Appeal No. 2000-2288
Application No. 08/960,576
We next look to the examiner's prior art rejections of
the appealed claims, turning first to the rejection of claims
1 through 5 and 7 through 24 under § 103(a) as being
unpatentable over Burton in view of Plaisted '958. After a
careful assessment of appellants' independent claims 1, 11, 15
and 19 and of the Burton and Plaisted '958 references, we must
agree with appellants' position as set forth in the brief
(pages 5-14) and in the reply brief, that the combined
teachings of the applied references do not disclose, teach or
suggest the mine stopping, kit, or method of installing a mine
stopping as defined in the claims before us on appeal. While
Burton generally discloses a mine stopping formed by employing
a wire mesh or screening (16) and applying a cement or plaster
material (18) to the wire mesh by spreading the cement or
plaster over the wire mesh and in contact with the walls,
floor and ceiling of the tunnel (col. 1, lines 52-60), it says
nothing about spraying the cement or plaster on the wire mesh
and nothing about mesh size. Plaisted '958 discloses a ready-
to-use plaster/mortar composition used for sealing mine
stoppings. The plaster/mortar material is said to differ from
the prior art ready-made mortar sealants which function by
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