Appeal No. 2000-1307 Page 8
Application No. 08/474,314
rectangular cross member frame sections is positioned substantially near the upper end
of the forward legs 14 and 16 and is connected to the rear legs 10, 12 at a point
intermediate their ends. The lower of the two cross member frame sections is
connected to the several chair legs at the bottom ends thereof. The vertical position of
sections 24, 26 relative to the legs may be varied as deemed necessary or desirable for
appearance, use and assembly, as long as requisite rigidity of the structure is retained.
Body support in the illustrated chair is formed by a plurality of slats, of which only two
are shown at 28 and 30, with slat 30 being broken away for clarity of the illustration.
The examiner's position
The examiner concluded (answer, pp. 3-4) that it would have been obvious to a
person of ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was made to have modified
the chair of Thaden to employ a shell structure as taught by Deegener to ensure
greater stability and with respect to claims 29 and 48 to further employ interconnecting
frame members as taught by Burton to enable the assembly of the chair without the
need for tools.
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