Appeal No. 1997-4077
Application No. 08/441,989
The subject matter on appeal is directed to a pipe joint
comprising a pair of tubular joint members made of metal
having opposed end faces, a threaded nut having a side wall
with an inspection window therein and a metal gasket between
the opposed end faces of the joint members. The pipe joint
may also include a metal retainer for holding the gasket in
place against an end face of one of the joint members. Either
the gasket or the retainer for holding the gasket in place is
distinctly colored so as to make the gasket or retainer
discernible from the joint members when viewed through the
inspection window. For example, the gasket or retainer may be
formed of stainless steel and an oxide film may be formed on
the stainless steel surface thereof or the stainless steel
surface may be coated with a colored resin
(specification, page 4). Claim 1 is illustrative of the
subject matter on appeal and is reproduced below:2
We consider the recitation of “a pair of tubular joint members . . .2
each having an abutting end face” and the various recitations of “abutting end
faces” in claims 1 and 4 to be misdescriptive because they suggest that the
end faces of the joint members abut or touch one another. In fact,
appellants’ specification teaches that the end faces of the joint members are
arranged opposite one another, but do not actually abut. Accordingly, we
construe claims 1 and 4 as requiring simply that the gasket be interposed
between and that the inspection window be positioned radially aligned with
opposite or opposed end faces of the first and second joint members. We also
2
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