Appeal No. 1997-0595 Page 12
Application No. 08/154,911
Claim 4 adds to parent claim 3 the limitation that the
"pad-transferring assembly" comprises "a conveyor which
frictionally engages the strip prior to it being cut and
frictionally transfers the cut pad away from the cutter
assembly." In our view, this limitation is readable Johnson's
guide rod 148 since Johnson's guide rod 148 acts as a gravity
conveyor which frictionally engages the strip 104 prior to it
being cut and then acts to frictionally transfer the cut piece
of strip 104 away from the cutter mechanism 152 and towards
the receptacle 150. Since as stated supra a disclosure that
anticipates under 35 U.S.C. § 102 also renders the claim
unpatentable under 35 U.S.C. § 103, we sustain the examiner's
rejection of claim 4 under
35 U.S.C. § 103 as being unpatentable over Johnson in view of
D'Angelo.
Claims 5 to 7 add to parent claim 4 the limitation that
the "conveyor" comprises "a series of rollers." In our view,
this limitation clearly is not taught by Johnson or suggested
from the combined teachings of Johnson and D'Angelo. In that
regard, while D'Angelo does teach a conveyor having a series
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