In re Mulholland

• Decision Date: 27 June 1946
• Docket Number: Patent Appeal No. 5165.
• Citation: 156 F.2d 248
• Parties: In re MULHOLLAND.
• Court: U.S. Court of Customs and Patent Appeals (CCPA)

156 F.2d 248 (1946)

In re MULHOLLAND.

Patent Appeal No. 5165.

Court of Customs and Patent Appeals.

June 27, 1946.

Ernest F. Mechlin, of Washington, D. C. (Ritter, Mechlin & Muir, of Washington D. C., of counsel), for appellant.

W. W. Cochran, of Washington D. C. (H. S. Miller, of Washington, D. C., of counsel), for Commissioner of Patents.

Before GARRETT, Presiding Judge, and BLAND, HATFIELD, JACKSON, and O'CONNELL, Associate Judges.

GARRETT, Presiding Judge.

This is an appeal from the decision of the Board of Appeals of the United States Patent Office affirming the decision of the Primary Examiner rejecting all of the claims (Nos. 1 to 7, inclusive) in appellant's application for a patent for an alleged invention relating to improvements in a machine for roughening the surface of a sheet of fibrous material such as cloth or paper.

Claim 4 is sufficiently illustrative of the appealed claims. It reads:

"4. A machine for imparting a roughened appearance to the surface of non-metallic fibrous materials comprising an abrasive roll having its peripheral portion provided with abrasive grains bonded in inorganic material, a pivoted beam, a back-up roll journaled on said beam adapted to press the fibrous material against the abrasive roll, means for equally spacing the surfaces of said rolls at all corresponding points along the periphery thereof, fluid pressure means cooperable with the beam for inducing pivotal movement thereof to cause the back-up roll to move toward the abrasive roll and thus press the fibrous material against the latter, an adjustable stop limiting movement of the back-up roll toward the abrasive roll, said fluid pressure means controlling the pressure exerted on the fibrous material by said rolls and being adapted to subject the fibrous material to uniform pressure independent of the position the back-up roll occupies with respect to the abrasive material, means on one side of said rolls for feeding said fibrous material to the space between said rolls, means on the opposite side of said rolls for windingly receiving said material, and means interposed between said feeding means and said rolls for spreading the material prior to the operation thereon by said abrasive roll."

The references of record are: Mulholland 2,187,462 Jan. 16, 1940; Curtin 2,253,558 Aug. 26, 1941.

The machine disclosed by appellant's application and defined in the appealed claims comprises a so-called "back-up roll," over which a sheet of fibrous material passes, and an "abrasive roll" which roughens the surface of the sheet as it passes over the back-up roll. The back-up roll is mounted on a pivoted frame and as the frame is urged upwardly by diaphragms which are acted on by fluid under pressure, the backup roll forces the sheet of fibrous material against the abrasive roll, the sheet thus being gripped between the two rolls. The fluid pressure is kept constant. Accordingly, the pressure which the rolls exert on the sheet remains the same regardless of variations in the thickness of the sheet. Adjustable stops are provided which normally limit the movement of the back-up roll and prevent it from moving into contact with the abrasive roll in the event the sheet breaks or is otherwise pulled out from between the rolls. Should the back-up roll become roughened, the stops may be rendered inoperative so that the abrasive roll may be used to smooth the surface of the back-up roll.

In the operation of appellant's machine, the fibrous material to be roughened is unwound from a supply drum and passed over a spreader roll which serves to remove wrinkles or creases therefrom. From the spreader roll, the material passes between the abrasive roll and the back-up roll where it is roughened and the roughened material is wound on another drum or roller...