Ex Parte CLARK - Page 4




              Appeal No. 2002-2254                                                                  Page 4                 
              Application No. 09/456,046                                                                                   


              what subject matter is described by the reference.  As set forth by the court in Kalman                      
              v. Kimberly-Clark Corp., 713 F.2d 760, 772, 218 USPQ 781, 789 (Fed. Cir. 1983), cert.                        
              denied, 465 U.S. 1026 (1984), it is only necessary for the claims to "'read on' something                    
              disclosed in the reference, i.e., all limitations of the claim are found in the reference, or                
              'fully met' by it."                                                                                          


                     Claim 1 reads as follows:                                                                             
                            An apparatus for placement underneath a barbecue grill for catching and                        
                     collecting grease and splatter, comprised of:                                                         
                            a base mat, said base mat being of a generally rectangular shape;                              
                            a front drip edge, said front drip edge fastened along the front edge of                       
                     said base mat;                                                                                        
                            a rear drip edge, said rear drip edge fastened along the rear edge of said                     
                     base mat;                                                                                             
                            a left grease barrier, said left grease barrier fastened along a left right                    
                     edges [sic, a left edge] of said base mat;                                                            
                            a right grease barrier, said right grease barrier fastened along a right edge                  
                     of said base mat; and                                                                                 
                            wherein said front drip edge, said rear drip edge, said right grease barrier,                  
                     said left grease barrier, and said base mat form an open upper volume where                           
                     grease drippings and splatter may accumulate and eventually be discarded.                             


                     Sandaj describes a discharge container mat for use under most barbecues in                            
              order to over come the problems associated with the dripping and spilling of grease and                      
              fat which falls from barbecues, mostly during the cooking process.  The discharge                            
              container mat, by virtue of a combination of multiple projections in the surface of the                      








Page:  Previous  1  2  3  4  5  6  7  8  9  10  11  12  13  Next 

Last modified: November 3, 2007