Appeal No. 1998-2206
Application No. 08/537,143
angle between a tangent to the connecting line tangentially
contacting the connecting line at a contact point and a plane
perpendicular to the axial direction changing at a constant
rate.
Dependent claims 4, 5, 19, and 20 respectively set forth
that the connecting line can become a parabola or a hyperbolic
curve if the tubular part is cut and flattened.
As evidence of anticipation, the examiner relies upon the
Monsees '072 patent, which incorporates by reference the
Monsees '408 patent. Considering the referenced documents as
a whole, we are not convinced by the examiner's findings that
the two Monsees' teachings evidence a connecting line wherein
the angle between a tangent to the connecting line
tangentially contacting the connecting line at a contact point
and a plane perpendicular to an axial direction changes at a
constant rate. The examiner has not shown that the equation
governing the curvature of the groove 22 of Monsees '408
(column 4, lines 5 through 24) establishes, in fact, a
connecting line as defined in independent claim 1, which so
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