Appeal No. 1999-1713
Application No. 08/716,037
material through the openings of a stencil. As explained by
appellants, the thrust of Schoenthaler's invention is the use of
a pair of elastomeric blades, rather than a single blade, to
force the viscous material into the stencil openings.
Schoenthaler utilizes pressure simply to dispense the viscous
material into the working area, where it is subsequently urged
into the stencil openings by the force applied by the blades.
The examiner contends that without the downward pressure
applied in the Schoenthaler device, "deposition of the viscous
paste through the stencil openings would not occur" (page 8 of
Answer, first paragraph). The examiner cites column 6,
lines 18-23 of Schoenthaler for expressly teaching that "without
actuation of the pressure means, dispensing of the paste is
terminated" (Id.). However, the examiner's reasoning is correct
only in a philosophical sense, i.e., deposition of the paste
through the openings would not occur if the paste was first not
dispensed. Likewise, the paste would not be deposited through
the stencil openings if it was not first formulated. Manifestly,
although formulating the paste in a kettle and dispensing it
under pressure into the work area are prerequisites for forcing
the paste through the stencil openings, it cannot be gainsaid
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Last modified: November 3, 2007