Appeal No. 98-0028
Application No. 08/455,912
outer sleeve having an external surface on which at least one
barb is positioned for engaging the surface of the wall of the
bore and on which a peripheral seal is positioned, and a stop
on the coupling for engaging the outside surface of the wall
adjacent the bore so that it arrests the insertion of the
coupling into the bore. This claim stands unpatentable over
the combined teachings of Puttonen and McGugan, the examiner’s
position being that Puttonen discloses all of the claimed
subject matter except for the stop, which is taught by
McGugan. We do not agree.
The examiner has not pointed out, and we are at a loss to
find, the required “at least one barb” positioned for engaging
the surface of the bore in the Puttonen device, which is held
in place by the frictional interaction of a plurality of
compressible ribs that cause the coupling to become “tightly
wedged” in the bore (column 2, lines 38 and 39). Puttonen
also fails to disclose or teach means for “arresting
insertion” of the coupling into the bore, as is required by
claim 17. In this reference, the uppermost rib does not
perform such a function; while the coupling collar is pressed
into the bore “until the upper rib is level with the mouth”
10
Page: Previous 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 Next
Last modified: November 3, 2007