Appeal No. 2002-0675
Application No. 09/217,876
machines toward the floor where the web is taken by a conveyor
and lifted to be dumped in a bin. Apparently, an operator
removes the cushions from the bin to use as packing material as
he or she fills the boxes on the roller conveyor for shipment.
There is no indication of what type of lifting conveyor is used
for the illustrated installation, although a specific type of
conveyor is obviously commercially viable.
We further agree with the examiner as to the scope and
content of the Long and Wiseman references. Long discloses a
non-contact air film conveyor intended for conveying a web of
film at high speed. The conveyor is formed of a duct with an air
plenum or pressure chamber 18 in the base of the duct with air
holes from the pressure chamber where injected air lifts and
transports a strip of film 46. Long discloses that his conveyor
is designed to transport "strips of web material having surface
coatings or finishes sensitive to contact by adjacent surfaces
during conveying." Col. 2, lines 7-10. Wiseman is directed to a
conveyor of modular construction that eliminates the need to
custom manufacture each conveyor. Wiseman states that air
conveyors can convey relatively light objects without the use of
moving parts.
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