within the scope of this invention, provided that the
embossing roll which doubles as a backing roll for the
rotogravure adhesive application is rubber [column 2,
lines 2 through 9].
The examiner focuses on this passage (see, for example, pages
9 and 12 in the answer) as being suggestive of the limitations
in claims 1 and 15 requiring the nip for adhering/joining the
two plies to be formed by a rigid roll of one roll pair and a
resilient roll of the other roll pair.
The passage in question, however, is a rather general
statement of the advantages furnished by laser engraving in
terms of producing rubber embossing rolls. It does not speak
directly to adhering nips of the sort at issue here and does
not expressly disclose the particular rigid-resilient adhering
nip recited in claims 1 and 15; nor does it address or even
recognize the
8
Appeal No. 1999-1375
Application 08/619,806
problems (undue wear, heat and pressure) solved by the claimed
rigid-resilient adhering nip. In this light, although an
adhering nip meeting the terms of claims 1 and 15 arguably
falls within the broad reach of Grupe's assertion that "any
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