Appeal No. 2006-0093
Application No. 10/295,326
from the “ball member” (Fig. 1). What Johnson does not show or
disclose relative to appellants’ claimed subject matter is a
longitudinal tow bar with a rectangular cross section or an
aperture proximate the end of the tow bar adjacent the towing
vehicle for receiving a pin.
To address those deficiencies in Johnson, the examiner
turns to McWethy, noting that this patent discloses a tow hitch
apparatus including a pintle hitch with a pintle (61) and ball
members (56a, 56b, 56c) coupled to a longitudinal tow bar (12,
18) having a rectangular or square cross section. The examiner
also notes that the rectangular/square tow bar in McWethy is
configured to engage a similarly shaped receiver (20) that is to
be affixed to the towing vehicle and includes an aperture (30 or
32) proximate the end of the tow bar adjacent the towing vehicle
for receiving a pin (38) to couple the tow bar to the receiver
(20) and via it to the towing vehicle. From the examiner’s
perspective, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill
in the art at the time of appellants’ invention to replace the
cylindrical tow bar (12) of Johnson with a rectangular/square
tow bar like that seen in McWethy and to utilize a receiver and
pin arrangement like that of McWethy to secure the tow bar to
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