Appeal No. 1999-1753
Application No. 08/515,815
The entire thrust of Stedman is the provision of a
mechanism adapted for grasping and moving irregularly shaped,
fragile material such as refuse in plastic bags (column 1,
lines 33-38). To this end, a highly specialized grasping
mechanism is provided having flexible, deformable, resilient
jaws that are substantially unbacked so that they may deform
to the shape of the plastic bag as the jaws are closed around
thereabout (column 1, lines 48-57). It would not have been
obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to replace the
grasping mechanism of Stedman with the mechanized grabber
means of Holtom because it would be completely contrary to
Stedman’s objective and make Stedman’s device unsuitable for
its intended purpose. Ex parte Rosenfeld, 130 USPQ 113, 115
(Bd. App. 1961). Moreover, the examiner’s proposed
combination would involve not merely a straightforward
substitution of one grasping means for another, but would
entail a substantial reworking of the interface between the
articulated arm and the grasping means of Stedman to ensure
that the substituted grabber means may “tip” the container as
5
Page: Previous 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 Next
Last modified: November 3, 2007