Appeal No. 2001-2126
Application 09/141,069
Thies (See appendix B) shows a base (3) having [3]
a rigid projecting arm (5) extending from said base,
an anvil-shaped stop block (13) at a distal end of
said projecting arm, a flexible member (2) overlaps
and [is] fused to the a portion of distal end of
said projecting arm at a location adjacent to said
stop block, said base and said projecting arm being
constructed of a resin, said flexible member being
constructed of a flexible resin attached to said
projecting arm, said projecting [arm] being
angularly offset from said base at an acute angle,
said base being substantially rectangular with the
projecting arm attached to said base proximate a
corner thereof.
Thies’s structure is inherently capable of
being adapted to be used in conjunction with the
door and its usage conditions [answer, page 4].
The examiner’s determination that Thies’ limb 4 (the
numeral 13 referred to by the examiner denotes the
thermoplastic material of limb 4) constitutes a stop block (or
means) as recited in the claims on appeal is not well taken.
As indicated above, independent claim 1 requires the stop
block to be “adapted to engage the door when the door is in
the closed position.” In a similar vein, independent claim 14
recites a stop block “for positioning the door when the door
is in the closed position,” independent claim 18 calls for
3Appendix B, which is attached to the answer, consists of
a copy of Thies’ drawings with Figure 1 color coded and
labeled in accordance with the examiner’s analysis.
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