Appeal No. 2005-0182
Application No. 09/783,392
We determine that the examiner has established a reasonable belief
that the seat belts of Cave and Miyamoto possess the characteristic
or function “to prevent slippage from the user’s grip” as required
by claim 1 on appeal. Both references teach a “printed face” which
is “embossed”, i.e., a character, mark or pattern is raised from
the surface of the seat belt, as required by claim 1 on appeal.4
Miyamoto discloses a pattern of high visibility material 2 attached
to the surface of the seat belt by stitching or chemical bonding
(page 1, ll. 29-39). As seen from Figure 3, the high visibility
material 2 is raised in relief from the surface 1 of the seat belt.
Similarly, Cave discloses applying a fiber pile in the form of a
pattern to one or both sides of a seat belt (page 2, ll. 1-2, 6-7,
and 21-22). This fiber pile of Cave is disclosed as “upstanding”
(page 3, l. 7) and, as shown by Figures 2 and 3, is raised in
relief from the surface of the seat belt. Accordingly, the
examiner has shown reasonable belief that the embossed “printed
3(...continued)
F.2d 705, 708, 15 USPQ2d 1655, 1658 (Fed. Cir. 1990).
4“Embossed” is defined in the specification as “solidly
displayed, stands out on the seat belt” (page 7, l. 20, and page
8, ll. 19-22). The ordinary meaning of “embossed” is “to raise
in relief from a surface ... either by carving or handiwork, or
... mechanical means.” Webster’s Third New International
Dictionary, p. 740, Gove, ed., G. & C. Merriam Co., 1971.
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