Appeal No. 1998-1452
Application 08/408,006
Nozaki, the examiner’s primary reference, pertains to a
weather strip for sealing, among other things, a slidable
window in an automobile. According to Nozaki, “conventional”
weather strips having hollow sealing areas made of solid
rubber are so
rigid it is difficult to move the window up and down (see
translation pages 2 and 3). Attempts to solve this problem by
making the hollow sealing areas of a more flexible sponge
rubber have been unsuccessful because the sponge rubber is
unduly deformable and stretchable (see translation pages 3 and
4). Nozaki’s solution is a weather strip having a hollow
portion made of both solid and sponge rubber. The particular
embodiments relied upon by the examiner (see pages 4 and 5 in
the answer) are shown in Figures 4 and 5 and include hollow
sealing areas 12 formed, at least in part, of a relatively
thin layer of solid rubber 16 backed by a layer of sponge
rubber 15.
Lynch which was set forth in the final rejection has not been
restated in the answer, we presume that it has been withdrawn
by the examiner (see Ex parte Emm, 118 USPQ 180, 181 (Bd. App.
1957)).
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