Appeal No. 2005-1635 Application No. 09/782,036 heating and pressing the preheated raw material layer of thermoplastic particles between the upper belt and the lower belt of the twin belt press to form a thermoplastic sheet of welded (fused) particles; and cooling and pressing the sheet. See figure 1. Brinkmann et al[.] also teaches making a composite sheet by applying the thermoplastic particles on a textile sheet and pressing the thermoplastic into a composite sheet in the treatment zone. See column 3[,] lines 60-68 and col. 7[,] lines 52-58. Nor have the appellants challenged the examiner’s determination at pages 9 and 10 of the Answer that: [I]t would have been obvious to use a smoothing roller in addition to the nip rollers for applying pressure in the belt press in view of (a) Brinkmann et al[.]'s teaching to apply heat and pressure in a belt press, (b) Bradshaw et al[.]'s teaching to apply heat and pressure in a belt press wherein nip rolls are used to apply pressure in the press and (c) Weaver's suggestion that a pair of rollers (heated roll 19, back roll 20 at low temperature) for forming a floor covering having a glossier surface may be used after applying heat and pressure. With respect to claim 1, the appellants appear to focus only on forming a laminated floor covering by using a conveyor belt to coat both sides of a substrate with thermoplastic powder. See, e.g., the Brief, pages 5-8 and the Reply Brief, pages 4-5. The dispositive question is, therefore, whether one of ordinary skill in the art would have been led to employ the method suggested by Brinkmann alone, or together with Weaver 6Page: Previous 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 NextLast modified: November 3, 2007