Appeal 2007-2378
Application 10/837,098
1 claim 1 on appeal. Thus, Brewis does not anticipate claim 1 or its dependent
2 claims.
3
4 The Appellants do not point out, and we do not find, any disclosure by Brewis that
5 the stop prevents the ribs’ main bodies (47) from falling out when they are not
6 engaging a pipe. As for the argument that the stop is far behind the rear ends of the
7 jaws in the drawings, the Appellants’ stop flange 122 also is far behind the rear
8 ends of the jaws (84; fig. 4). Brewis’s silence regarding the stop in the portion
9 referred to by the Appellants does not indicate that the stop does not limit forward
10 travel of the expansion mandrel and prevent outward radial travel of the jaws after
11 the ribs have engaged the wall of the pipe. Brewis’s disclosures that 1) the
12 expansion mandrel has a frusto-conical surface complementary to the rear frusto-
13 conical surface of the expansion element (Brewis, col. 3, ll. 17-19), 2) the
14 expansion element is drawn forwardly urging expansion of the expandable element
15 so that the toothed ribs are urged outwardly into the pipe (Brewis, col. 3, ll. 25-27),
16 3) the rear of the expansion mandrel has thereon an enlarged stop (56) (Brewis,
17 col. 3, ll. 17-19), and 4) the enlarged stop is positioned such that as the expansion
18 mandrel is drawn toward the expansion element the only thing the stop can hit is
19 the back of the expansion element (fig. 1), indicate that the stop functions to stop
20 the movement of the expansion mandrel toward the expandable element and
21 thereby stop further outward radial travel of the expandable element.
22 We therefore are not convinced of reversible error in the rejection under
23 35 U.S.C. § 102(b).2
2 The Appellants correctly argue that claims 14 and 17-20 should have been
rejected under 35 U.S.C. § 103 with claim 4 (Reply Br. 5), but the Appellants do
not provide a substantive argument as to the separate patentability of claims 14 and
4
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