Appeal No. 2004-1950
Application 09/352,612
requirement that involves the tensile strength in the longitudinal direction of all of the strips in
the grid . Cf. specification, page 3, ll. 3-22.
We find that Van Vliet would have disclosed to one of ordinary skill in this art4 mats or
grids made from overlapping drawn polymeric strips welded together at the zones of overlap,
wherein the strips are of any polymeric material which have a longitudinal direction and a
transverse direction, without regard to any dimensions, with the orientation of the molecular
structure of the polymeric strip in the longitudinal direction (e.g., abstract; page 1, ll. 2-29; page
2, ll. 5-10; page 2, l. 32, to page 3, l. 8; page 3, ll. 33-40; page 5, ll. 9-20). The welding of the
overlap zones is the result of electromagnetic heating of particles in one or both sides of one or
more of the strips, of which there can be more than two. Indeed, Van Vliet would have disclosed
to one of ordinary skill in this art that the strength of the welded overlap zones and of the mat or
grid can be determined and controlled as desired by the type and drawing of the strips and the
quantity and distribution of particles in the strips, such that the welded strips should “suffer the
minimum loss of strength” (e.g., page 1, l. 33-34; page 2, ll. 10-18; page 3, l. 23, to page 4, l. 18;
page 4, l. 31, to page 6, l. 20). In this respect, Van Vliet discloses that “[a]fter carrying out
welding, these mesh mats have almost the same strength as the sum of the strengths of the strips
or bands located in one direction,” which is the longitudinal direction (page 4, ll. 12-15). We
find that Van Vliet also discloses plastic packing straps which “in use are welded together at
their ends,” in which respect “it is important that the strength thereof is not weakened in the
region of
the weld” (e.g., page 3, ll. 4-22).
We find that Kobiella would have disclosed to one of ordinary skill in this art that an
unconventionally thin, wide strap of oriented, that is, drawn, polymers can be welded at its
overlapping ends in a manner that results in a fused joint or weld that retains “a sufficient
amount of tensile strength after formation of the joint to enable the strap to properly function in a
tensioned loop” (col. 1, ll. 57-63; col. 2, ll. 33-40). In this respect, Kobiella acknowledges that
4 It is well settled that a reference stands for all of the specific teachings thereof as well as the
inferences one of ordinary skill in this art would have reasonably been expected to draw
therefrom, see In re Fritch, 972 F.2d 1260, 1264-65, 23 USPQ2d 1780, 1782-83 (Fed. Cir.
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