Appeal No. 1999-0067
Application 08/533,305
coupling comprises male and female members attached together
with a compressed hollow metal seal interposed therebetween.
As manifested in claim 18, the female member has a cylindrical
receiving chamber with a first end and an internal
circumferential shoulder, a helical groove in the receiving
chamber, and a pair of slots extending from the first end to
the helical groove. An axially compressible hollow ring-
shaped metal seal is positioned in the internal shoulder, with
a seal retainer connected to the female member to hold the
seal in place. The male member has a cylindrical body with a
leading face and a pair of projections extending radially from
the body and dimensioned to slide within the slots in the
female member until they reach the helical groove. The male
member is rotatable ninety degrees with respect to the female
member when the projections are in the groove, with this
rotation urging the male member further into the receiving
chamber and the leading face against the seal to axially
compress the seal.
It is the examiner’s view that all of the structure
recited in claim 18 is disclosed by Espy “except for the use
of a continuous camming surface on the male and female halves”
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