Appeal No. 2006-1915
Application No. 10/056,312
16 is provided on the final stage gear 15. The backlash eliminator 16 can
temporarily brake the final stage gear 15 upon the saw blade 4 initiating cutting the
workpiece to eliminate backlash between the final stage gear 15 and the preceding
stage gear 14. Col. 2, ll. 23-28.
Tsune’s backlash eliminator 16 includes a braking gear 17 meshing with the
final stage gear 15, a brake shaft 18 carrying the braking gear 17 and a brake disk
19, a pair of calipers 21 having brake pads 20 sandwiching the brake disk 19, and a
hydraulic cylinder 22 alternating the calipers 21 to open and close between a
braking position and a release position (col. 2, ll. 29-40). The backlash eliminator
does not include the pulley 9 or the belt connected between the pulley and the
motor.
Apparently relying on the second embodiment (Figs. 12 and 13), the
examiner finds that Ushiwata discloses all of the limitations of claim 1 except the
motor driving the second gear (i.e., motor shaft 12) via a belt (answer, p. 3).
The appellants concede that Ushiwata discloses all elements of claim 1
except the second gear being driven by the motor via a belt (brief, p. 4).
The examiner contends that it would have been obvious “to provide a belt in
Ushiwata as taught by Tsune in order to provide a backlash eliminator assembly,
which eliminates backlash between gears” (answer, p. 3). Specifically, the
examiner proposes replacing Ushiwata’s motor 11 with a pulley, as taught by
Tsune, and then relocating the motor to make room for the backlash eliminator 16.
Id. The examiner reasons that “Figure 2 of Tsune suggests that there is not
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Last modified: September 9, 2013