Appeal 2006-1042
Application 10/208,131
Issue 3: Web straightener for automatically
centering the web of foldable material along
a centerline of the path (Claims 14 and 34)
Next, we review the rejection of claim 14 over Barut. Claim 14
further limits claim 1 by requiring that the apparatus for forming folds
further comprises “a web straightener located along the path of the web of
foldable material upstream from the skis for automatically centering the web
of foldable material along a centerline of the path.”
According to the Examiner, “[w]ith respect to claim 14, the apparatus
of BARUT further comprises a web straightener comprising guide rollers (5)
mounted upstream of the ski (7,8), wherein the straightener (5) is designed
to function such that it automatically and correctly centers the web (4) along
a centerline of the path of the web” (Answer 4).
Appellants argue that “Barut discloses two guide rollers (5) between
which the sheet (4) passes before the sheet moves through the pleating track
(6). As explained below with respect to claim 34, Barut fails to disclose that
the guide rollers can straighten (i.e., laterally shift) the sheet as it passes
through the rollers” (Br. 10). The Examiner maintains that the rollers 5 of
Barut “structurally and functionally satisfy the claimed straightener”
(Answer, para. bridging cols. 8-9).
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