Appeal No. 2004-0917
Application No. 09/684,210
We cannot agree with the appellants. The appellants’
recited “means for aligning said conduit in said conduit port of
said housing” comprises an alignment sleeve 60 that is
interposed between the connecting block 130 and the fastener 70.
(Figure 4.) According to the appellants, “[l]eakage can occur
in conditions where the connecting block and conduit are not
properly aligned to the housing.” (Specification, page 2, lines
8-10.) The alignment means is said to “ensure[] square
alignment between the connecting block and conduit and the
housing to reduce the potential for refrigerant leaks and
therefore expensive damage to automotive air-conditioning
equipment.” (Specification, page 3, line 23 to page 4, line 3.)
Like the appellants, Pickett discloses that “[c]antilevered
block connections may leak due to incomplete engagement,” e.g.,
where conduit 12P and connecting block 60P tend to misalign
cross-axially relative to conduit port 44P in a housing 40P.
(Column 1, lines 41-62; Figure 1.) As a solution to this
problem, Pickett claims an engagement device (20, 120, 220),
which “provide[s] visible, audible, and tactile verification
that a cantilevered conduit connection is fully engaged wherein
a conduit is mounted squarely within a conduit port of the
housing” and “assists in fastening a connecting block to a
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