Appeal No. 99-0201
Application No. 08/696,283
Guilford is not concerned with brake shoe actuating
systems. This reference discloses a cam follower assembly in
which the outer ring is mounted on a shaft and a plurality of
sets of roller bearings are interposed between the outer ring
and the shaft for the purpose of accommodating end thrust
(column 1). Figures 5 and 6 show an embodiment in which each
roller has a “crowned end portion” (120, 121). The patent
states that the preferred crown drop and crown width will be
such that “the axial ends of the rollers . . . will comprise a
suitable area for thrust-engaging contact with the flanges 14
and 15 of the bearing outer ring 13, and with the annular
thrust ring 25,” and that the crown width will be “of a
dimension suitable for maintaining the roller surfaces . . . a
distance away from the lubrication channel” (column 5).
Guilford does mention “fatigue under misaligned conditions” in
the course of explaining the invention (column 5). However,
there is no explicit teaching in the reference that the curved
end portions of the rollers are for the purpose of protecting
the rollers from damage resulting from misalignment, nor does
that appear to be an inherent result, given the structure and
operation of the assembly. It therefore is our view that one
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