Appeal No. 97-1250
Application 08/347,087
portion of the first plate which is closest to and defines the
hole in the plate corresponding to the cylinder bore of the
engine. It is not disputed that the curved portion D10a on the
Udagawa gasket constitutes a heat preventing portion. Since this
heat preventing portion D10a comprises the portion of the plate
D10 which is closest to and defines the hole Hc corresponding to
the cylinder bore of the engine, it is formed at an inner end
portion of the plate as recited in claims 1 and 12.
The Udagawa gasket does not meet, however, the limitations
in claims 1 and 12 requiring a main sealing portion situated
around the heat preventing portion and being formed of at least
three annular portions and laminated together by bending the
first metal plate outside the inner end portion. Even if the
flange D10b, core D10d, and the overlying portion of plate D10 in
the Udagawa gasket D are assumed to comprise a main sealing
portion formed of at least three annular portions as submitted by
the examiner, they are not laminated together by bending the
plate outside the inner end portion of the first plate as recited
in claims 1 and 12. More particularly, although the bend between
the flange D10b and core D10d lies outside the inner end portion
of Udagawa’s plate D10, the bend between the flange D10b and the
overlying portion of the plate D10 does not.
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Last modified: November 3, 2007