Appeal No. 2006-1956
Application No. 09/935,917
1 positioning of the slitter and/or perforator housings (col. 2, ll. 57-61). In
2 other words, Carter’s slitter/perforator permits the user to select sheets to be
3 slit and/or perforated while the sheets are moving through the machine.
4
5 ANALYSIS
6 The first issue before us is whether it would have been obvious to
7 combine the references as proposed by the Examiner. If such combination
8 would have been obvious, the second issue is whether the combination
9 would result in the subject matter of Appellant’s claims, in particular, a
10 method or perforator for selecting sheets of a group for perforation as the
11 group is successively moving through a perforation device.
12 Moll and Hayamizu disclose two different types of paper cutting.
13 Moll cuts in the sense of perforating while Hayamizu cuts in the sense of
14 severing. Nevertheless, Moll and Hayamizu both disclose apparatus and
15 methods for cutting paper in pre-programmed customized patterns that can
16 be varied using a single apparatus. In Moll, the user programs the apparatus
17 by inputting the distance from the edge of the paper at which the perforation
18 is to begin, the length of the line of perforation and the overall length of the
19 sheet. In Hayamizu, on the other hand, the pattern for cutting is
20 programmed onto the paper itself, in the form of bar codes 7 that contain
21 instructions for the cutting apparatus.
22 Appellant points out differences between Moll and Hayamizu. As
23 noted above, Moll perforates while Hayamizu severs. Moll processes sheets
6
Page: Previous 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Next
Last modified: September 9, 2013