Appeal No. 97-0991
Application 08/436,660
According to Fine, this type of sealed connection suffers the
disadvantages of being non-detachable and inefficient to
produce (see column 1, lines 34 through 46). To overcome
these problems, Fine provides the insulated beverage container
shown in Figures 3 through 7. This container consists of an
inner liner 11 having an over-hanging lip portion 13 at its
upper edge and an outer shell 12 having a top edge portion 35
received within the over-hanging lip portion. The over-
hanging
lip portion includes an inwardly projecting bead 14 and the
upper edge of the shell includes outwardly protruding bands 27
and 28. The bead 14 is designed to be snap-fitted into the
groove 36 defined by the bands 27 and 28 to form a detachable,
fluid-tight joint between the liner and shell. Fine teaches
that the liner 11 and shell 12 may be constructed of a plastic
or other liquid-impervious insulating material and that the
bead 14 and bands 27 and 28 may be formed of the same material
as the liner and shell, respectively, or of a separate rubber
material (see column 4, lines 59 through 63; and column 6,
-5-
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Last modified: November 3, 2007