Appeal No. 2003-1391
Application No. 09/165,772
A further understanding of appellants’ invention may be gleaned
from representative independent claim 1 which is reproduced below:
1. A method for automotive evaporative leak detection for use
with a system including a tank having vapor at a known pressure at
a first point in time, the method comprising:
measuring and recording a first temperature of the vapor at
substantially the first point in time;
measuring and recording a second temperature and a measured
pressure of the vapor at a second point in time;
computing a temperature-compensated pressure based on
previously measured values; and
comparing the temperature-compensated pressure with the
pressure measured at a second point in time to detect a leak.
Appellants state that claims 1-3 and 17 stand or fall together
(Brief, page 4). Accordingly, we select representative independent
claim 1 from this grouping and decide the ground of rejection in
this appeal on the basis of this claim alone. See 37 CFR
§ 1.192(c)(7)(2000).
The examiner relies upon Basile et al. (Basile), U.S. Patent
No. 3,413,840, issued Dec. 3, 1968, as evidence of obviousness.
Accordingly, the claims on appeal stand rejected under 35 U.S.C.
§ 103(a) as unpatentable over Basile (Answer, page 3, with
reference to the prior Office action, Paper No. 15).2 We affirm
2The final rejection of claims 1-3 under the second
(continued...)
2
Page: Previous 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Next
Last modified: November 3, 2007