Appeal No. 98-3125
Application Nos. 08/294,730, 90/003,655, 90/003,826 and
90/004,552
debarking drum inlet, to avoid damage to the main conveyor
chain, while continuously feeding stacks or groups of logs
into the continuously rotating debarking drum. As explained
in column 2, lines 45-50, of the ‘412 patent,
[t]he purpose of the auxiliary feed means
or low friction region is to shield the head end
of the main conveyor and to provide a region
between the main conveyor and the drum inlet
where there is minimal binding or jamming of
trailing ends of logs being rotated by the drum.
As further noted in column 2, lines 51-59,
[i]n accordance with one aspect of the
invention, the auxiliary feed means is a very
rugged auxiliary conveyor located between the
head end of the chain conveyor and the inlet of
the debarking drum. In a preferred embodiment,
this auxiliary conveyor is a feed roller driven
independently of the conveyor chain, so that it
can be driven at any desired surface speed i.e.
the same as or faster or slower than the surface
speed of the conveyor chain.
The preferred embodiment of appellants’ invention is best seen
in Figures 1 through 5 of the patent drawings.
Claims 1, 2, 6, 10 and 16 are representative of the
subject matter on appeal and a copy of those claims, as
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