Appeal No. 2002-2074 Application No. 09/494,965 The mere existence of functional and mechanical equivalence, however, does not establish obviousness. Expedients which are functionally equivalent to each other are not necessarily obvious in view of one another. In re Scott, 323 F.2d 1016, 1019, 139 USPQ 297, 299 (CCPA 1963). Although the devices disclosed by Garrett and Wood are both projectile launchers in a general sense, in reality they constitute distinctly different apparatuses serving distinctly different purposes. As pointed out by the appellants (see pages 3 and 4 in the reply brief), the pneumatic propulsion system disclosed by Wood is relatively complex and bulky as compared to the cartridge propulsion system disclosed by Garrett, and seemingly would be ill suited for the battlefield environment in which the Garrett grenade launcher is intended to be used. Considered in this light, the two systems would not appear to be functional or mechanical equivalents; but even if they were, the ostensible unsuitability of a pneumatic system as disclosed by Wood for use in a grenade launcher as disclosed by Garrett would have discouraged the substitution proposed by the examiner. It follows that the only suggestion for combining the two references so as to arrive at the subject matter recited in claims 1, 54, 62 and 63 stems from hindsight knowledge impermissibly derived from the appellants’ disclosure. 10Page: Previous 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 NextLast modified: November 3, 2007