Appeal 2007-1869
Application 09/023,416
1 shutoff valve 56 to output block 11 (JP ‘720, ¶¶ 0012, 0013).2 Each of the JP ‘720
2 input shutoff valve 54, purge valve 55 and output shutoff valve 56 is a two port
3 valve (JP ‘720, fig. 3) (what the Appellants’ claim 1 refers to as a 2-type on-off
4 device). The ports of the valves are arranged in a row in a common plane along a
5 line (JP ‘720, fig. 2).
6 The Appellants argue that JP ‘720 discloses only two port valves, not the
7 other types of valves recited in claim 1 (Br. 11). To anticipate that claim a
8 reference need not disclose every type of valve recited. The claim merely requires
9 a valve selected from the recited group. One of the recited types of valves is a two
10 port valve which, as acknowledged by the Appellants (Br. 11), is disclosed by
11 JP ‘720.
12 The Appellants argue that JP ‘720’s inputs and outputs to, respectively, the
13 input and output blocks are on the sides, not the upper surfaces, of those blocks
14 (Br. 11). The Appellants’ claim 1 requires that the passages to the valves are on
15 the upper surfaces of the valve mounts’ joint members, but the claim has no
16 requirement regarding the positions of the inlets and outlets of the valve mounts.
17 As acknowledged by the Appellants (Br. 11), the JP ‘720 blocks open at their
18 upper surfaces to the valves (JP ‘720, fig. 3).
2 The JP ‘720 communication paths in blocks correspond to the Appellants’
channels in valve mounts (compare the Appellants’ fig. 4 and JP ’720’s fig. 1).
4
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Last modified: September 9, 2013