Appeal No. 2003-0493
Application No. 09/108,716
Rejections at Issue
Claims 31, 35, 36, 40, 41, 45, 46, and 50 stand rejected under 35 U.S.C.
§ 103 as being unpatentable over Thompson in view of Applicants’ disclosure of well-
known art.
Claims 32 through 34, 37 through 39, 42 through 44 and 47 through 49 stand
rejected under 35 U.S.C. § 103 as being unpatentable over Thompson in view of
Applicants’ disclosure of well-known art and Elischer.
Opinion
We have carefully considered the subject matter on appeal, the rejections
advanced by the examiner and the evidence of obviousness relied upon by the
examiner as support for the rejections. We have, likewise, reviewed and taken into
consideration, in reaching our decision, the appellants’ arguments set forth in the brief 1
along with the examiner’s rationale in support of the rejections and arguments in
rebuttal set forth in the examiner’s answer.
With full consideration being given to the subject matter on appeal, the
examiner’s rejections and the arguments of appellants and examiner, for the reasons
stated infra we reverse the examiner’s rejections of claims 31 through 50 under
35 U.S.C. § 103. Appellants argue on page 5 of the brief, that: “the mere fact that the
1This decision is based upon the Appeal Brief received August 23, 2001 (certified as being filed
on August 21, 2001, in accordance with 37 C.F.R. § 1.8(a)).
3
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