Appeal 2007-0020
Application 10/680,510
shape as long as it is in a shape with flat sides, it can be easily held by a machine in
a factory and thus pouring and filling developing liquids can be achieved easily at
a factory” (¶ 0021).
The Appellants argue that JP ‘432 does not disclose a flange having an odd
number of straight edges (Br. 23; Reply Br. 12-13). That argument is not
persuasive for the reason given above regarding the rejection over Collette in view
of Du Pree, i.e., any 3 or 5 edges of the flange in JP 432’s figure 1 total an odd
number. Moreover, JP ‘432 discloses that the flange can have shapes other than
orthogonal, such as square and octagonal, and that as long as the flange has flat
sides it can be easily held by a machine in a factory and thus pouring and filling
easily can be achieved (¶ 0021). Although each of the three shapes mentioned in
JP ‘432 has an even number of sides, the disclosure that the flange can have shapes
other than hexagonal as long as the shape has flat sides would have indicated to
one of ordinary skill in the art that the flange can have not only an even number of
sides but also the only other possibility, i.e., an odd number, provided that the sides
are flat. See KSR Int’l. Co. v. Teleflex Inc., 127 S.Ct. 1727, 1742, 82 USPQ2d
1385, 1397 (2007)(“When there is a design need or market pressure to solve a
problem and there are a finite number of identified, predictable solutions, a person
of ordinary skill has good reason to pursue the known options within his or her
technical grasp.”).
For the above reasons we are not convinced of reversible error in the
rejection of claims 28-35, 38-42, 74-76, 79 and 80 over Collette in view of JP ‘432.
Claims 36, 37, 59, 60 and 81-84
The Appellants argue that Collette and JP ‘432 do not disclose a flange
having an outer perimeter in the shape of a heptagon (Br. 24). JP ‘432 discloses a
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