Ex parte TITZ et al.

Board of Patent Appeals and Interferences

Nov 4, 1999

08523907 (B.P.A.I. Nov. 4, 1999)

Application for patent filed September 6, 1995. 1
According to appellants, the application is a continuation of
Application 08/159,140, filed November 30, 1993, now
abandoned.
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THIS OPINION WAS NOT WRITTEN FOR PUBLICATION
The opinion in support of the decision being entered
today (1) was not written for publication in a law
journal and (2) is not binding precedent of the Board.
Paper No. 27
UNITED STATES PATENT AND TRADEMARK OFFICE
________________
BEFORE THE BOARD OF PATENT APPEALS
AND INTERFERENCES
________________
Ex parte FELIX TITZ and HANS MOSBURGER
________________
Appeal No. 1998-0514
Application 08/523,9071
________________
HEARD: OCTOBER 7, 1999
________________
Before COHEN, STAAB and NASE, Administrative Patent Judges.
STAAB, Administrative Patent Judge.
DECISION ON APPEAL
This is a decision on an appeal from the examiner’s final
rejection of claims 1-5 and 9. No other claims are currently
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Application 08/523,907
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pending.
The Invention
Appellants’ invention pertains to a cross cutter for web
stock material such as corrugated cardboard. In devices of
this type, cutter holders having cutters fastened thereto are
carried by tubular cylinders. The cylinders are mounted for
rotation in opposite directions, so that when web stock
material is fed between the cylinders, it is cut by the
cutters. Counterweights are provided on the cylinders
opposite the cutter holders to balance the cylinders as they
rotate. Appellants’ invention is directed to forming the
cylinders, cutter holders and counterweights of composite
fiber material having heat expansion coefficients that are
selected to improve cutting quality and/or enhance the
rigidity of the cylinder/cutter holder/counterweight assembly.
Independent claims 1, 3 and 4, copies of which are found
in an appendix to appellants’ corrected brief, are
illustrative of the appealed subject matter.
The Applied Prior Art
Appeal No. 1998-0514
Application 08/523,907
Our understanding of this German language reference is2
derived from a discussion of this reference in the
“Background” section of appellants’ specification, and from a
translation of this reference prepared in the Patent and
Trademark Office, a copy of which is appended to this opinion.
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The references of record relied upon by the examiner in
support of a rejection under 35 U.S.C. § 103 are:
Gomi et al. (Gomi) 5,061,533 Oct. 29, 1991
German Patent 8,900,516 Apr. 20, 19892
The Examiner’s Rejection
Claims 1-5 and 9 stand rejected under 35 U.S.C. § 103 as
being unpatentable over the German reference 8,900,516
(hereinafter, German ‘516) in view of Gomi.
The rejection is explained in the examiner’s answer
(Paper No. 22, mailed September 17, 1997).
Discussion of Applied References
German ‘516, the examiner’s primary reference, appears to
be appellants’ prior art jumping off point and is discussed in
the “Background of the Invention” section of the specification
(pages 1-2). This discussion is reproduced below for the
reader’s convenience:
A cross cutter is known in the art from German
Utility Model DE-GM 89 00 516, wherein pipe-shaped
Appeal No. 1998-0514
Application 08/523,907
The aforementioned translation of German ‘516 indicates3
that cutter holders 10 are formed from metal (translation,
page 6, lines 8-10). However, the translation makes no
mention whatsoever of counterweights, or of the material from
which any such counterweights may be formed.
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cutter cylinders formed of a composite carbon fiber
material are rotatably seated in pairs above each
other in a machine frame. The cutter holders
fastened on each cutter cylinder, along with the
cutters and the oppositely located counterweight,
are still made of metal. In this case it is[3]
disadvantageous that the mass inertia moment of the
rotating cutter cylinder system does not allow the
highest operational rpm with reduced energy
absorption. Furthermore, such a cross cutter does
not produce the optimum cutting quality for the web
because of the flexing of the cutter cylinders
during cutting.
Gomi, the examiner’s secondary reference, is directed to
an improved laminated roll formed from carbon fiber composite
materials (CFRP). Gomi indicates (column 1, line 64 through
column 2, line 15) that because carbon fibers have highly
anisotropic Young’s modulus and linear expansion coefficients,
it is difficult to fabricate high precision laminated rolls
formed from CFRP because unbalanced stress is produced in the
interior of the lamination structure. In particular, Gomi
states that “if the design of the lamination structure is not
correct, a stretching stress acts in the radial direction in
Appeal No. 1998-0514
Application 08/523,907
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the interior of the molded article and cracking occurs
therein” (column 4, lines 1-4). Gomi’s solution to this prior
art problem is to carefully select the orientation angle, the
orientation order, and the thickness of each layer of the
laminate so that a compressive
stress always occurs, whereby interlaminar cracking or a
generation of strain is controlled (column 2, lines 25-34;
column 4, lines 9-13). In addition, “by making the linear
expansion coefficient in the axial direction of the CFRP outer
layer much smaller than the average linear expansion
coefficient in the axial direction of other layers except the
CFRP outer layer, the linear precision of the formed roll
after the peripheral polishing is greatly improved” (column 2,
lines 34-39). Gomi states that the roll may be used as “a
delivery roll, guide roll or printing roll for use during the
processing of a film, foil, paper, cloth or the like” (column
1, lines 9-11).
Independent Claim 1
Considering first the rejection of claim 1, this
Appeal No. 1998-0514
Application 08/523,907
In light of the above noted discussion of German ‘5164
found in the “Background” section of appellants’
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independent claim calls for a cross cutter comprising, inter
alia, a frame having fixed bearings, a pair of cutter
cylinders rotatably mounted in opposed parallel relationship
in said bearings, with each of the cutter cylinders having a
cutter holder and a counterweight secured thereto. Claim 1
further sets forth that the cutter cylinders are formed of a
composite fiber material having a heat expansion coefficient
substantially equal to or
less than 0 mm/K, and that the cutter holders and
counterweights are formed of “said” composite fiber material.
Thus, claim 1 requires that the cutter cylinders, cutter
holders and counterweights are all formed of the same
composite fiber material, and that this material has a heat
expansion coefficient substantially equal to or less than 0
mm/K.
The differences between German ‘516 and claim 1 are as
follows:4
Appeal No. 1998-0514
Application 08/523,907
specification, we presume that the cutter cylinders of this
prior art cross cutter include counterweights.
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1) German ‘516 does not disclose that the cutter
holders and counterweights are formed of
composite fiber material;
2) German ‘516 does not disclose that the cutter
holders and counterweights are made of the same
composite fiber material as the cutter
cylinders; and
3) German ‘516 does not disclose that the composite
fiber material in question has a heat expansion
coefficient substantially equal to or less than
0 mm/K.
Even if we were to agree with the examiner that one of
ordinary skill in the art would have turned to Gomi in an
attempt to improve upon the German ‘516 cross cutter, it is
our opinion that, at best, the ordinarily skilled artisan
would have viewed Gomi as merely suggesting that the cutter
cylinders of the German ‘516 cross cutter should be formed as
a laminate structure in accordance with Gomi’s teachings in
order to thereby improve the rigidity of the cutter cylinders.
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Application 08/523,907
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However, this would not have resulted in a cross cutter having
any of the enumerated differences noted above. In particular,
we find no disclosure, suggestion, or inference in the
teachings of German ‘516 and Gomi, taken either alone or
collectively, that the cutter holders and/or the
counterweights of German ‘516 should be formed from composite
fiber material, much less that they should be formed for the
same composite fiber material as the cutter cylinders, or from
the composite fiber material should have a heat expansion
coefficient substantially equal to or less than 0 mm/K.
Where prior art references require a selective
combination to render obvious a claimed invention, there must
be some reason for the combination other than hindsight
gleaned from the
invention disclosure, Interconnect Planning Corp. v. Feil, 774
F.2d 1132, 1143, 227 USPQ 543, 551 (Fed. Cir. 1985). In the
fact situation before us, we are unable to agree with the
examiner that one of ordinary skill in the art would have been
motivated by the teachings of Gomi to form the cutter
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Application 08/523,907
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cylinders, cutter holders and counterweights of German ‘516
from the same composite fiber material having a heat expansion
coefficient substantially equal to or less than 0 mm/K, as now
claimed. Accordingly, we will not sustain the standing
rejection of claim 1, or claim 2 that depends therefrom, as
being unpatentable over the collective teachings of German
‘516 and Gomi.
Independent Claim 3
Claim 3 calls for a cross cutter comprising, inter alia,
cutter cylinders formed of a composite fiber material having a
heat expansion coefficient A, and cutter holders formed of a
composite fiber material having a heat expansion coefficient
B, with A being different than B, such that the difference in
heat expansion coefficients
creat[es] an expansion differential between said
cutter cylinders and said cutter holders at elevated
temperatures resulting in the stress of both the
cutter cylinder and the cutter holder thereby
increasing the rigidity of the cutter holder.
German ‘516 does not disclose that the cutter holders are
formed of composite fiber material, or that the heat expansion
coefficients of the cutter cylinders and cutter holders differ
Appeal No. 1998-0514
Application 08/523,907
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such that at elevated temperatures, stress results in both the
cutter cylinder and the cutter holder to increase the rigidity
of the cutter holder.
We are aware that Gomi teaches that the average linear
expansion coefficients of the inner layers should be made
larger than the linear expansion coefficient of the outermost
layer to provide high rigidity in the axial direction (column
5, lines 50-58). However, we once again view this as
suggesting, at best, that the cutter cylinders of German ‘516
should be so constructed to provide for improved rigidity of
the cutter cylinders. Accordingly, we will not sustain the
rejection of claim 3, or claim 5 that depends therefrom, as
being unpatentable over the collective teachings of German
‘516 and Gomi.
Independent Claim 4
Claim 4 calls for a cross cutter comprising, inter alia,
cutter cylinders formed of a composite fiber material having a
heat expansion coefficient “a”, cutter holders formed of a
composite fiber material having a heat expansion coefficient
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“b”, cutters formed of a material having a heat expansion
coefficient “c”, and counterweights formed of a material
having a predetermined heat expansion coefficient “d”, wherein
the relationship between the heat expansion coefficients is
such that both “c” and “b” are greater than both “a” and “d”.
German ‘516 does not disclose that the cutter holders are
formed of composite fiber material, or that the heat expansion
coefficients of the cutters, cutter holders, cutter cylinders,
and counterweights are such that the heat expansion
coefficients of both the cutters and cutter holders are
greater than the heat expansion coefficients of both the
cutter cylinders and the counterweights.
For the reasons discussed above, we view Gomi as
suggesting, at best, that the cutter cylinders of German ‘516
should be constructed in accordance with Gomi’s teachings to
provide for improved rigidity of the cutter cylinders. We
find no suggestion whatsoever in the combined teachings of the
applied references that the cutter holders of German ‘516
should be formed of composite fiber material, or that the heat
expansion coefficients of the cutters, cutter holders, cutter
cylinders, and counterweights should be selected to provide
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Application 08/523,907
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for the relationship thereof called for in the last paragraph
of claim 4. Therefore, we also will not sustain the rejection
of claim 4, or claim 9 that depends therefrom, as being
unpatentable over the collective teachings of German ‘516 and
Gomi.
Summary
The decision of the examiner is reversed.
REVERSED
IRWIN CHARLES COHEN )
Administrative Patent Judge )
)
)
)
LAWRENCE J. STAAB ) BOARD OF PATENT
Administrative Patent Judge ) APPEALS AND
) INTERFERENCES
)
)
JEFFREY V. NASE )
Administrative Patent Judge )
Appeal No. 1998-0514
Application 08/523,907
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David Pollack
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