Appeal No. 2004-2196
Application 09/902,055
The rod heaters 136 and 138 increase or decrease the lip temperature in various
longitudinal zones of the web 124 depending upon the signal transmitted based upon
measuring the downstream gauge thickness of the extruded web 124. By increasing the
temperature, the lateral “fill in flow” is increased which enables a higher pressure of
the polymer being extruded to act upon the opposing surfaces of the die lips 112 and
114 in the area of the higher temperature. This causes a very slight additional flexure
in the flexure zone 117 of the die lip 114 in the affected area to extrude more polymer
therethrough and thus increase the extruded web gauge. [Col. 6, ll. 46-58; see also
Moriarity FIGs. 2 and 3.]
We further find that Moriarity would have disclosed that other types of heaters can be used in
place of the rod heaters, with and without thrust elements 120, “so long as the locations are
coordinated with the gauge monitoring locations for activating and deactivating the appropriate
heating element or elements” (col. 6, l. 62, to col. 7, l. 8).
We further cannot agree with appellants’ arguments that Ludwig “teaches away from
being the die body.” We find no disclosure in Ludwig which would have taught or suggested to
one of ordinary skill that a die such as that of Moriarity cannot be used in Ludwig’s apparatus,
see In re Gurley, 27 F.3d 551, 552-53, 31 USPQ2d 1130, 1131-32 (Fed. Cir. 1994),4 or that the
die of Moriarty was discredited. See generally, In re Young, 927 F.2d 588, 591-92, 18 USPQ2d
1089, 1091-92 (Fed. Cir. 1991). Thus, the issue is whether the combined teachings of Ludwig
and Moriarity would have suggested to one of ordinary skill in the art to modify the die of
Ludwig with the die lip controls taught by Moriarity.
We have carefully compared the shape of the contact surface 8 of coating heads 5, 5a and
5b of the dies heated with heating element 10 described in Figs. 1, 2 and 5 and associated
disclosure of Ludwig with the corresponding area of die 110, that is, die lips 112 and 114, of the
die with heating elements 136 and 138 as described in Figs. 1, 2 and 5 and associated disclosure
of Moriarity, as well as the relationship between the coating head, the perforated cylinder 3 and
the counterpressure roller 4 as described by Ludwig in this respect, in light of the arguments of
4 “A reference may be said to teach away when a person of ordinary skill, upon reading the
reference would be discouraged from following the path set out in the reference, or would be led
in a direction divergent from the path that was taken by the applicant. The degree of teaching
away will of course depend on the particular facts; in general, a reference will teach away if it
suggests that the line of development flowing from the reference’s disclosure is unlikely to be
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