Appeal No. 98-1184
Application 08/593,670
together and separately from claims 1-6." Thus, we shall
decide this appeal on the basis of claims 1, 2 and 7, with
claims 3 through 6 standing or falling with claim 1 and claim
8 standing or falling with claim 7. See 37 CFR § 1.192(c)(7).
Dischler, the examiner's primary reference, discloses "a
method and apparatus for treating textile materials to soften
them and to provide them with a fuller hand without
significantly adversely affecting either the surface of the
material or its strength characteristics" (column 1, lines 17
through 21). The
scope of textile materials amenable to such treatment is quite
broad and encompassing (see column 3, line 6 et seq.). As
described by Dischler,
chamber 20 is the treatment chamber wherein the
fabric 10 is contacted by low pressure, high
velocity air to form vibrations therein causing . .
. saw-tooth waves 24 to form. The fabric 10, at
very low tension, travels through the chamber 20 at
a rate in the range of 5 ypm to 120 ypm. The low
pressure, high velocity air directed towards the
fabric causes the fabric to vibrate at 500 to 1000
Hz so that the waves 24 travel down the fabric at
4
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