Appeal No. 2006-0093
Application No. 10/295,326
Johnson in view of McWethy and McCoy, the examiner has relied
upon Johnson and McWethy as generally applied above and on McCoy
to additionally show a hitch tow bar (10) having a rectangular
configuration and an integral neck portion adjacent ball mounting
rack (14) that has a cross sectional width less than that of the
proximal portion of tow bar (12) that is intended to be affixed
to the towing vehicle (col. 5, lines 18-21). Based on the
combined teachings of Johnson, McWethy and McCoy, the examiner
has concluded that it would have been obvious to one of ordinary
skill in the art at the time of appellants’ invention to utilize
a tow bar in place of Johnson’s cylindrical tow bar (12) that
has a rectangular configuration as discussed in both McWethy and
McCoy, and which also incorporates a narrow neck portion with
upper and lower strengthening members as in McCoy to thereby
provide a hitch assembly that has improved physical
characteristics, reduced weight and lower overall cost.
Although it is true that McCoy does not specifically
describe a pintle hitch with the particular combination of
features set forth in appellants’ pending claims, that does
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