Appeal No. 2004-2315
Application No. 09/348,155
Carricato pertains to a method and apparatus for delivering
sheets from a printing unit to a pile of sheets. Carricato’s
apparatus includes an intermediate transfer cylinder 26 for
transferring a sheet from a first chain 16 to a second chain 34,
and for slowing the sheet down as it is deposited on the pile of
sheets 38. To this end, the transfer cylinder includes a first
gripper 42 for gripping the leading edge of a sheet to be
transferred, and a second gripper 44 for gripping the trailing
edge of the sheet. Carricato indicates that engaging the
trailing edge of the sheet permits the sheet to be deposited on
the pile of sheets without disturbances or flutter (column 1,
lines 45-50; column 4, line 61, through column 5, line 2).
According to the examiner, it would have been obvious to one of
ordinary skill in the art in view of the teachings of Rahe and
Carricato “to utilize . . . grippers for gripping a trailing edge
of the signatures on the gripper cylinder [of Rahe] as another
way to reduce tail-edge flutter” (final rejection, page 5).
Discussion
We appreciate that the stated purpose of the brush guide 81
of Rahe is to minimize the whipping around of the trailing ends
of sheets when they are released from between the tapes 13 and
5
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