Appeal No. 1999-2327
Application No. 08/168,235
the first unit, the second unit having splines and bolt holes,
with the splines and bolt holes being in registration with
each other. Independent claim 19 sets forth a torque limiting
clutch and output shaft assembly comprising, inter alia, an
output hub received upon an output shaft by an interference
fit, the output hub having splines and threaded bores, and
wherein one of the threaded bores and a valley of one of said
splines are collinear on a line that intersects with a center
point of the output hub.
Having assessed the collective teachings of the applied
Heidenreich ‘517, Heidenreich ‘909, Entrup, and Kohler
documents, this panel of the board concludes that the evidence
before us does not support a conclusion of obviousness as to
the claimed subject matter, as more specifically explained
below.3
3As to the interference fit feature of claims 1 and 19,
it is our opinion that the disclosure of Heidenreich ‘517
considered together with the reasonably pertinent teaching of
Kohler would have been suggestive to one having ordinary skill
in the art of the combination of a key and thermally induced
interference fit between the output shaft and output hub in
the torque limiter of Heidenreich ‘517 (Fig. 3). Relative to
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