Appeal No. 1999-2033 Page 5
Application No. 08/737,928
tapered slightly so that the slugs may be knocked out by merely tapping the bottom plate
30 when it is disassociated from the blade 22. Ostensibly, an important feature of Reach’s
invention is that the weights or slugs be removably insertable into the sockets or holes to
accommodate adjustments in weight distribution as desired.
One skilled in the art at the time of appellants’ invention would not have viewed the
weights or slugs of Reach as being “non-removably connected” to the housing (plate 30)
as required in appellants’ independent claim 12. We have not overlooked the examiner’s
position, as articulated on pages 6-7 of the answer, that the weights of Reach are “not
‘removable’ when the housing is ‘located in said open cavity’ as recited in the second
paragraph of claim 12," but we do not consider this position to be well taken. As Reach
discloses a detachable connection of the plate 30 to the blade 22, the plate 30 may be
disassociated or detached from the blade 22 at any time, thereby permitting access to the
sockets or openings for removal of the weights or slugs at any time as disclosed by Reach.
The examiner’s statement on page 7 of the answer that claims 22 and 24 do not even
require that the weights be “non-removable” is perplexing, as these claims both depend
from claim 12, which expressly recites that the weight is “non-removably connected to said
housing.”
Having determined that Reach fails to disclose the feature of claim 12 that the
weight be “non-removably” connected to the housing, we conclude that this claim is not
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