Appeal 2007-0689
Application 10/329,825
material such as aluminum” and including a base 4, an annular wall 5
extending downwardly from the base and terminating in a peripheral edge 6,
and a central supporting structure 7 joined with and extending downwardly
from the base (Hillburger, col. 3, ll. 23-30).
FF4. Holman discloses a method of forming tubing by welding together
two surfaces of non-ferrous metal such as aluminum or aluminum alloy, for
example, comprising the steps of feeding a flat strip 10 of non-ferrous metal
into a machine, using wire wheels 18 to eliminate all oxides and foreign
elements from adjoining surfaces to be welded, welding the surfaces, and
applying transverse pressure to the weld during its transformation from a
solid to a molten to a solid state. No flux is used during the welding step.
The edges of the tubular strip are welded in butting relation, thus forming
smooth internal faces and eliminating waste of material (Holman, col. 1, ll.
37-51, 70-71, col. 2, ll. 19-26). Holman’s method produces a simple,
hollow, cylindrical longitudinal-seam welded aluminum alloy tube. Holman
does not disclose any particular application for the aluminum alloy tubes
produced by the method and, in particular, does not disclose use of these
tubes for air spring pistons.
PRINCIPLES OF LAW
Where obviousness is based on a combination of prior art references,
the fact finder must determine what the prior art teaches, whether it teaches
away from the claimed invention, and whether it motivates a combination of
the teachings of the references to arrive at the claimed invention. DyStar
Textilfarben GmbH & Co. Deutschland KG v. C.H. Patrick Co., 464 F.3d
1356, 1363, 80 USPQ2d 1641, 1647 (Fed. Cir. 2006).
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