Appeal No. 2005-2543
Application 08/637,894
The second sealing ring is bulbous, annular, curved, depending from the first ring and
located relative to the first ring to form on its outer surface a second seal smaller than the first
seal. The at least curved ring must in addition be bulbous, that is, it must have a bulb-like
rounded projection, and depend from, that is, hangs down from, the first sealing ring in manner
that the surface of the second ring forms an air-tight seal smaller than the first seal, thus
encompassing the structure shown by seal 36 in specification Fig. 3 (specification, page 8,
ll. 14-17). We determine that one of ordinary skill in the art would recognize from the structure
shown in specification Fig. 3 that the term “bulbous” is used in its ordinary, dictionary meaning
in context of “[r]esembling a bulb in shape; rounded or swollen.”5
The third bottom sealing ring is secured to, that is, attached to, the underside of the
second seal, smaller in diameter than the second seal, and the outer surface forms a third air-tight
seal, thus encompassing the structure shown by seal 38 in specification Fig. 3 (specification,
page 8, ll. 18-24).
The language of claim 1 further provides that the sealing rings are “integral with the
lower end” of the bellows and are “integral with each other and said bellows.” We determine
that the term “integral” requires that the sealing rings and the bellows are joined together in any
manner to form a complete structure, which structure is also specified by the “depending from”
and “secured to” language in the seal limitations.
We cannot agree with the examiner’s position in the ground of rejection of appealed
claim 1 as anticipated by Scarella, that the three ribs 7 and the cylindrical portion 8 of cone 6
shown in Scarella FIG. 1 describe a structure that falls within the three sealing structure required
by claim 1. While the ribs 7 and cylindrical portion 8 are annular and curved with respect to
cone 6, the structure shown in the Scarella FIGs. 1 and 3 does not satisfy the requirements of
claim 1 as we have interpreted this claim above. This is because the first and second ribs 7 are
not “depending from” the bellows 5 and then each other; the first rib 7 does not cooperate with
the lowermost section of the bellows 5 to form an air-tight seal; the second rib 7 cannot be
4 See, e.g., The American Heritage Dictionary, Second College Edition 382 (Boston, Houghton
Mifflin Company, 1982); Webster’s II New Riverside University Dictionary 363 (Boston,
Houghton Mifflin Company. 1988).
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