Appeal No. 1999-0067
Application 08/533,305
outside of the male member and is rotated a number of times to
pull the two members together. A flange on the outside of the
male member limits the longitudinal displacement of the collar
as it is rotated to control the extent to which the seal is
deformed on compression. Insofar as the requirements of claim
18 are concerned, Espy fails to disclose or teach: (1) the
slots and helical groove in the receiving chamber of the
female member; (2) that the seal is hollow and of metal; (3)
the projections extending outwardly from the male member and
dimensioned to slide axially into the slots in the female
member and then rotate in the helical groove; and (4) the male
member being rotatable ninety degrees with respect to the
female member when the projections are in the helical groove
to axially compress the seal.
Rudolph discloses a coupling of the type in which a male
member is received in a chamber in a female member “wherein
the ends of two pipes or conduits may be temporarily placed in
communication and a tight seal between said pipes established
and maintained during the time they are in communication,”
such as when used to permit the injection of grease into the
bearings of automobiles or other machinery (page 1, lines 3-
-6-
Page: Previous 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 Next
Last modified: November 3, 2007