Appeal No. 2004-1701
Application No. 09/697,647 Page 3
While Thurm discloses a motorcycle gas tank cover, the
examiner basically acknowledges that Thurm does not disclose that
the tank protective cover includes a plurality of resilient
suction connectors distributed over the inner surface of each
cover member and that each such connector has a suction cup
portion releasably engageable with a side frontal portion of the
motorcycle fuel tank. Rather, Thurm teaches that the cover
members are secured to the motorcycle with nuts and bolts passing
through flanges connected to the tank cover members. See, e.g.,
column 2, lines 60-67 and drawing figures 5a and 5b of Thurm.
While Wagner does disclose securing a side bumper to a passenger
vehicle side door with a plurality of suction cups (30, figures 2
and 5) in combination with a locking device (32, figures 2 and
6), the examiner has not reasonably explained how the teachings
of using suction cups and a locking device for a side bumper as
taught in Wagner would have led one of ordinary skill in the art
to replace the nut and bolt assembly of Thurm with suction cups
only sold for securing a motorcycle gas tank cover.
In this regard, the examiner has not provided adequate
evidence that suction cup connectors by themselves are
interchangeable with nuts and bolts for securing, solely in use,
covers of the type taught by Thurm to the external surface of a
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