Appeal No. 2001-1527
Application No. 08/753,265
53 USPQ2d 1580, 1586-87 (Fed. Cir. 2000) (citations and footnote
omitted).
With regard to claims 1 through 5, we have found that
Donohoe teaches that the outer annular region of a drum head
membranes may be formed by applying heat and pressure to the
membrane. Specifically, Donohoe states that “drum head
membrane 11 is made from a circular disk that has an outer
annular region thereof formed by the simultaneous application of
heat and pressure (thermo-forming) into a curved transverse cross
section.” (Donohoe at col. 5, ll. 48–52.) We do not find in
this statement any teaching that the drum head membrane as a
whole is thermoformed. Moreover, the examiner has not directed
our attention to such a teaching in the art relied on as evidence
of obviousness. Although we disagree with the examiner’s
statement that Donohoe does not teach the use of a mold, we agree
with the examiner that Donohoe does not teach a mold having
peripheral and center sections. The mold used to thermoform the
outer annular section of Donohoe’s drum head membranes might
itself have an annular cross section: it need not also mold the
center section of the membrane, and hence there need not be a
section of the mold that is reasonably characterized as the
“center section.” Accordingly, we find that substantial evidence
- 10 -
Page: Previous 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 Next
Last modified: November 3, 2007