Appeal No. 2002-2092
Application 09/328,467
formed in the curved space, being provided for the resin to be
filled uniformly into the mold assembly.
The examiner’s position with regard to claims 5 and 6 is set
forth on page 4 of the answer as follows:
Yamaguchi discloses a method of molding a gasket using
a mold assembly having a male 20 and female 21 mold. The
molds assemble together to define spaces (cylinder (near
line 24 in Fig. 13), flat (radially outward of the
cylinder), and curved 51). A resin enters through gate 25
and fills the spaces to form a gasket for a battery cell.
The female mold includes an ejector sleeve 30. The spaces
do not include a narrow space from a projection with a
chamfer.
Passaniti teaches a gasket formed with a thin portion
having a chamfer that will rupture to vent pressures built
up in the cell. It would have been obvious for one of
ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was made
to modify the structure of the gasket and thus the mold to
include the thin portion with the chamfer to allow pressure
venting in the cell.
Like appellants, absent hindsight, we find no basis in the
teachings of Passaniti and Yamaguchi which would have provided
any reason, suggestion, or motivation for one of ordinary skill
in the art to attempt to modify the mold assembly and sealing
gasket of Yamaguchi (Figs. 10-17) in the manner proposed by the
examiner based on Passaniti. Moreover, even if some combination
thereof may have been possible, i.e., such as forming the
injection molded (col. 7, lines 60-61) sealing gasket seen in
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