Appeal No. 2001-2235 Page 5
Application No. 08/699,660
Knowlton ‘610 describes a process of sealing a bore by placing a fastener over a pellet on
a conveyor belt and heating to cause expansion of the pellet against the walls of the bore of the
fastener (Knowlton ‘610 at col. 1, l. 62 to col. 2, l. 10). To be “heat softenable and plastically
deformable,” a material must become softer when heated such that it can be reshaped without
rupture. Knowlton ‘610 employs a sealing element made from a thermo-expansible material
such as foam vinyl tape or epoxy (Knowlton ‘610 at col. 2, ll. 11-16). Epoxies are normally
thermosetting polymers. Thermosetting polymers do not soften upon heating. Nor is it clear
what one of ordinary skill in the art would have understood “foam vinyl tape” to mean. While
the Examiner finds that “[t]he pellet may be vinyl foam which can be a thermoplastic polymer”
(Answer at 4), Appellant, on the other hand, states that “a foam vinyl pellet is not thermo-
plastic.” (Brief at 11). The facts on the record fall short of establishing that one of ordinary skill
in the art would have selected a thermoplastic vinyl for use in the foam tape of Knowlton ‘610,
particularly in view of the fact that epoxy is also a suggested material. Nor can we rely on the
fact that claim 2 of Knowlton uses the terminology “foam plastic pellet” (col. 4, ll. 15). The term
“plastic” is often used in the art to refer to thermosetting as well as thermoplastic polymers. The
facts are insufficient to establish that one of ordinary skill in the art would have heated a heat
softenable plastically deformable pellet to a heat softened plastically deformable temperature in
the process of Knowlton ‘610.
To reject claims 1-10, the Examiner combines Villo with Knowlton ‘610. Villo describes
the formation of a thread lock by bonding a pellet 13 of plastic, such as polyamide, to a minor
Page: Previous 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 Next
Last modified: November 3, 2007