No. 37, filed January 15, 1998)
and the final rejection (Paper No. 22, mailed October 19, 1995)
and examiner's answer (Paper No. 36, mailed November 18, 1997)
3 An English language translation of this reference, prepared by the
Patent and Trademark Office, is appended hereto.
4 Although the examiner has not expressly repeated this rejection in the
answer, it is apparent from the examiner's comment in the last paragraph on
page 2 of the answer that the § 112, second paragraph, rejection has been
maintained by the examiner.
5 The August 16, 1996 appeal brief is merely a signed copy of the
earlier brief filed January 3, 1996 (Paper No. 25). All references to the
brief in this decision are to the August 16, 1996 brief.
3
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