Appeal No. 98-1523 Page 11
Application No. 08/705,744
The appellant argues that Duffee does not disclose clips
and that the flange that is disclosed has no axial extension
from the seal surface at the bolt end.
We agree with the appellant that Duffee does not disclose
an axial extension from the seal surface at the bolt end.
Although, th gland or plate 20 does interconnects the seal to
a housing 14 and as broadly claimed is a clip, and element 20
does indeed include an axial extension 22, this extension is
not disposed at the bolt end. Rather the axial extension is
from the radial seal surface at the seal end.
In view of the foregoing, we will not sustain the
examiner’s rejection of claim 18 and claim 23 dependent
therefrom. In addition, we will not sustain the rejection of
claims 20, 24, 25 and 27 under 35 U.S.C. § 102(e) as being
unpatentable as anticipated by Duffee as claims 20 and 25,
from which claim 24 and 27 depend, each recite an axial
extension from the radial seal surface at the bolt end.
We turn finally to the examiner’s rejection of claims 20,
24, 25 and 27 as being unpatentable under 35 U.S.C. § 102(b)
as anticipated by Malmstrom. The examiner is of the opinion
that Malmstrom discloses all the features of the claimed
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