Appeal No. 2002-2033 Page 4
Application No. 08/894,063
rounded portions which join respective said lateral edges to said inner wall
segments; and
wherein said profile is constant over the entire useful height of the female
driving portion such that said lateral edges of said splines comprise driving
surfaces in co-operation with substantially conjugated spline surfaces of a
correspondingly shaped male torque transfer component when the male
transfer component is inserted into said profile, and such that said inner
wall segments comprise driving surfaces in co-operation with a square
drive when the square drive is inserted into said profile.
The examiner has rejected claim 34 under 35 U.S.C. § 103(a) as being obvious
in view of the combined teachings of Stolarczyk and Spagnoli. In arriving at this
conclusion, the examiner has found all of the subject matter recited in claim 34 to be
disclosed by Stolarczyk except for the number of splines and inner wall segments, and
the orientation of the inner wall segments and the splines such that the device is
capable of receiving a drive that cooperates with the lateral edges of the radial splines
as well as a square drive that cooperates with the inner wall segments. However, the
examiner has taken the position that it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill
in the art to modify the Stolarczyk torque transfer device in such a manner as to meet
the terms of claim 34 in view of the teachings of Spagnoli, considering further that the
selection of the specified sizes would have “involved a mere change in the size of a
component,” which “will not alone constitute invention” (Answer, pages 3 and 4). The
appellant argues that no suggestion exists for modifying the device disclosed in the
primary reference in such a manner as to meet the terms of the claim.
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