Appeal 2007-1463 Page 11
Application 10/083,492
§ 41.37(c)(1)(vii) (2006). Claim 6 reads as follows:
6. An assembly for retaining a boot on a sports apparatus, said assembly
comprising:
a base provided to support a sole of the boot, the base being adapted
to be affixed to the sports apparatus;
a disk provided to retain the base on the sports apparatus, the disk
having at least two elongated holes extending through a thickness of the
disk;
at least two screws, said screws provided to extend through respective
ones of the elongated holes of the disk;
a plate provided to be positioned parallel to the disk and slidable along
a surface of the disk, at least two holes extending through a thickness of the
plate;
means for retaining the screws on the plate and for connecting the
plate to the disk when the base is not affixed to the sports apparatus, all of
the at least two screws provided to extend through respective ones of the
holes of the plate
A. Issue
The issue is whether claims 6, 38, and 41 run afoul of the second paragraph
of 35 U.S.C. § 112.
B. Findings of Fact
The record supports the following findings of fact (FF) by a preponderance
of the evidence.
1. The Examiner argues that
Claim 6 defines means for retaining the screws on the plate and for
connecting the plate to the disk when the base is not affixed to the sports
apparatus. Claims 38 and 41 define the screws as having means for retaining
the plate connected to the base when the screws are not screwed into the
sports apparatus. However, the structure comprising the means is not clear
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Last modified: September 9, 2013