Ex Parte Fitzell - Page 3

                 Appeal 2006-2211                                                                                       
                 Application 10/266,215                                                                                 

                 Accordingly, we will sustain the Examiner's rejection for the reasons set                              
                 forth in the Answer and we add the following primarily for emphasis.                                   
                        Appellant does not dispute the Examiner's factual determination that                            
                 Friesner, like Appellant, discloses an apparatus and method for producing a                            
                 sheet of thermoplastic material having variable thickness by extruding                                 
                 molten thermoplastic between two rollers, one of which has a surface                                   
                 contour that produces areas of different thickness on the thermoplastic sheet.                         
                 The rollers of Friesner have been cut or engraved for effecting the variation                          
                 in thickness of the thermoplastic sheet.                                                               
                 As acknowledged by the Examiner, the rollers of Friesner do not                                        
                 include a strip material thereon for creating a variation in thickness, as                             
                 presently claimed.  However, we fully concur with the Examiner that                                    
                 McAmish evidences the obviousness of employing the presently claimed                                   
                 strip material on the rollers as an alternative to the engraved rollers of                             
                 Friesner for forming a thermoplastic sheet having areas of reduced thickness.                          
                 Indeed, McAmish expressly discloses that, in impressing selected areas of a                            
                 thermoplastic sheet for bonding to a fabric, the rollers may include raised                            
                 areas provided by wrapping tape, such as Teflon, around the circumference                              
                 of the roller, or by engraving raised areas on the roller (see col. 5, ll. 31, et                      
                 seq.).  We note that Figure 4 of McAmish depicts lanes or narrow portions                              
                 of the thermoplastic that are of reduced thickness in high-bond regions.                               
                 Hence, based on the combined teachings of Friesner and McAmish, we have                                
                 no doubt that one of ordinary skill in the art would have found it obvious to                          
                 utilize Appellant's strip material on the rollers of Friesner as a variable                            
                 alternative to engraving the rollers.                                                                  


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