Appeal 2007-2585
Application 09/917,192
a substantially elastic portion of plastic substantially free of long glass
fibers and formed in one piece with the substantially rigid portion,
wherein the substantially rigid portion and the substantially elastic
portion are of the same plastic.
The Examiner relies upon the following references in the rejection of
the appealed claims:
Eckhardt US 6,305,129 B1 Oct. 23, 2001
Whitehead US 6,422,640 B2 Jul. 23, 2002
Appellant's claimed invention is directed to a door module for an
inside panel of a vehicle door. The module comprises a substantially rigid
portion comprising plastic that is reinforced with long glass fiber. The
module also comprises an elastic portion of plastic that is substantially free
of such fibers. Both the rigid and elastic portions of the module comprise
the same plastic.
Appealed claims 1-10, 14, and 23-33 stand rejected under 35 U.S.C.
§ 102(e) as being anticipated by Whitehead. Claims 11-13 stand rejected
under 35 U.S.C. § 103(a) as being unpatentable over Whitehead in view of
Eckhardt.
We have thoroughly reviewed the respective positions advanced by
Appellant and the Examiner. In so doing, we find that the Examiner has not
presented sufficient evidence to support a rejection under either § 102 or
§ 103. Accordingly, we will not sustain the Examiner's rejections.
Whitehead discloses that the door trim panel 34 comprises a rigid,
hard plastic and is preferably "made of polypropylene and formed by
conventional injection molding processes as is known in the art" (col. 3,
2
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