Appeal No. 2005-1574
Application 09/753,428
shaper and is cooled” and “leaves the . . . shaper in a hardened form which then fully hardens
and cools” (col. 2, ll. 5-45). Cope illustrates the preparation of such a profile in FIG. 2,
disclosing a system comprising extruder 24, shaper 26, puller 34 and cut-off table 36, wherein
“the extruded profile 58 is pulled through the die and formed” (col. 3, ll. 6-11). Cope further
illustrates the process in FIG. 3, disclosing that worm 44 forces the material through die 46 and
shaper 48, wherein shaper 48 “has substantially the same cross-sectional shape as the die,” and
includes “cylindrical sleeve 50 with a smooth guide wall” and heat controlling jacket 52 for
“temperature regulating fluid,” and wherein puller 34 draws extruded profile 58 from shaper 48
(col. 5, ll. 12-25). Cope describes the formation of the extrusion profile as follows:
The material is pushed through the die, where it only slightly expands, and then begins
to fully expand as it enters the shaper 48. The jacket 52 . . . is kept at a temperature
lower than the softening point of the extrusion material. As the material contacts the
inside wall of the shaper, it begins to harden from the outside surface to the inner core.
The material begins to expand or foam as it passes through the die and then it
begins to fully expand as it enters the shaper. A vacuum draw on the shaper helps
maintain the profile shape as the cellular materials expands. The material cools as it
passes through the shaper and forms its desired shape. A puller acts to draw the
extruded profile from the shaper. The profile achieves a cross-section that is
substantially the same as the cross-section of the outlet of the shaper. . . . A space of
several inches may be present between the die exit and the shaper entrance in order to
allow some expansion of the extrudate before entering the shaper. [Col. 5, ll. 25-45.]
Cope teaches the following result effective variables: “[t]he temperature of the die and shaper as
well as the speed of the extrusion profile are parameters that affect the properties of the resulting
product” (col. 5, ll. 40-42).
We find that Cope discloses in FIG. 4 the “cross-section of the extrusion profile” 70 of
one embodiment which can have “hard skin” 66,68 portions while skin portions 72,74 can be
“hardened skin or may be left without a hard skin, as desired” (col. 5, l. 64, to col. 6, l. 1). Cope
further discloses in FIG. 5 “a completed profile for a picture frame” that has decorative portion
76 and hardened skin portions 78,80, which after being “cured and hardened” can have “various
finishes . . . applied to . . . enhance and highlight the profile,” such as “[h]ot foil stampings . . .
for further decorative effect” (col. 6, ll. 4-11).
roller systems 117, 110 and 120 of the embodiment of specification Fig. 3. See Morris, 127 F.3d
at 1054-55, 44 USPQ2d at 1027; Zletz, 893 F.2d at 321-22, 13 USPQ2d at 1322.
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