Appeal No. 2003-0083 5
Application No. 09/691,532
Ehrlich pertains to an apparatus for mounting a wheel on a vehicle including a
hollow, non-rotatable axle 22, a wheel hub 40 having a hollow spindle 30, and a valve or
venting structure 68 positioned within the spindle. The valve is a soft, flexible membrane
or diaphragm that is made of suitable material such as a soft flexible polymer (col. 3, lines
36-38) and includes a narrow slit 72 for opening and closing the valve in response to
pressure differentials created during operation of the vehicle (col. 3, lines 39-42). The
valve operates in the manner set forth at col. 4, lines 17-44, to vent the wheel hub cavity
42 to the interior of the axle and prevent the build-up of pressure in cavity 42 during use.
It is conceded by the examiner that Ehrlich does not respond to the “magnetic portion”
limitation of claim 1.
Frehse is directed to a vented plug 12 for a wheel bearing hub assembly, wherein
the plug includes a magnetic portion 11 that serves to collect metallic particles from the
bearing lubricating fluid. Based on the teachings of the applied references, the examiner
considered that it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time of
the invention “to provide the axle plug of Ehrlich with a magnetic portion to help remove
metallic debris which may travel between the interior of the axle and the area inside the
hub cap” (final rejection, page 3). In an apparent modification of the examiner’s position in
response to arguments made by appellant in the main brief, the examiner now considers
that it would have been obvious “to provide [the] axle vent assembly of Ehrlich with a
magnetic portion” to help remove any ferrous metallic debris (answer, page 5).
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Last modified: November 3, 2007