Appeal No. 98-2446
Application 08/593,070
Appellant’s invention is directed to a cover for use on a
standard open head container or drum used in the waste
industry to contain and store potentially hazardous waste
materials, such as waste oil. As noted on pages 1 and 2, and
pages 5 and 6, of the specification, such standard open head
containers are typically 55 gallon or 30 gallon drums, which
drums would normally have a flat cover of substantially the
same diameter as the drum sealably secured to the open end of
the drum. Typically, the cover is secured to the drum by
means of a bolt ring similar to that seen in Figure 6 of the
application drawings. The cover of the present invention,
best seen in Figures 1 through 5 of the application drawings,
is a replacement for the typical flat drum cover described
above. Independent claim 1 is representative of the subject
matter on appeal and a copy of that claim may be found in
Appendix I of appellant’s brief.2
2 Given our understanding of appellant’s invention as noted above, we
understand the “cover” in line 6 of claim 1 as being the flat cover which
would normally be used on a standard open head container of the type mentioned
in claim 1 on appeal, and that such a flat cover is to be replaced with the
cover described and claimed in the present application. It would be prudent
for appellant and the examiner to clarify this minor informality during any
further prosecution of the application subsequent to this appeal.
2
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Last modified: November 3, 2007