Appeal No. 1999-0033 Application No. 08/514,255 For reasons discussed supra, Ryall’s resilient member 180 will decrease the connecting rigidity in an impeller radial direction and even in an impeller circumferential direction, as well as in an impeller axial directrion. Accordingly, claim 1 is also anticipated by Ryall. For this additional reason, the § 102(b) rejection of claim 1 based on Ryall is sustainable. Claims 8, 9 and 12 are also anticipated by Ryall. For this additional reason, the § 102(b) rejection of claims 8, 9 and 12 based on Ryall is sustainable. In this regard, we note that the unrestrained radial deformation recited in claims 8, 9 and 12 is not limited to any particular form or type of deformation. Instead, these claims are broad enough to cover any form of radial deformation of the vane member, such as thermal deformation or “thermal distortion” as appellants call it on page 10 of the brief.5 Thermal deformation may take the form of thermal contraction or thermal expansion. Clearly, thermal contraction of Ryall’s vane structure 16, 18 in a radial direction is unrestrained by the outer casing (claim 8) or the inner casing 12 (claim 12). Furthermore, thermal expansion of Ryall’s vane structure 44 in a radial direction is unrestrained by the outer casing and is also unrestrained by the resilient member 180. We cannot sustain the § 102(b) rejection of claim 8 based on the German reference. Claim 8, as noted supra, recites that deformation of the vane member in an impeller radial direction is unrestrained by the casing which surrounds the vane member. According to the examiner’s findings (see page 7 of the answer), the German reference discloses a centrifugal pump in which the vane member 3, 4 is attached to a part 5 of the 5 The word “distortion” is a synonym for the word “deformation.” See Webster’s Third New International Dictionary cited supra. 10Page: Previous 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 NextLast modified: November 3, 2007