Appeal No. 2005-1988
Application No. 09/822,651
On page 7 of the answer, it is the examiner’s position that
Shepard teaches that hook-shaped fastener elements are
functionally equivalent to mushroom head shaped fastener elements
for releasably engaging a loop material, and refers to column 2,
lines 22-24 and column 6,lines 46-47 of Shepard. The examiner’s
position is that it would have been obvious to have used mushroom
head shaped fastener elements in Thomas instead of hook-shaped
fastener elements because Shepard teaches that the hook-shaped
fastening elements are functionally equivalent to mushroom head-
shaped fastener elements for releasably engaging a loop material.
Claim 38 requires that each stem, as set forth in claim 21,
comprises a mushroom head. As taught by Shepard, hook and loop
fasteners include a loop component and a hook component. The
fastener elements of the hook component may be hook or mushroom
shaped. See column 2, lines 21-24.
Thomas is directed to a refastening fastening device of a
hook and loop variety. See column 1,lines 17-20. The fastening
system may include a male component including a plurality of
hooks and a female component including a plurality of loops. See
column 3, lines 28-33. The male portion of the device according
to Thomas is referred to as the hook fastening component. See
column 4, lines 46-47. The female portion 20 includes a
plurality of free formed loop components. See column 4, lines
or loop. Hence, appellants’ argument regarding a distinction between
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