Appeal No. 1997-1619
Application No. 08/278,154
Claim 6, the only independent claim, is illustrative of the subject matter on appeal
and reads as follows:
6. A method for preparing an article of manufacture said article
comprising at least one chamber enclosed by a solid, air-tight, encapsulating
material, (A) the pressure inside the at least one chamber having a vacuum
characteristic of being less than atmospheric pressure and (B) the encapsulating
material of sufficient strength to maintain the integrity and the vacuum characteristic
of the at least one chamber the method comprising:
(1) contacting, in an environment of less than atmospheric pressure, (a)
the surface of a preformed article that is porous to gases with (b) an encapsulation
of a liquid material that solidifies into an air-tight, encapsulating material and
(2) in the same environment of less than atmospheric pressure as in step
(1), solidifying the liquid material to form thereby an air-tight, encapsulated article.
The reference relied upon by the examiner is:
Deschamps et al. (Deschamps) 3,769,770 November 6, 1973
Prior Art Rejection
A Claims 6-9 and 42 stand rejected under 35 U.S.C. § 103, with the examiner relying
upon Deschamps as evidence of obviousness. We reverse.
Claims at Issue
B. Claim 6, representative of the claims on appeal, is directed to a method for
preparing an article of manufacture,
1. comprising the steps of –
a. in an environment of less than atmospheric pressure, contacting the
2
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