Appeal No. 2001-1195
Application No. 09/154,485
BACKGROUND
The invention relates to sets of structures for switch consoles for household
appliances, such as washing machines and laundry dryers, having a plurality of control
panel types. Claim 1 is reproduced below.
1. In a multiplicity of household appliances having cabinet-shaped housings
and switch consoles, a structural set for the switch consoles, comprising:
at least two different types of control panels including a first control panel and a
second control panel each having control elements configured differently from
right to left;
a plurality of identical printed circuit boards to be mounted behind each of said at
least two different types of control panels;
a switching device mounted on each of said identical printed circuit boards and
actuated by one of said control elements; and
said control elements of said first control panel having a configuration organized
in a substantially mirror-symmetrical pattern relative to a configuration of said
control elements of said second control panel.
The examiner relies on the following references:
Coates et al. (Coates) 4,798,424 Jan. 17, 1989
Ohashi 5,200,884 Apr. 6, 1993
Claims 1-10 stand rejected under 35 U.S.C. § 103 as being unpatentable over
Coates and Ohashi.
We refer to the Final Rejection (Paper No. 9) and the Examiner’s Answer (Paper
No. 14) for a statement of the examiner’s position and to the Brief (Paper No. 13) and
the Reply Brief (Paper No. 15) for appellant’s position with respect to the claims which
stand rejected.
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