Appeal No. 1999-1170 Page 3
Application No. 08/801,872
OPINION
In reaching our decision in this appeal, we have given careful consideration to the
appellant's specification and claims, the applied prior art references, the respective
positions articulated by the appellant and the examiner, and the guidance provided by our
reviewing court. As a consequence of our review, we make the determinations which
follow.
The appellant’s invention is directed to drive couplings in which elastomers are
incorporated to avoid transmission of a large amount of vibration across the coupling. The
appellant describes three types of prior art couplings which he states utilize elastomers
having radial spring rates that are ten to twenty times the design torque of the coupling,
expressed in pound-inches. It is the appellant’s opinion that the prior art couplings suffer
from a number of shortcomings, which his invention overcomes. See specification, pages
1 and 2.
As manifested in independent claim 1, the appellant’s invention is directed to a
drive coupling having a magnitude of design torque level and comprising a housing
including a first connector for attachment to one of the drive and driven shafts, a hub at
least partially contained within the housing and including a second connector for
attachment to another of the drive and driven shafts, and a radially soft elastomer member
Page: Previous 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Next
Last modified: November 3, 2007