Ex parte DAWLEY et al. - Page 10




          Appeal No. 1999-0231                                                        
          Application No. 08/472,354                                                  


          the external diameter of the tube 10 so that the sleeve can                 
          easily slip over the tube.  In this embodiment, the sleeve                  
          grips the                                                                   




          tube by a vacuum applied from inside the tube 10.  The vacuum               
          is directed to the underside of the sleeve 17 by virtue of                  
          circumferential grooves 26 (arranged like grooves 10b in FIG.               
          1) each connected to the inside of the tube 10 by a single                  
          hole 27.  See col. 4, ll. 25-42.                                            
               The examiner relies on Arkell, Tittgemeyer, Vrotacoe and               
          Fischer as teaching examples of conventional offset printing                
          apparatus including a blanket cylinder and a printing blanket.              
          See answer, p. 4.  The examiner also relies on Arkell as                    
          teaching a blanket cylinder formed with means (i.e., grooves                
          22 (Fig. 2)) extending substantially across a length of the                 
          blanket cylinder for connecting an interface of the blanket                 
          cylinder and the printing blanket to a low pressure region,                 
          i.e., a vacuum source.  Id.  It is the examiner’s position                  
          that                                                                        


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