Appeal No. 2002-0049 Page 5
Application No. 09/317,538
separating the shaped sections or articles from the waste portion of the paper stock.
Thus, as will be see in Figures 1 and 2, the portions of the veneer panel 110 severed
from the panel by the cutting process form the male separation dies 113a, b and c,
leaving the remainder of the panel 110 as a female die plate having the openings 114a,
b and c. The simultaneous creation of both the male and female die members is
possible because cutting means such as a laser beam remove very little material, thus
creating only a very narrow slit between the die portions. Also, this technique is capable
of accurately cutting very intricate and complex shapes. It has the advantage of always
producing a male die member which will pass through the opening in the female die
with minimal clearance and without interference between the dies.
Abe teaches (column 8, lines 29-43) that
[b]ecause the gap between the upper and lower dies is quite narrow and the
bridges are small, there is only a slight tendency for the upper die to pull the
waste portions into the area between the male and female dies. It has been
found that breaking the edge to form a small chamfer 227 (FIG. 14) at the upper
edge of the die opening is significant in preventing the die cut portions from
inadvertently becoming caught against the edge of the die opening during
transport of the die cut sheet into the separation station. This can happen if the
die cut portion does not remain aligned with the remainder of the sheet of paper
stock. This chamfer only needs to be provided at the downstream edge of the die
opening as indicated by arrow F indicating the direction of movement of the
paper stock (FIG. 14).
Abe does not disclose how chamfer 227 (shown in Figure 14) is formed at the
downstream upper edge of the die openings 114a, b and c.
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