Appeal No. 96-3418
Application No. 08/317,135
adds filters to the coupler and the nipple. The
filters can be in both the coupler and the nipple,
the coupler only or the nipple only.
The appellant’s invention is further described as including “a
coupler 15 and a nipple 66,” which are referred to in the
specification as “coupler halfs” (specification, page 3). As
a result of our review of the Wilcox patent, and the
appellant’s drawings and the accompanying explanation in the
specification, it is clear to us that the “coupling” that is
the subject of the appellant’s invention comprises two
components, a “coupler” and a “nipple,” which are removably
attachable together. This conforms to the common definition
of the term “coupling,” which is “a device that serves to
connect the ends of adjacent parts or objects.” 2
In view of the above, the term “coupling” in the
appellant’s claims should be interpreted as meaning a two-
component structure comprising a releasably attachable coupler
and nipple. This being the case, the claims do not read on
the Neracher device, for several reasons. First, inventor
Neracher has called his device a “filter,” not a coupling.
2See, for example, Merriam Webster’s Collegiate
Dictionary, Tenth Edition, 1997, page 266.
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