Appeal No. 2002-1549 Page 4
Application No. 09/315,101
Independent claim 1 sets forth the invention in the following manner:
1. A table mountable on an uneven surface, said table comprising:
(I) a table top;
(ii) at least one adjustable leg, said leg having one end pivotally
attached to said table top and a second end resting on said uneven
surface;
(iii) an adjuster for independently adjusting each adjustable leg, said
adjuster being pivotally attached to said table top and said
adjustable leg; wherein
(iv) said adjuster can be varied to adjust the angle between said
adjustable leg and said table top thereby varying the height and
angle of said table top such that said table can be leveled on said
uneven surface.
Grover is directed to a support structure for a game table, such as a pool table,
which (1) allows the table top to be folded to a storage position and (2) to be leveled in
a playing position “to accommodate irregularities in the floor upon which the table is
supported” (column 2, lines 9-13; Figure 2). On page 3 of the Answer, the examiner
states that each of Grover’s “leg assemblies 16” comprises an adjustable leg and an
adjuster in accordance with the requirements of claim 1. We do not agree.
Each of the leg assemblies 16 comprises a “leg 36" (column 2, line 66; Figure 6),
a cross support member 18 secured to the underside of the table top and pivotally
attached to the leg 36 by means of a hinge 22 and a link 30, a caster support 40, and a
second hinge 38 which attaches leg 36 to caster support 40 (Figures 5 and 6). The
table top is stabilized and leveled in the playing position by four braces 70, each of
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