Appeal No. 2003-1727
Application No. 09/589,015
Recognizing that Chisnell does not disclose the claimed sealing means, the examiner relies
on the disclosure of Sylvester. See, e.g., the Answer, page 5. However, we observe that Sylvester is
directed to a self-adhesive reinforced foam gasket for use in
automotive industry such as a gasket for inside the glove box, for the outside mirror,
around where the seat belt attaches to the floor, as a seal around the top of the fuel
tank filling tube, around audio speakers in the front and back of the car, around cut-
outs in the dash for air conditioning ducting, around the inside of the door, to act as a
secondary seal around the opera window, and to act as a secondary seals around the
trunk lid... As is apparent, the invented gasket material can be used in similar gasket
application outside the automotive industry. These gaskets principally cushion and
seal against wind, noise and moisture. See column 4, lines 50-65, column 2, lines
43-59 and column 1, lines 23-26.
As correctly stated by the appellants (Brief, page 7), “[t]he gasket disclosed in Sylvester and the O-
ring 28 disclosed in Chisnell perform different functions which would lead one of ordinary skill in
the art to the conclusion that the gasket and the O-ring 28 are not interchangeable.” In other words,
the applied prior art references do not reveal that in so employing the gasket described in Sylvester
in the high pressure fluid conducting systems described in Chisnell, one of ordinary skill in the art
would have a reasonable expectation of success in preventing leakage of fluid, such as refrigerant
gas. In re Vaeck, 947 F.2d 488, 493, 20 USPQ2d 1438, 1442 (Fed. Cir. 1991). Nor do they
provide any motivation or suggestion to replace the effective sealing means described in Chisnell
with a gasket untested in a harsh condition, such as the one described in Sylvester. Vaeck, 947 F.2d
at 493, 20 USPQ2d at 1442. To do so would destroy the invention on which Chisnell is based. Ex
parte Hartmann, 186 USPQ 366, 367 (Bd. App. 1974).
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