Appeal No. 1997-4046 Page 9
Application No. 08/040,117
to flow through a needle into a container until the container
overflows” (emphasis added). The examiner is of the view that
this is taught by Peterson, a conclusion with which we do not
agree. We begin our analysis by finding that it would have
been clear to one of ordinary skill in the art from the
appellants’ specification that “overflow” be given its common
meaning, which is “to flow over the brim of.” While Peterson 2
discloses a means for causing liquid to flow through an inlet
needle 50 into a container, as well as an overflow needle 51
that is connected to a return line 19, there is no explicit
teaching in Peterson that filling continues until the container
overflows its brim, and it does not appear to us that such
inherently will be the case.
Initially, we note that the stated function of Peterson’s
needle 51 is to permit any gas that is in the container to flow
out as the liquid is being infused, and the reference discusses
the fill level of the container only in terms of obtaining an
appropriate sample (column 7, line 28 et seq.). In addition,
it is our view that the Peterson container cannot “overflow” in
2See, for example, Merriam Webster’s Collegiate
Dictionary, Tenth Edition, 1996, page 829.
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