Appeal No. 97-0593
Application 08/365,906
to the cutting edge, and a plurality of
discrete recesses axially spaced apart over
the groove. Both the groove and the
individual
recesses include a back or rear wall opposite
to the cutting edge that terminates at a
point higher on the top surface of the insert
than the edge for curling and work-hardening
the chips. Additionally, each of the
discrete recesses has a pair of opposing side
edges for engaging and corrugating the chips
as they flow from the cutting edge toward
the back and rear walls of the groove and
recesses. The combination of the corrugating
and curling forces applied by the recesses
and the groove effectively work-hardens the
thin foil-like chips generated during a fine-
cutting operation, thereby embrittling them
and causing them to continuously break into
small segments that are easily expelled from
the vicinity of the cutting operation.
Claims 1, 11 and 16 are representative of subject
matter on appeal and a copy of those claims may be found in
Appendix I to appellant's brief.
The prior art references of record relied upon by the
examiner in rejecting the appealed claims are:
Romagnolo 4,044,439 Aug. 30, 1977
Holma et al. (Holma) 4,215,957 Aug. 5, 1980
Warren 4,447,175 May 8, 1984
Stashko 4,880,338 Nov. 14, 1989
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