Appeal No. 97-2715
Application No. 08/306,797
The secondary reference is directed to the manufacture of
thin tubes of resin which are constructed by wrapping a ribbon
around a mandrel and heating the assembly to fuse the ribbon
into a thin-walled tube. In order to facilitate the removal
of the tube from the mandrel, it is rolled under pressure by
three wheels, which causes the tube wall to be thinned, the
length to increase, and the interior diameter to expand
(column 1, line 66 et seq.). The axes of the wheels are
inclined, which causes the tube to be rotated as well as moved
axially (column 2, lines 16-18; Figure 2). There is no
explicit teaching in this reference of providing an opening
space between the wheels and then closing it about the tube
and its mandrel, and such would seem not to be inherent in its
operation.
Since both references are devoid of any suggestion to
open a space between the rollers to receive the article to be
treated and thereafter close it to begin operation, as is
required by claim 1, it is our conclusion that the teachings
of these references fail to establish a prima facie case of
obviousness with regard to the claim on this basis and we will
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