Appeal No. 2003-0601 Page 2
Application No. 09/470,748
INTRODUCTION
The claims are directed to a bar rail mat for supporting a wet glass. The mat captures
moisture and spillage from the glass positioned thereon. The specification indicates that prior art
bar rail mats typically included a compartment with pegs to support the wet glass (specification,
p. 2, ll. 7-9). Appellant’s bar rail mat uses a system of spaced-apart elongated members instead
of pegs. Claim 1 is illustrative of the claimed structure:
1. A bar rail mat for holding a wet glass thereon comprising:
an elongated trough having a first end, a second end, a first side and a second side
wherein the distance from the first side to the second side of said trough is less than the distance
from the first end to the second end of the trough, and a bottom with a side wall of a first height
extending therearound to form a closed fluid retention compartment to maintain a fluid therein;
and
a plurality of spaced-apart, elongated, resilient members located in said fluid retention
compartment to thereby form an elongated fluid chamber between each of said plurality of
spaced apart elongated members, said elongated, resilient members sufficiently soft to absorb the
shock of placing a glass thereon without breaking the glass, each of said spaced apart elongated
resilient members integral to said elongated trough with each of said plurality of spaced apart
elongated resilient members extending upward from the bottom of said elongated trough, said
plurality of elongated members positioned extending from proximate said first end to proximate
said second end of the elongated trough, and cooperating with each other to form a top surface
for supporting a glass in a stable upright position on the top surface with each of said plurality of
elongated resilient members having a length less than the length of the fluid retention
compartment to allow fluid spillage into one chamber to flow into other chambers.
All of the claims stand rejected under 35 U.S.C. § 103(a). As evidence of obviousness,
the Examiner relies upon the following:
Kenworthy 237,983 Feb. 22, 1881
Holbert 1,045,290 Nov. 26, 1912
Gray 2,378,628 Jun. 19, 1945
Official Notice
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