Appeal No. 2006-0680
Application No. 10/041,129
than enough space therewithin for multiple bagged
products which are to be sealed after evacuation
of the atmosphere from the chamber. Thus, the
non-sticking feature enables the evacuation and
sealing of more than one bag at a time in a vacuum
chamber, thereby increasing the production rate of
the vacuum chamber packaging apparatus.
U.S. Patent No. 5,336,549 to Nishimoto et
al., discloses a heat-shrinkable film which can
be made into bags. Apparently, users of this
film which is commercially available, have
discovered that bags made from the film can
be stacked on top of one another during
sealing without sticking to one another
(i.e., the bags are “stack-sealable”). This
enables the output of vacuum chamber
packaging machinery to be, for example,
doubled, if two bags are stacked on top of
one another and simultaneously sealed.
The film disclosed in the ‘549 patent
has an outer layer of a polyester, and an
intermediate layer of a polyamide having a
melting point of higher than 160°C and lower
than 21O°C. Although Nishimoto et al
discloses a large group of polyamides for use
in an inner layer, together with various
polyesters for use in an outer layer,
Nishimoto does not disclose the use of an
inner layer comprising polyester.
As conceded by the examiner (see page 3 in the answer), the
admitted prior art does not respond to the limitations in
independent claim 22 relating to the composition of the heat-
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