Appeal No. 2006-0132
Application No. 09/946,627
REJECTION 3)
As evidence of obviousness of the subject matter defined by
claims 18 through 21 under 35 U.S.C. § 103(a), the examiner
relies on the combined disclosures of Wanthal, Campbell, at least
Berscuh, Sheahen and/or Owens and optionally Alston. The
disclosures of Wanthal and Campbell are discussed above. The
examiner recognizes that Wanthal and Campbell do not mention
adhering over-wrap plies to pre-form as required by claims 18
through 21. See the Answer, pages 11-12.
To remedy this deficiency, the examiner refers to the
disclosures of Bersuch and/or Sheahen and/or Owens and optionally
Alston. Id. The examiner finds (the Answer, pages 11-12), and
the appellants do not dispute (the Brief, page 15), that:
It is well known in the art of bonding structural
composites to adhere over-wrap plies to pre-forms in
order to provide a more secure joint. For example,
Bersuch (page 9) and/or Sheahen (pages 6-7) and /or
Owens (page 404, figure 7) disclose applying composite
over-wrap plies on an exterior surface of a woven pre-
form. Whether the over-wrap plies are adhered prior to
or after the insertion of the pins is well within the
purview of one of ordinary skill in the art....
Optionally, Alston shows it is known in the art to
provide structural pins either through all the layers
of composite (column 4, lines 56-67; figure 2) or to
place some layers of composite, insert the pins, and
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