Appeal No. 2002-0612
Application No. 09/254,631
The examiner looks to the aforementioned unnumbered element
in the high pressure outlet opening of Arnold, of which Arnold’s
specification is silent, to meet these claim limitations. While
both appellants and the examiner agree that this unnumbered
element performs some sort of sealing function, precisely how
that sealing function is brought about is a hotly contested issue
in this appeal. Appellants contend that the sealing takes place
only at the sides of the unnumbered element at members that
appear (to appellants) to be o-rings. The examiner maintains
that sealing takes place both at these o-rings and also at the
end faces of the unnumbered element. More particularly, the
examiner considers that
Arnold et al. teach that the high-pressure sealing
element provides the sealing function at its end faces
(see the following figure)[3], and the o-rings provide
redundant sealing, as was known by one of ordinary
skill in the art. Arnold et al. teach that, as the
cylinder head is tightened onto the casing 20, the
high-pressure affected sealing points (which, in the
Arnold, et al. reference are at the end faces of the
sealing element) are tightened against metallic
surfaces. [Answer, page 5; emphasis added.]
In the “Response to Argument” section of the answer, the
examiner further notes that housing part 53 of Arnold is
3The figure in question, an enlarged view of the unnumbered element of
Figure 1 of the Arnold patent, appears at the bottom of page 5 of the answer.
4
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