10452341 (B.P.A.I. Oct. 7, 2010)

Ex Parte Mohamed

Board of Patent Appeals and InterferencesOct 7, 2010

10452341 (B.P.A.I. Oct. 7, 2010)

UNITED STATES PATENT AND TRADEMARK OFFICE ____________ BEFORE THE BOARD OF PATENT APPEALS AND INTERFERENCES ____________ Ex parte ZAINUDIN BIN MOHAMED ____________ Appeal 2010-003636 Application 10/452,341 Technology Center 3600 ____________ Before LINDA E. HORNER, JENNIFER D. BAHR, and JOSEPH A. FISCHETTI, Administrative Patent Judges. BAHR, Administrative Patent Judge. DECISION ON APPEAL1 1 The two-month time period for filing an appeal or commencing a civil action, as recited in 37 C.F.R. § 1.304, or for filing a request for rehearing, as recited in 37 C.F.R. § 41.52, begins to run from the “MAIL DATE” (paper delivery mode) or the “NOTIFICATION DATE” (electronic delivery mode) shown on the PTOL-90A cover letter attached to this decision. Appeal 2010-003636 Application 10/452,341 2 STATEMENT OF THE CASE Zainudin Bin Mohamed (Appellant) appeals under 35 U.S.C. § 134 (2002) from the Examiner’s decision rejecting claims 19 and 21 under 35 U.S.C. § 103(a) as being unpatentable over Matsuda (US 6,328,169 B1, iss. Dec. 11, 2001) and Katsuura (US 5,593,046, iss. Jan. 14, 1997). We have jurisdiction over this appeal under 35 U.S.C. § 6 (2002). The Invention Appellant’s invention is directed to cassettes for wafers on film frames. Spec. 1:6-7. Claim 19, reproduced below, is illustrative of the claimed subject matter. 19. A method for holding and transporting thin planar objects, comprising the steps of: providing a cassette, said cassette comprising: a substantially open front side; two side panels positioned opposite and parallel to each other with a plurality of elongated opposing slots extending horizontally along the inner surface of each of said side panels for supporting thin planar objects along a portion of the perimeter of said objects; an expandable, sliding bar assembly providing connection between said side panels on the bottom side of the cassette; an adjustable length panel providing connection between said side panels on the cassette top side; and a spring-loaded locking means for locking the adjustable length panel at one of two predetermined lengths; providing a thin planar object of a first dimension; determining that the length of the adjustable length panel setting is suitable for the cassette to holding and transporting a thin planar object of the first dimension; and Appeal 2010-003636 Application 10/452,341 3 loading said thin planar object into said open front side of said cassette such that the perimeter of said object is supported by said elongated opposing slots. SUMMARY OF DECISION We REVERSE. ISSUE Each of the claims involved in this appeal requires an adjustable length panel connecting two side panels, and a spring-loaded lock for locking the adjustable length panel at one of two lengths. In rejecting the claims, the Examiner has concluded that it would have been obvious to combine Matsuda’s adjustable length connecting plate arrangement (3, 4) with Katsuura’s spring-loaded lock-unlock system (50). Ans. 5-6.2 Appellant argues that the Examiner’s proposed combination is based on hindsight and would destroy the intended purpose of the references. App. Br. 5-7. Thus, an issue joined in this appeal is whether the rejection establishes an apparent reason to replace the locking arrangement of Matsuda (sliding bolt 15 and slot 13, with locking nut) with a spring-loaded lock-unlock system as taught by Katsuura. 2 Apparently recognizing that the rack and pinion embodiment of Figures 7- 9 of Matsuda lacks an adjustable length panel connecting two side panels, the Examiner seems to have shifted from reliance on that embodiment of Matsuda, with the cam lever locking means, in the Final Rejection, to the embodiment shown in Figures 1-3 of Matsuda, with the sliding bolt 15 and slot 13 arrangement for adjusting the length of connecting plate 3, 4, in the Answer. Appeal 2010-003636 Application 10/452,341 4 DISCUSSION Matsuda discloses a bolt (15) and slot (13) arrangement (col. 3, ll. 16- 24) for continuous adjustment of the spacing of opposed side frame boards for accommodating variations in the width dimension of panel plates to be housed (col. 1, ll. 18-21). Katsuura’s spring-loaded lock-unlock system 50, on the other hand, is adapted for locking a rotatable hinge into one of a predetermined number (i.e., two) of positions, by engaging a rib on the lock pin with grooves and/or nicks on the collapsible legs, in order to lock the collapsible legs into either an expanded state or a collapsed state (col. 4, l. 35 to col. 5, l. 51; Figs. 4-9). As such, one of ordinary skill in the art would not have recognized the lock-unlock system of Katsuura as a suitable replacement for the continuously adjustable bolt and slot arrangement of Matsuda. The Examiner reasons that one of ordinary skill in the art would look to the Katsuura lock-unlock arrangement for locking the arms in one of a plurality of discrete positions “if they wished the widths to be restricted to a series of predetermined widths.” Ans. 8. While this statement may be accurate, as far as it goes, what is lacking here is an apparent reason, absent hindsight gleaned from Appellant’s disclosure, why a person of ordinary skill in the art, seeking to precisely accommodate panel plates of any dimension, as taught by Matsuda (col. 3, ll. 25-47), would seek to constrain the adjustment mechanism of Matsuda to accommodate only a series of predetermined widths. Appeal 2010-003636 Application 10/452,341 5 For the above reasons, we conclude that the rejection does not establish an apparent reason to replace the locking arrangement of Matsuda (sliding bolt 15 and slot 13, with locking nut) with a spring-loaded lock- unlock system as taught by Katsuura. DECISION The Examiner’s decision is reversed. REVERSED hh TEXAS INSTRUMENTS INCORPORATED P.O. BOX 655474, M/S 3999 DALLAS, TX 75265