Appeal No. 1999-0170
Application No. 08/588,020
in the art the obviousness of the invention as set forth in
claims 1-10, 13-17, and 20-24. Accordingly, we reverse.
In rejecting claims under 35 U.S.C. § 103, it is
incumbent upon the Examiner to establish a factual basis to
support the legal conclusion of obviousness. See In re Fine,
837
F.2d 1071, 1073, 5 USPQ2d 1596, 1598 (Fed. Cir. 1988). In so
doing, the Examiner is expected to make the factual
determinations set forth in Graham v. John Deere Co., 383 U.S.
1,
17, 148 USPQ 459, 467 (1966), and to provide a reason why one
having ordinary skill in the pertinent art would have been led
to
modify the prior art or to combine prior art references to
arrive
at the claimed invention. Such reason must stem from some
teaching, suggestion, or implication in the prior art as a
whole
or knowledge generally available to one having ordinary skill
in
the art. Uniroyal, Inc. v. Rudkin-Wiley Corp., 837 F.2d 1044,
5
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