Appeal No. 97-1626
Application 08/299,123
supplementary and intermittent conveyors are constructed such
that the pallet conveyor as a whole may be “easy [sic, easily]
adjustable” to any production line by removing and adding an
appropriate number of supplementary or intermittent conveyors.
Stated differently, one of ordinary skill in the art would not
consider conveyors which require the use of saws, torches
and/or explosives in order to separate them to be “removably
attachable” in the sense intended here. The examiner’s view
to the contrary in essence reads the term “removably
attachable” out of the claim.
The examiner also considers that “removably attachable”
includes components which are detachable by screwdrivers,
hammers or wrenches. However, Masino is silent as to whether
or not the T-rail 6, which we regard as a necessary part of
any conveyor in Masino, is made up of components which are
connected such that they may be separated from each other in
this manner, and it is speculative to presume that this is the
case.
In light of the above, we cannot sustain the examiner’s
§ 102 rejection of claim 1, or claims 3 and 4 which depend
therefrom. We also cannot sustain the examiner’s § 103
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