Appeal No. 2004-1319
Application 09/933,329
that it is now clear from the comments on pages 4 and 5 of the
answer (Paper No. 16) that the examiner is of the opinion that
Fuca discloses a wrench or fastening tool (10) meeting all of the
requirements of representative independent claim 1, except that
mandating the body of the tool to have “an outer hand-engaging
surface with a uniform outside diameter from its first end to its
second end.” The examiner also points to the requirements in
dependent claims 5 and 6 regarding flutes on the outer hand-
engaging surface extending from the first end to the second end
of the body, and the requirement of dependent claim 7 that the
body be formed of a polymeric material, noting that such features
are not taught or suggested in Fuca. To account for the above-
noted differences, the examiner looks to the teachings of Parker
or Rosenbaum, contending that these patents each suggest that a
hand-held tool can have flutes along a uniform diameter outer
hand-engaging surface of a wrench body and that such a tool can
be formed of polymeric material. Based on the collective
teachings of Fuca and Parker, or Fuca and Rosenbaum, the examiner
has now concluded that it would have been obvious to one of
ordinary skill in the art at the time of appellant’s invention to
modify the tool of Fuca by providing it with a body having a
uniform outer diameter hand-engaging surface and flutes extending
4
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