Ex Parte Du Toit

Board of Patent Appeals and Interferences

Jul 26, 2010

10204010 (B.P.A.I. Jul. 26, 2010)

UNITED STATES PATENT AND TRADEMARK OFFICE
UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
United States Patent and Trademark Office
Address: COMMISSIONER FOR PATENTS
P.O. Box 1450
Alexandria, Virginia 22313-1450
www.uspto.gov
APPLICATION NO. FILING DATE FIRST NAMED INVENTOR ATTORNEY DOCKET NO. CONFIRMATION NO.
10/204,010 10/31/2002 Pieter Wouter Du Toit U014163-6 4234
30678 7590 07/26/2010
CONNOLLY BOVE LODGE & HUTZ LLP
1875 EYE STREET, N.W.
SUITE 1100
WASHINGTON, DC 20006
EXAMINER
HUSON, MONICA ANNE
ART UNIT PAPER NUMBER
1791
MAIL DATE DELIVERY MODE
07/26/2010 PAPER
Please find below and/or attached an Office communication concerning this application or proceeding.
The time period for reply, if any, is set in the attached communication.
PTOL-90A (Rev. 04/07)

UNITED STATES PATENT AND TRADEMARK OFFICE
____________

BEFORE THE BOARD OF PATENT APPEALS
AND INTERFERENCES
____________

Ex parte PIETER WOUTER DU TOIT
____________

Appeal 2010-000802
Application 10/204,010
Technology Center 1700
____________

Before CHARLES F. WARREN, PETER F. KRATZ, and
LINDA M. GAUDETTE, Administrative Patent Judges.

GAUDETTE, Administrative Patent Judge.

DECISION ON APPEAL1

1 The two-month time period for filing an appeal or commencing a civil
action, as recited in 37 C.F.R. § 1.304, or for filing a request for rehearing,
as recited in 37 C.F.R. § 41.52, begins to run from the “MAIL DATE”
(paper delivery mode) or the “NOTIFICATION DATE” (electronic delivery
mode) shown on the PTOL-90A cover letter attached to this decision.
Appeal 2010-000802
Application 10/204,010

Appellant appeals under 35 U.S.C. § 134(a) from the Examiner’s
decision2 finally rejecting claims 25-28, 31-37, and 39-46, the only claims
pending in the Application.3, 4 We have jurisdiction under 35 U.S.C. § 6(b).
We REVERSE.
The invention relates to “[a] method of manufacturing moulded
articles” (independent claims 25, 39, and 45) and to “[a]n installation for
moulding moulded articles” (independent claims 31 and 42) from materials
such as synthetic plastics materials and ceramics.5 Independent claims 25
and 31 are representative of the claimed method and installation,
respectively, and are reproduced below from the Claims Appendix to the
Appeal Brief:
25. A method of manufacturing moulded articles, the method
comprising the steps of:

continuously running screw means in a barrel;

feeding mouldable material to said barrel;

plasticizing the mouldable material in said barrel in a single
plasticizing procedure;

incorporating reinforcing fibres in the mouldable material as the
plasticizing procedure proceeds and

providing a continuous supply of mouldable material with said fibres
dispersed in it; directing the mouldable material with said fibres into first
and second barrels,

2 (Final Office Action (“Final”), mailed Nov. 14, 2008, 1.)
3 (Appeal Brief (“Br.”), filed Apr. 15, 2009, 2.)
4 An oral hearing was conducted on July 21, 2010.
5 (Specification (“Spec.”), filed Jun. 14, 2002, 1, Field of the Invention.)
2
Appeal 2010-000802
Application 10/204,010

sequentially;

urging the mouldable material with said fibres out of the first barrel
and into a first moulding cavity by advancing a first piston along the first
barrel in a forward stroke from a retracted position to a forward position, the
face of the first piston which is leading during the forward stroke becoming
part of the bounding wall of the first moulding cavity upon the first piston
reaching the limit of its forward stroke; and then

urging the mouldable material with said fibres out of the second barrel
and into a second moulding cavity by advancing a second piston in a
forward stroke along the second barrel from a retracted position to a forward
position, the face of the second piston that is leading during the forward
stroke becoming part of the bounding wall of the second moulding cavity
upon the second piston reaching the limit of its forward travel; the pistons
being advanced after the directing of the mouldable material with said fibres
to the associated barrel.

31. An installation for moulding moulded articles, the installation
comprising; means for supplying mouldable material to a barrel with [sic]
has therein screw means for continuously plasticising the mouldable material
in a single plasticizing process and means for incorporating reinforcing
fibres in the mouldable material as the single plasticising process proceeds,
for providing a continuous supply of mouldable material with said fibres
dispersed therein;

means defining a flow path leading from the barrel;

first and second barrels, said flow path leading from the barrel to the
first and second barrels;

means for feeding the mouldable material with said fibres dispersed
therein along the flow path sequentially to the first and second barrels;
first and second moulding cavities;

first and second pistons each in a respective one of the first and second
barrels and each having a retracted position and a forward position in the
respective barrel; and means for displacing the pistons sequentially in
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Appeal 2010-000802
Application 10/204,010

forward strokes from the retracted positions to the forward positions for
displacing mouldable material with said fibres dispersed therein out
of the barrels and into the moulding cavities, those faces of the first and
second pistons which lead during the forward strokes becoming part of the
bounding walls of the associated first and second moulding cavities
respectively when the pistons reach the forward ends of their strokes.
The Examiner maintains6, and Appellant requests review of (Br. 7),
the following grounds of rejection:
1. claims 25, 26, 31, 32, 35-37, 39, 41, 42, 44, and 45 under 35
U.S.C. § 103 as unpatentable over Hendry7 in view of Matsumoto8;
2. claims 27, 28, 33, 34, 40, and 43 under 35 U.S.C. § 103 as
unpatentable over Hendry and Matsumoto, further in view of Yoshikawa9;
and
3. claim 46 under 35 U.S.C. § 103 as unpatentable over Hendry
and Matsumoto, further in view of Applicant’s admission of Prior Art
(“AAPA”)10.
Appellant contends the Examiner’s obviousness determination is
based on an erroneous finding that the applied prior art discloses a first
piston which functions in the manner claimed in each of the appealed
independent claims. More specifically, Appellant’s arguments raise the
following issue which we find to be dispositive of the appeal:
Did the Examiner err in finding that Hendry’s piston 184 displaces
mouldable material out of a barrel and into a moulding cavity in the manner
recited in each of the appealed independent claims?

6 (Examiner’s Answer (“Ans.”), mailed Jul. 20, 2009, 3-5.)
7 (US 4,389,358, issued Jun. 21, 1983.)
8 (US 5,653,534, issued Aug. 5, 1997.)
9 (US 5,728,337, issued Mar. 17, 1998.)
10 (Spec. 1, Background to the Invention.)
4
Appeal 2010-000802
Application 10/204,010

Hendry discloses a method and an apparatus for making a composite
article in which a plunger 54 drives material S stored in an injection chamber
38 across a valve 69 and nozzle 68 into a first cavity 76 of a mold assembly
74. (See generally, Hendry, col. 4, ll. 42-66; col. 7, ll. 47-54.) The mold
assembly 74 is closed almost instantaneously upon filling and a compressive
force is exerted to distribute the material S uniformly throughout the closed
cavity 76 to form or make a relatively thin, smooth liner, skin or shell L.
(Hendry, col. 7, ll. 58-66.) According to Hendry, “[s]ince it is generally
impossible to get the exact amount of solid material S ejected from chamber
38 during each cycle of operation the injection chamber 38 is programmed
to eject a larger amount or volume of material S into cavity 76.” (Hendry,
col. 7, l. 67-col. 8, l. 4.) Hendry thus includes an overflow zone or area 180
in the lower mold part 70 in communication with cavity 76. (Hendry, col. 8,
ll. 4-6.) Area 180 is positioned adjacent an elongated straight passage 182
containing a pin or rod 184 which is backed up by a hydraulic or pneumatic
air cylinder 186. (Hendry, col. 8, ll. 6-9.) “When the pressure generated in
the cavity 76 exceeds the pre-set back-up pressure of the fluid operated
cylinder 186, the rod 184 is depressed or lowered in the mold part 70 as a
result of the overflow or excess plastic which flows into the zone or area
180.” (Hendry, col. 8, ll. 9-14.) In other words, “the excess plastic [is]
relieved via the material overflow zone 180 or relief valve, pin and cylinder
construction.” (Hendry, col. 8, ll. 22-24 (emphasis added).)
Each of the independent method claims recites a step of urging
mouldable material out of a barrel and into a moulding cavity by advancing
a piston along the barrel in a forward stroke from a retracted position to a
forward position. (Claims 25, 39, and 45.) Each of the independent product
5
Appeal 2010-000802
Application 10/204,010

claims similarly recites means for displacing pistons in a forward stroke
from the retracted positions to the forward positions for displacing
mouldable material out of a barrel and into a moulding cavity. (Claims 31
and 42.)
The Examiner finds that Hendry discloses Appellant’s claimed step of
urging and means for displacing because Hendry’s rod 184 “applies as an
irresistible force that maintains the material in the mold cavity, and in this
manner, piston 184 urges the material into the cavity.” (Ans. 5.)
The Specification does not define the terms “urging” or “displacing,”
but describes movement of the piston during the forward stroke as “forc[ing]
the mouldable material out of the holding cavity 46 and into the cavity of the
mould 32.” (Spec. 15, 2d full para.) The appealed claims thus require a step
of, or means for, positively moving a moulding material out of a barrel and
into a mold.
Appellant argues, and we agree, that these claim limitations are not
met by Hendry’s piston/rod 184, which does nothing more than prevent
further movement of material into the barrel from the mold. (Cf. Br. 9.)
Accordingly, we reverse the Examiner’s decision to reject claims 25-
28, 31-37, and 39-46.

REVERSED

Ssl

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Appeal 2010-000802
Application 10/204,010

CONNOLLY BOVE LODGE & HUTZ LLP
1875 EYE STREET, N.W.
SUITE 1100
WASHINGTON, DC 20006
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