Appeal No. 1999-0613 Page 5
Application No. 08/592,025
teaching, suggestion or inference in the prior art as a whole or from the knowledge
generally available to one of ordinary skill in the art and not from the appellant's disclosure.
See, for example, Uniroyal, Inc. v. Rudkin-Wiley Corp., 837 F.2d 1044, 1052, 5 USPQ2d
1434, 1439 (Fed. Cir.), cert. denied, 488 U.S. 825 (1988).
Independent claim 1 is directed to a motor vehicle steering assembly comprising a
metal steering shaft of predetermined hardness, a tubular housing affixed to the vehicle
frame and enclosing a portion of the length of the shaft and defining a radial gap between
the shaft and the housing, and at least one sleeve bearing interposed in the gap and
having an integral external flange formed at one end thereof, with the bearing so positioned
that the flange engages an associated end of the housing and the sleeve substantially
closes the gap along at least a portion of the length of the shaft. The claim specifies that
the bearing is
formed of a polymeric material having a predetermined hardness which is
substantially less than the predetermined hardness of said steering shaft
wherein in the event abrasive foreign matter enters between the steering
shaft and the sleeve bearing, the sleeve bearing will be deformed and
binding between the steering shaft and the bearing is thereby precluded.
Kawabata discloses a vehicle steering system comprising a steering shaft (10)
enclosed by a tubular housing (14) and supported at its upper end by a sleeve bearing (32)
and at its lower end by a low-vibration device (34). Much of the structure recited in claim 1
can be found in Kawabata, and concern is expressed in this reference for keeping dust
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