Appeal No. 96-0776 Application 07/953,539 seal assembly comprises an inner conductive part 11 sized and shaped to substantially mate with the coupled openings presented at the joined flanges, with the inner conductive part having a defined outer perimeter. The Bellis assembly further comprises an outer part 13 separable from the inner part and having a central opening that is complimentary in shape to the outer perimeter of the inner part and larger such that when the inner part is placed within the central opening an intermediate gap separates the parts, and a gas sealing element 12 sized to removably fit in the gap for providing a pressure seal at the joint when the parts and the sealing element are clamped between the flanges of the joint. The Bellis seal assembly "concerns fluid seals and has a particular application to the sealing of substantially parallel surfaces, as for example, pipe flanges and the like" (page 1, lines 10 through 13). Its sealing element "forms a circum- ferential seal about the axis of the pipe and flanges" (page 1, lines 19 through 21). The Bellis reference does not mention waveguides. However, from our perspective, a waveguide is merely a pipe that contains fluid under pressure (or vacuum) through 13Page: Previous 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 NextLast modified: November 3, 2007