Appeal No. 96-0919
Application 08/027,922
[t]he [Deiters] housing 34 serves as a means to protect
the elements of which it surrounds, that being the
cylinder [ram] 52 and piston [ram head] 50. The
elements which go into motion to perform the actual
crushing of the can 38 are the cylinder and piston.
While the housing has a significant roll [sic, role] in
the overall device, it can be argued that the actual
crushing of the can could take place with only the
cylinder and piston mounted on the top. Thus, it is
feasible to read as the can crusher the cylinder and
piston and not include the housing. With this view in
mind it can be stated that the opening 40 is indeed
laterally spaced from the can crusher [answer, pages 5
and 6].
The appellant argues, however, that the Deiters “opening
(40) is clearly located beneath the can crusher; not laterally
spaced from the can crusher” (main brief, page 3) because “[t]he
housing (34) in Deiters is a necessary part of the crushing
mechanism” (reply brief, page 1).
The position taken by the appellant in this regard is well
founded. Deiters expressly describes housing 34 as a “crusher
housing” (column 2, line 38). It is also apparent from the
Deiters disclosure (see column 2, line 62 et seq.) that the
housing 34 is an integral and necessary component of the can
crusher. In this light, the examiner’s determination that the
recitation of the can crusher in claim 54 can be read on Deiters’
“cylinder and piston and not include the housing” (answer, page
5) is completely unreasonable. Since the examiner’s finding that
the Deiters opening 40 is laterally spaced from the can crusher
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Last modified: November 3, 2007