Appeal 2007-0254
Application 10/732,614
Findings of Fact
Appellants invented a sheet-form material comprising a base layer 82
having hooks or stems integrally molded on a first side thereof and having
nonwoven loop material 84 in situ bonded on a second side to thereby form
back-to-back straps A and B of hooks and loops that are releasably
engageable with each other (Specification 15:26-31; Figs. 10-10A).
Advantageously, the nonwoven material is laminated in situ with the hook
material using a layer of resin that forms the base of the hook material to
bond directly to the nonwoven material, as generally taught by Kennedy in
U.S. Patent 5,260,015 (Specification 19:7-9; Fig. 11).
This ‘015 patent is the Kennedy reference applied in the rejection
under review.
Lawless discloses a hook and loop fastening device comprising a non-
woven fabric of the type claimed by Appellants which may be adhered or
laminated to a backing layer (Abstract; col. 5, ll. 46-52; col. 6, ll. 26-34).
Kennedy discloses a hook and loop fastener having hooks and loops
on opposite sides of a back-to-back product such as a backstrap wherein the
hooks and loops are laminated together via an intermediate layer of plastic
(col. 6, ll. 38-51; Fig. 8). The hook and loop fasteners of Kennedy are made
using a hook-molding and laminating process (Fig. 2). Kennedy teaches that
this laminating process may be used with loop fasteners in the form of
nonwoven fabric and that the nonwoven fabric may be light or heavy, thick
or thin, dense or open (col. 5, ll. 46-59). Additionally, Kennedy teaches:
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Last modified: September 9, 2013