Appeal No. 2002-0049 Page 10
Application No. 09/317,538
determined by the position of tool 30 along the Z axis. Positioning the deburring tool
lower along the z axis would produce a wider chamfer, while raising the tool would cut a
narrower chamfer along the part edge.
An initial question raised by the appellant in the brief (pages 11-13) and reply
brief (pages 2-6) is whether or not Dombrowski is analogous art.
The test for non-analogous art is first whether the art is within the field of the
inventor's endeavor and, if not, whether it is reasonably pertinent to the problem with
which the inventor was involved. In re Wood, 599 F.2d 1032, 1036, 202 USPQ 171,
174 (CCPA 1979). A reference is reasonably pertinent if, even though it may be in a
different field of endeavor, it logically would have commended itself to an inventor's
attention in considering his problem because of the matter with which it deals. In re
Clay, 966 F.2d 656, 659, 23 USPQ2d 1058, 1061 (Fed. Cir. 1992).
In the present instance, we are informed by the appellant's originally filed
specification (page 3, lines 3-19) that
In an effort to address the problem of the blank edges catching on the
tool, the edges defined by the tools have been chamfered or otherwise relieved.
Historically, the process of chamfering the edges of the female stripping boards
and the female blanking tools, has been accomplished using a hand held router.
This often results in more material than is necessary being removed on more
edges than are necessary to prevent the advancing work material from catching.
Accordingly, when the stripping and blanking operations are performed, the
relieved edges on the tools causes the edges in the blank to become crushed or
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