Appeal No. 97-2625
Application No. 08/118,925
receptacle below and adjacent the point of the leak of the
tank and (c) engaging the securing means with the tank.
Bartels, the examiner’s primary reference, discloses a
foldable or collapsible pail or container for holding water or
other liquids. The container may take the shape of a
truncated cone (Figs. 1-3) or pyramid (Fig. 4) having a bottom
panel 3 and upwardly tapering flexible wall 2 or 2' formed
from a plastic material such as polyvinyl chloride or
polyethylene. The container includes a pair of handle straps
10 for carrying the container and for fastening across the
bottom of the container when the container is in a collapsed
condition. See, Fig. 3 and col. 2, lines 12-15 and 19-24.
Bartels further discloses that
[w]hen it is desired to use the device it is extended and
while it may not have sufficient stability to maintain
its extended position when empty the introduction of a
liquid 15 imparts an outward pressure on the inwardly and
upwardly tapering wall 2 to impart a force component
acting to prevent container collapse. [Col. 2, lines 29-
34].
Bartels does not meet the limitation in independent claim
1 requiring a side wall extending upwardly and inwardly from
the periphery of the bottom wall to a height that is less than
the width of the bottom wall. Also, Bartels does not teach or
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