Appeal No. 2004-0209 Page 3
Application No. 09/120,778
The appellant’s invention relates to power operated rotary knives wherein a
rotatable annular blade is supported for rotation about a central axis by a blade support
structure. The appellant’s improvement comprises a blade that is supported at two
axially spaced apart bearing line segments which according to the appellant, stabilize
the blade both radially and axially as the knife operates, minimizes the generation of
heat caused by friction, and causes the blade to operate virtually vibration free
(specification, pages 3 and 4). As manifested in claim 24, this feature comprises a first
“line of bearing contact” disposed in a plane that is transverse to the axis of rotation of
the blade and a second “line of bearing contact” that is spaced from the first line in a
direction parallel to the axis of rotation, with the lines being formed at least in part by a
bead on one of the blade or the support which contacts spaced bearing surfaces
formed on the other of the blade and the support. It is clear from the explanation on
page 9 of the specification that the phrase “line of bearing support” should be
interpreted to mean that the engagement between the structure on the blade and that
on the support is, in fact, a line contact between the opposed elements such as that
illustrated in Figure 9 wherein the surface of bead 100 of semicircular cross-section
engages the frustoconical surfaces 70 and 72 at two spaced lines.
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