Appeal No. 2006-1588
Application No. 10/707,526
brief, page 5). The claims require that the food product free
falls through the cutting means entirely under the force of
gravity. The claims do not require that the entire product falls
unimpeded through the cutting means. The claims are open to
interruptions between the cutting of portions of the food
product, provided that each portion falls through the cutting
means entirely under the force of gravity. Each portion of Leo’s
jelly-like material falls through the die entirely by the force
of gravity before it hits plate 37 (page 2, left column, lines
55-58).
For the above reasons we are not convinced of reversible
error in the examiner’s rejection of claims 1, 6 and 7 under
35 U.S.C. § 102(b) over Leo.
Rejection under 35 U.S.C. § 103
Shadduck discloses a splitter for a vegetable such as a
potato being cut to make French fries (col. 1, lines 1-9). The
splitter includes inwardly sloping tongues (36) that center the
potato in the splitter as the potato is dropped into position on
splitting knives (24, 25) before an arcuate or hollow curvature
of a plunger (17) is pressed against the upper end of the potato
(col. 3, lines 19-34).
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