Appeal 2007-1017
Application 10/204,997
1 Applicant’s Specification states that the “invention relates to a method
2 and an apparatus for shaping an edge (i.e., providing a surface of edge being
3 free of pits) of a rigid, brittle material such as ceramic (i.e., glass, crystalline
4 ceramic, and combinations thereof) plates and rigid composite plates
5 (including rigid printed circuit boards).” (Specification 3:9-12.) Applicant
6 asserts that “[b]y using a resin-bonded wheel, having the properties recited,
7 the amount of material abraded and the surface finish of the plate edge can
8 be better controlled.” (Appeal Brief entered November 9, 2005, hereinafter
9 “Br.,” 3.) According to Applicant, “[t]he amount of material abraded can be
10 regulated by the load between the wheel and the brittle plate material.” (Id.)
11 Representative claim 12 reads as follows:
12 12. An apparatus for abrading an edge of a ceramic plate
13 or a rigid composite plate in a predetermined abrasion amount
14 using a resin-bonded abrasive wheel under a load, and in
15 contact with, the edge to be abraded, the apparatus comprising a
16 resin-bonded abrasive wheel, a mechanism for rotating the
17 abrasive wheel, and a system for contacting and controlling,
18 during abrading, the load of the abrasive wheel on the ceramic
19 plate or the rigid composite plate, wherein the resin-bonded
20 abrasive wheel has an elastic modulus in the range from 100 to
21 10,000 kg/cm2 and has a Shore D hardness in the range from 10
22 to 95, wherein an outer peripheral surface of the wheel contacts
23 with the edge during abrading, and further wherein the resin-
24 bonded abrasive wheel includes abrasive grains.
25
26 The Examiner rejected claims 1-16 under 35 U.S.C. § 103(a) (2006).
27 (Answer 3-4.)
28 The prior art references relied upon by the Examiner to reject the
29 claims on appeal are:
30 Hasegawa et al. (Hasegawa) US 5,727,990 Mar. 17, 1998
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