Appeal No. 97-1626
Application 08/299,123
supplementary conveyor, but also the components (frame, guide
rollers, pulleys, etc.) that support such endless belts and
enable the belts to convey pallets. See appellants’
specification, page 5, first paragraph (“the first
intermittent conveyor 3 is constituted of . . .”) and the
paragraph spanning pages 6-7 of the specification (“The first
supplemental conveyor 9 is constituted by . . .”). Therefore,
Masino’s carrier chain 7, endless belts 8 and 9, and carrier
chain 10 cannot, by themselves, be properly regarded as
corresponding to any of the claimed “conveyors,” in our view.
Rather, T-rail 6, common to each of the carrier chains 7 and
10, endless belts 8 and 9, and endless belt 11, must, at a
minimum, also be regarded as part of any conveyor in Masino.
As to the claim 1 requirement that the supplementary
conveyor is “removably attachable” to the intermittent
conveyors, the examiner’s position that this requirement
includes components which are detachable by saws, torches or
explosives is unreasonable. This is especially so in light of
appellants’ disclosure on page 6 of the specification that the
supplementary conveyors are formed “as a unit,” and the
disclosure on page 7 of the specification that the
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