Appeal No. 2005-0919
Application No. 10/224,258
for use in an aeration tank (e.g., see figures 3 and 4 of
patentees’ drawing, lines 4-57 in column 4, lines 64-68 in column
7 and lines 1-35 in column 8). Like the here claimed plastic
panels, these non-woven mats are made of synthetic materials such
as polyvinyl chloride and polyesters (compare appealed claim
5 with lines 25-32 in column 4 of Kuriyama). Further, just as
the claim 1 panels have cavities therein, likewise do patentees’
mats have interstices (e.g., see lines 18-22 in column 4) or open
spaces (e.g., see lines 41-47 in column 6).
In light of the aforenoted structural correspondence between
the subject matter claimed by the appellants and disclosed by
Kuriyama, the examiner finds appealed claim 1 to be anticipated
by the applied reference. Additionally, the examiner urges that
his anticipation finding is further supported by the fact that
patentees’ mat corresponds to accepted definitions of the term
“panel.” For example, the examiner states that “[p]er ‘Merriam
Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary’, Tenth Edition, 1997, page 839,
‘panel’ is defined as ‘2b(1) a thin usu. rectangular board set in
a frame (as in a door)’” and that “Kuriyama . . . disclose[s] a
-3-
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