Ex parte SHAW et al. - Page 6




          Appeal No. 97-2483                                                          
          Application 08/575,830                                                      


          provides a resilient member        claimed or mentioned                     
          forming a - - for receiving                                                 
          an automotive radiator cap                                                  
          having ears extending there-            No ears extending                   
          from.                              therefrom; ridge of                      
                                             gas cap fits in channel                  



          No channel walls disclosed         Channel walls claimed                    
          Col. 1, line 37 - skirt is         No flexible skirt.                       
          flexible.                                                                   
          No shaft connecting housing        Shaft connecting handle to               
          to handle.                         housing.                                 
          Col. 2, line 56-57; - A            Handle attached to shaft                 
          handle 39 extends from the                                                  
          backing member 31 and is                                                    
          attached thereto by fast-                                                   
          eners such as screws 40.                                                    
                                                                                     
                                                                                     
                 Appellants’ first and third arguments regarding the                  
          absence of a “resilient member” and a “flexible skirt” in                   
          their claimed invention are without merit. By reciting that                 
          the tool comprises various elements, claims 1 and 4 are open                
          to the inclusion of elements not recited in the claims. See In              
          re Fenton, 451 F.2d 640, 642, 171 USPQ 693, 695 (CCPA 1971)                 
          and In re Hunter, 288 F.2d 930, 932, 129 USPQ 225, 226 (CCPA                
          1961). Consequently, claims 1 and 4 do not exclude the                      

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