Appeal No. 96-3737
Application No. 08/203,840
McNeal et al. clearly discloses a block of material
(22) in Figure 2 that has a thickness greater than
the depth of the recess. Further, McNeal et al.
clearly states at col. 6, line 66, that rubber may
be used. Rubber is a resilient, compliant material.
As for the claim requirement that the material deform and fill
the recess, the examiner urges that, "although the plug [of
McNeal] has the shape of the cavity[,] it could be said to
deform when pressure is applied" and, in any event, that "one
of the
other embodiments in McNeal et al. as illustrated in Figures 2
and 3 clearly shows that the plug is deformed to fill the
shape of the recess" (answer, page 7).
The examiner's aforequoted rationale is faulty in a
number of respects. First, although figures 2 and 3 of McNeal
may show a "block" 22 of material which deforms and fills a
recess, these figures do not illustrate a fabricating method
having positioning and applying steps of the type here claimed
as the examiner believes. Instead, figures 2 and 3 show the
steps for transforming thermoplastic layer 22 into a shaped
plug 30 via a structure including "dummy" layers which
simulate the multilayer structure and recess to be
subsequently fabricated (e.g., see lines 27 through 63 in
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