Appeal No. 2002-0334 Page 7
Application No. 08/779,361
defining between the arms spaces through which a volatile corrosion inhibitor material
vapor can be expelled, (2) an outer sleeve rotatably mounted around the base of the
inner sleeve and having an open end that fits over the arms of the inner sleeve and
slots which are equal to the size and number of the spaces between the arms in the
inner sleeve, and (3) a volatile corrosion inhibiting material in essentially a columnar
shape positioned in the inner sleeve. By means of this construction, rotating the outer
sleeve with respect to the inner sleeve adjusts the amount of volatile corrosion inhibitor
vapor released into the firearm by varying the relationship of the spaces in the inner
sleeve and the slots in the outer sleeve and thus the size of the openings through which
the vapors can pass. See pages 3, 4, 7 and 8 of the appellant’s specification and
Figures 2 and 3.
It is clear that the structure disclosed in Cech is not the same as that of the
appellant, for the inner sleeve does not have arms defining spaces and the outer sleeve
does not have slots. There is no mention in Cech of adjusting the amount of vapors
allowed to emanate from the core of corrosion inhibiting material and, while it might be
possible to do so, there is no teaching in the reference that the inner sleeve is rotatable
with respect to the outer sleeve once it is installed in place either by contact with the
inwardly extending annular shoulder 16 or by threaded connection (column 3, lines 40-
58). Moreover, even if the inner sleeve were to be rotated with respect to the outer
sleeve, the result would not be to adjust the amount of vapors dispersed to the firearm,
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