Appeal No. 98-0028
Application No. 08/455,912
artisan, who is presumed to have skill, rather than the lack
thereof.
For the reasons set forth above, we shall sustain the
rejection of claim 1 and of claims 2-5 and 9, which the
appellant has grouped therewith (Brief, page 5).
Claim 6 adds to claim 1 the limitation that the retaining
and sealing members are axially displaced on the coupling and
engage the inner surface of the wall of the bore at axially
displaced locations. The use of such an arrangement to seal
an opening in which a fitting is installed is disclosed by
Puttonen. We view this as a confirmation that it would have
been within the purview of one of ordinary skill in the art to
utilize both retaining and sealing members in a quick-connect
coupling that seats within a bushing in a fluid tank, and to
locate these elements axially spaced from one another.
The rejection of claim 6 therefore is sustained, as is
the rejection of claims 7 and 8, which were grouped with claim
6.
Independent claim 17 is directed to an improvement in a
push-to-connect coupling for mounting in an unstopped bore
having cylindrical surface. The improvement comprises an
9
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