Appeal No. 2006-0790
Reexamination Control No. 90/005,117
reexamination proceeding.1 Because the examiner has made out a
prima facie case of obviousness with respect to claims 1 through
12 and since the appellant (patent owner) has failed to direct
us to persuasive evidence in rebuttal, we affirm as to these
5 claims. With respect to claim 13, however, we reverse because
the examiner has not met the initial burden of proving a prima
facie case of obviousness.
Accordingly, the examiner’s decision is affirmed in part.
10 The Appealed Subject Matter
The subject matter on appeal relates to a treadmill having,
inter alia, “a base reorientable from a first position in which
the user performs exercises and a second position or storage
position in which the base may be further reoriented for
15 transport about a support surface.” (‘624 patent at column 1,
lines 5-9.) In one embodiment, the treadmill comprises a
specified support structure, tread base, handle means, roller
means, and a gas spring for stably retaining the tread base in a
second (or storage) position. (Claims 1-12.) In another
1 This proceeding is a reexamination of United States
Patent 5,676,624 (hereinafter ‘624 patent) issued to Watterson
et al. on October 14, 1997, based on application 08/594,271
filed on January 30, 1996.
2
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