Appeal No. 96-2670
Application 08/232,677
invention. RCA Corp. v. Applied Digital Data Sys., Inc., 730 F.2d 1440, 1444, 221
USPQ 385, 388 (Fed. Cir. 1984).
Claim 1, the only independent claim on appeal, recites a hydraulic shock
absorber comprising, inter alia, “compensating means for altering the damping rate to
reflect the effect of the compressibility of the fluid in said shock absorber.” The
appellant contends that Bartholomaus does not meet this claim limitation (see pages 5
and 6 in the brief). The examiner, on the other hand, submits that
the electronic control unit 33 in the device of Bartholomaus et al is
readable as being the compensation[sic, compensating] means in that the
electronic control unit 33 does vary the amount of fluid within the cylinders
18, 19 by switching either of the valves 22 and/or 25 to their alternate
positions thereby changing the effective flow volume through the conduit
23, 24 [answer, pages 2 and 3].
The Bartholomaus reference does not support the examiner’s understanding
of the relationship between the electronic control device 33 and valve 22 disclosed
therein. As indicated above, valve 22 is part of a “failsafe” feature which is actuated
upon failure of the pump 18 and/or the electronic control device 33. Nor does the
Bartholomaus reference provide any reasonable support for a finding that the electronic
device 33, or any other structure disclosed therein, constitutes, either expressly or
under principles of inherency, a compensating means for altering the damping rate to
reflect the effect of the compressibility of the fluid in the shock absorber as recited in
claim 1. Thus, Bartholomaus does not disclose each and every element of the
4
Page: Previous 1 2 3 4 5 6 Next
Last modified: November 3, 2007