Appeal No. 2004-1881
Application No. 09/623,681
providing a sub-structure 104, 110, assembling an outer layer 102
to the sub-structure, injecting shim material 120, in liquid form,
into the void area between the sub-structure and the outer layer by
means of a caulking gun 124, and curing the thus deposited shim
material. It also appears that the cured shim material may then
optionally be machined (column 7, lines 41-43).
As an alternative to the above, Thomas discloses that the shim
material may be pressed or calendered into preformed strips and
applied to the sub-structure in strip form prior to mating of the
parts (column 7, lines 36-38). Thus, when the method of Thomas is
practiced using shim material comprising preformed strips, the
Thomas method would appear to comprise the steps of providing a
sub-structure, positioning the preformed shim material on the sub-
structure, assembling an outer layer to the sub-structure, curing
the shim material, and optionally machining the cured shim
material.
In rejecting the appealed claims, the examiner notes the
teaching of Thomas of the shim material provided as a preformed
strip of material and concludes:
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill
in the art at the time the invention was made to have
substituted the shim material of Thomas, preformed into
strips and applied in strip form prior to mating of the
parts, for the shim material of AAPA, to facilitate
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