Appeal 2007-1325
Application 10/065,722
1 20. The peel-back opening has knob 70 which can be pressed into
2 recess 72 when the opening is in the open position. col. 3:40-49 and
3 col. 4:1-5 (describing Fig. 3 not reproduced in this opinion).
4 21. The Examiner found securing a plug within a recess in a lid to be
5 within the level of ordinary skill in the art and other art e.g., Aichert,
6 describes disposable lids of various configurations having closure plugs for
7 removably closing a drink opening. (Office Action dated January 26, 2006,
8 pp. 4, 5).
9
10 Level of skill in the art
11 What one skilled in the art learns from the prior art, taken individually
12 and as a whole, is that Dart has used known elements in the cup lid art for
13 their intended purpose all the while achieving an expected result.
14 One skilled in the art would have known that a "plug" may be inserted
15 into a "recess" to hold the plug into a fixed (but releasable) position.
16 One skilled in the art would have known that a plastic lid could be
17 used on plastic and "styrofoam" cups of the kind commonly found in coffee
18 shops and fast food restaurants.
19 One skilled in the art would have known how to make a cup lid with a
20 drink opening which could be sealed and re-sealed through multiple cycles.
21 One skilled in the art would have known that there are various options
22 for combining the known elements shown in the prior art depending on a
23 particularized need.
24 One skilled in the art would know that plastic lids could be formed
25 using a thermoforming process.
26
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