Appeal No. 2006-1354
Application No. 10/337,026
extend from "wall to wall" as recited in
Claim 10. It is respectfully but strenuously
submitted that the specification of the
Malin reference must be studied to properly
interpret Figure 3 of the Malin reference.
Peel seal material 38 should not be
construed as a sealing strip. If anything,
peel seal material 38 should be construed as
providing a "frangible connection," and
nothing more (Brief, page 5).
The examiner responds that:
there is nothing in appellant's
specification that explicitly precludes peel
seal material, like that of Malin, from
meeting the recitation of a “sealing strip".
Furthermore, there is nothing in appellant's
claims and specification that preclude a
sealing strip from extending wall to wall
with the aid of an intervening element.
Malin shows a strip of peel seal material 38
that extends from wall 43 to wall 42 via
connecting strip 36 (Answer, paragraph
bridging pages 5 and 6).
As reflected by the above quotation, the examiner considers
Malin’s connecting strip 36 to indirectly connect peel seal 38
to bag wall 42 thereby satisfying the claim 10 limitation “a
sealing strip...within [the] package extending...from wall to
wall of the package.” That is, the examiner interprets claim
10 to encompass the indirect connection provided by connecting
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