Appeal No. 2001-0290 Page 5
Application No. 09/084,871
According to Afanador, this two-piece knuckle assembly is
greatly simplified with respect to multi-component knuckle
assemblies (column 2, lines 61-64).
The examiner contends that it would have been obvious to
one having ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention
was made to modify the forged one-piece knuckle assembly of
Mitchell to include the hydraulic brake caliper brackets
formed as a pair of caliper rails projecting from the flanged
body defining a c-shaped member in view of the teachings of
Afanador to provide a simplified assembly (answer, pages 4-5).
Appellants, on the other hand, point out that Afanador teaches
caliper rails that are cast, not forged (brief, pages 4-5),
and urge that this “evidences the fact that those of skill in
the art prefer to form the brake calipers [sic: caliper
brackets] via casting rather than forging due to the inherent
benefits and difficulties traditionally associated with the
methods of steel working” (brief, pages 6-7). According to3
appellants, “it goes against conventional thinking in this art
Appellants also note that the examiner “has not provided a single3
teaching of a pair of brake calipers [sic: caliper brackets] integrally formed
with the flanged body as a unitary forged body” (brief, page 6).
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