Appeal No. 2001-2378
Application No. 09/479,932
end, molded elastic part 5 is designed to compress in a way to
compensate for the tendency of the rails on curved sections of
track to move apart. In particular, the molded elastic part 5
of
the support structure is designed such that “when a load is
applied to the track, a circular pivoting motion of the rail
takes place about the common intersection (S). Due to the
circular pivoting motion the rail head (1d) moves essentially
only in the vertical direction” (abstract).
The Examiner’s Position
In rejecting each of the independent claims as being
anticipated by Meier, the examiner finds correspondence
between the claimed “intermediate layer” (claims 1 and 12) and
“decoupling means” (claim 14) and the molded elastic part 5 of
Meier. More particularly, the examiner maintains that:
The intermediate layer of Meier has a level of
elasticity at a certain range of application of
force and is rigid in response to forces greater
than such range. Regarding the maximum permissible
stress, recited in claim 1, it is the examiner’s
position that the rail of Meier inherently has a
maximum permissible stress level, which is the upper
limit of said certain range of application of force.
[Answer, page 3.]
Further enlightenment as to the examiner’s position is found
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