Appeal No. 2005-1843 Page 6
Application No. 09/585,222
Positioned within Matousek's valve chamber 12 and arranged to control the flow
between the inlet and outlet passages 14 and 16, is a ball valve element 22. An
integrally formed operating stem 26 extends outwardly of the ball valve element 22. A
valve operating handle 66 is operatively connected to the operating stem 26 to operate
the ball valve element 22. Matousek teaches (column 3, lines 2-7) that:
It is to be understood that although the valve is shown as a standard straight
through flow valve, it could, within the scope of the invention, have other flow
patterns and, for example, be a three-way valve with a Y flow pattern or other
more complex flow arrangements.
The appellant argues that claim 1 is not anticipated by Matousek since
Matousek's housing 10 is not a barstock body having a substantially uniform transverse
cross-section defining the outer walls. We agree. As shown in Figures 1-4, Matousek's
housing 10 does not have a substantially uniform transverse cross-section defining the
outer walls due to the presence of the upper end of valve chamber 12 in which the
operating stem 26 is situated. While Matousek's housing 10 may well be formed from a
barstock material originally having a substantially uniform transverse cross-section
defining the outer walls, the finished housing 10 (i.e., after machining) does not have a
substantially uniform transverse cross-section defining the outer walls.
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