Appeal No. 1998-1263
Application No. 08/351,993
Independent claim 25 recites a method of assembling a brake
stack with the following features, inter alia, the brake stack
having a front axial end adapted to be positioned adjacent to and
for contact only at circumferentially spaced apart locations by a
plurality of circumferentially spaced apart pressure application
members, the majority of the brake stack being formed of a
material that will deform or flow during an anticipated high
energy braking action, the method comprising providing the front
axial end of the brake stack with a first rigid disk arranged to
be contacted only at circumferentially spaced apart locations by
said plurality of circumferentially spaced apart pressure
application members, the first rigid disk being formed of a
material capable of maintaining a clamp load across the brake
stack during a high energy stop that is more uniform than the
clamp load across the brake stack that results when only using a
pressure plate of steel.
At this point, it is particularly important for us to fully
comprehend the meaning of certain language appearing in each of
claims 1, 10, and 25. First, we focus upon the recitation in the
claims of a first rigid disk as the front axial end of the brake
stack, which rigid disk is formed of a material capable of
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