Appeal 2006-2796
Application 09/230,439
1 Appellant’s facing materials and, therefore, has a comparable thickness, it appears
2 that, like the Appellant’s facing structure, the Naka ‘951 edge bead cushion (which
3 corresponds to the Appellant’s working member and appears to have a comparable
4 modulus of elasticity) has a ratio of E (modulus of elasticity) to H (sum of the
5 thicknesses of the facing material (tread mat), fastening member (fixing tongue)
6 and adhesive) in the Appellant’s range. Also, the Appellant’s claim 18 merely
7 requires that the horizontal fastening member is adapted to have a horizontal facing
8 material thereon. As discussed above, the Naka ‘951 edge bead cushion appears to
9 have a modulus of elasticity comparable to that of the Appellant’s working
10 member. Also, in both the Appellant’s (fig. 1) and Naka ‘951 (figs. 1, 2, 5)
11 devices, the height of the working member (Naka ‘951 edge bead cushion) is about
12 equal to the sum of the thicknesses of the horizontal facing material (Naka ‘951
13 tread mat), fastening member (Naka ‘951 fixing tongue) and adhesive.
14 Consequently, it appears that, like the Appellant’s horizontal fastening member,
15 the Naka ‘951 fixing tongue is adapted to, i.e., capable of, having a facing material
16 applied thereon such that the edge bead cushion has the Appellant’s recited E/H
17 ratio.
18 The Appellant argues that the Naka ‘951 stair mat is not intended for an
19 outside step where ice is formed (Supp. Reply Br. 3). The Naka ‘951 disclosure
20 that the stair mat is “adapted to be installed on stairs, especially stairs arranged on
21 the inside of a building” (col. 1, ll. 5-7) indicates that the stair mat is not limited to
22 an inside step, but also can be adapted to be fixed to an outdoor stair step.
23 The Appellant argues that the applied references do not disclose a
24 self-cleaning device (Reply Br. 2-3). The E/H ratio in the Appellant’s claim 18 is
25 based upon the modulus of elasticity and the thickness of the working material
26 made of a resilient material. Like the Appellant’s working member resilient
5
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Last modified: September 9, 2013