Appeal No. 2002-0754
Application 09/046,797
We cannot sustain any of the rejections on appeal for the
reasons articulated below.
At the outset, it is critically important to recognize that
every one of appellant’s claims requires an “unpowered road
luge”. Read in light of the underlying disclosure, we have no
doubt whatsoever but that one skilled in this art would readily
comprehend that an unpowered luge is one that operates by running
downhill (specification, page 1). In other words, for its
operation the luge itself has no structure for powering it
manually or otherwise (e.g., it lacks pedals and a prime mover
such as a motor or engine). With the above understanding in
mind, we turn now to the examiner’s rejections.
Anticipation
The unpowered road luge defined in Claim 11 is not
anticipated by the low center-of-gravity cycle of Matsuura.
Simply stated, the cycle of Matsuura is provided with pedals for
powered operation by a rider. For the preceding reason, the
anticipation rejection is not sound and cannot be sustained.
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