Appeal No. 2002-0931
Application No. 09/037,625
Appellants’ claimed invention is directed to an apparatus
for coating a fluid over a splice on a moving web. The apparatus
comprises a coating die which delivers the coating fluid across a
coating gap onto the moving web. The apparatus also comprises a
vacuum system which generates a reduced pressure along the lower
surface of the coating die, which system includes a vacuum gap
with the moving web in the coating position. The apparatus also
includes a controller for adjusting the coating gap and the
vacuum gap in order to accommodate a splice on the web during the
continuous coating of the fluid.
Appealed claims 1-13 and 15-25 stand rejected under 35
U.S.C. § 103 as being unpatentable over JP ‘074 in view Finnicum
and DE ‘345.
Upon careful consideration of the opposing arguments
presented on appeal, we find ourselves in agreement with
appellants that the examiner has not established a prima facie
case of obviousness for the claimed apparatus. Accordingly, we
will not sustain the examiner’s rejection.
The examiner appreciates that JP ‘074, while disclosing an
apparatus for coating a fluid on a moving web wherein the coating
gap is adjustable during the coating operation, provides no
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