Appeal No. 98-0028
Application No. 08/455,912
the bore by at least one radially projecting member that
prevents the coupling from being removed from the bore, with
the fluid coupling being sealed with respect to the bore by a
seal. Robinson discloses a tank for receiving a fluid, and a
bore in the wall of the tank. Robinson does not disclose or
teach the other structure recited in the preamble. However,
in a Jepson-type claim the elements recited in the preamble
are impliedly admitted to be old in the art (see In re
Ehrreich, 590 F.2d 902, 909-910, 200 USPQ 504, 510 (CCPA
1979)), and in the present case that implication is validated
in the appellant’s specification. On page 2 thereof, at lines
10-18, the appellant admits that it was known at the time of
his invention to utilize quick-connect couplings that were
“simply pushed home to seat within a bushing installed on the
tank,” and goes on to state that the bushings were welded onto
the exterior of the formed tank to provide a smooth bore, and
it was important to make sure that the weld was fluid-tight,
for otherwise the fluid or the gas could leak out. From our
perspective, one of ordinary skill in the art would have known
that a “quick-connect” coupling that is “pushed home to seat”
5
Page: Previous 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 Next
Last modified: November 3, 2007