Appeal No. 2006-2374 Page 10
Application No. 10/164,670
8a. (Loefberg, col. 2, lines 46-57.)
What Loefberg is describing is the same bonding of the front and rear walls
to adjacent gusset sidewalls as is recited in claim 25. As shown in Figure 1, these
diagonal fold seal parts (9, 10, 11, 12), when bonded to their adjacent front and
rear walls (2a, 2b) create volume regions (22, 23, 24, 25) of the bag at the bottom
portion of the bag that are removed from the volume of the bag. See also
Loefberg, col. 3, lines 55-60. As shown in Figure 2, these diagonal seals form a
substantially flat bottom to the bag when it is filled. See also Loefberg, col. 2,
lines 26 and 46-47. Finally, Loefberg discloses a seal (6a) at the bottom edge of
the bag to close the bag. Loefberg, Figure 1 and col. 2, lines 39-45.
As such, Loefberg teaches all of the elements of claim 25 except for the top
part of the front wall and rear wall closed by a reclosable seal. As noted by the
examiner in the rejection of claim 16, and as admitted by the appellants on page 8
of the Brief, Stolmeier shows a zipper reclosable seal on a bag. Stolmeier teaches
that the bag is filled at the factory with a product and then marketed to the
consumer and if the consumer does not wholly consume the contents, he can
reclose the bag using the reclosable seal and use the bag further to contain the
partially filled bag. Stolmeier, col. 3, lines 39-47.
We also note that the appellants are not claiming to be the first to invent a
reclosable bag. See e.g., Specification, page 1, line 12 - page 2, line 13 (appellants
acknowledge that reclosable, zipper-type seals are known in the prior art and that
they allow the bag to be opened and reclosed). As such, we hold that it would have
been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was
made to have added the zipper reclosable seal of Stolmeier to the bag of Loefberg
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