Appeal No. 2007-0484 9
mention."33 Ducharme reports that those of skill in the art are familiar with a
variety of insulating inserts and that such inserts commonly include external slots
to aid compression.34 Ducharme also confirms that varying configurations as
needed is within the ordinary skill in the art.35
Taken together, the evidence suggests a predictable art, where simple trials
are used to confirm the suitability of materials and configurations. A person
having ordinary skill in the art would be familiar with suitable materials, including
foams, for use in insulating enclosed structural spaces. The ordinary artisan would
be able to determine the configuration, including dimension, that would work for a
given context. The artisan would appreciate that slots and cavities of various
configurations would aid in installation. The artisan would also appreciate that
different sections may be connected by a hinge and that the hinge may be formed
by cutting a layer less than all of the way through to define two sections connected
by the uncut material.
Synthesis of the findings
Claim 1: a traversing slit
On appeal, Dow has not challenged the obviousness of the subject matter of
claim 1 except with regard to the traversing slit limitation. The addition of a
traversing slit across the primary face of the panel would have been obvious. The
art is predictable and those in the art knew to add slots and cuts across faces to
32 Page 20:11-13.
33 3:58-65.
34 1:21-50. Intriguingly, Ducharme cites the patented and unpatented work of one
Nickerson. Nickerson is reported to have inserts with slots running entirely across
the primary face of the inserts.
35 3:64-66.
Page: Previous 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Next
Last modified: September 9, 2013