Appeal No. 2003-1394
Application 09/620,202
DISCUSSION
Bakker, the examiner’s primary reference, discloses a
product packaging method comprising the steps of providing a
product support member in the form of an open-top container 12
having a cavity and a flange (see Figures 2 and 3), placing a
food or drink product such as a soft drink 128 in the container,
placing an oriented, heat shrinkable film 26 over the product
(see Figure 5), cutting the film at a location beyond the
perimeter of the container with a heated cutting means 94 (see
column 5, lines 2 through 7), sealing the film to the flange of
the container (see column 5, lines 22 through 26), and shrinking
the film across the top of the container (see column 5, lines 40
through 48). As conceded by the examiner (see page 3 in the
answer), this method does not meet the limitation in claim 20
requiring the step of “shrinking the oriented, heat shrinkable
film extending beyond the perimeter of the product support member
such that the oriented, heat shrinkable film shrinks back to the
flange and forms a bead thereon.” To overcome this deficiency,
the examiner turns to Stewart.
Stewart discloses a process for sealing a lid to a container
by dielectric heating. The container 20 and lid 21 are
structures made by “thermoforming, vacuum forming or solid phase
3
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