Appeal No. 2005-0841
Application No. 08/230,083
(30) being guided over a dovetail guide (31) on the outer surface
of the outer housing (3)" has been deleted.11
The second step of the Clement test, as discussed supra, is
"to determine whether the broader aspects of the reissue claims
relate to surrendered subject matter." Id. at 1468-69, 45 USPQ2d
at 1164. The prosecution history of Application 07/642,475 set
forth above establishes that the examiner indicated that the
above-noted inner frame limitation was allowable over the prior
art. In response, appellant added the inner frame limitation to
rejected claim 1 to overcome the prior art rejection. The
examiner also indicated that the limitation "wherein the locking
element (30) is guided over a dovetail guide (31) on the outer
surface of the outer housing (3)," hereafter referred to as the
dovetail guide limitation, was allowable over the prior art. In
response, appellant added the dovetail guide limitation to
rejected claim 11 to overcome the prior art rejection. Since
reissue claim 14 includes neither the inner frame limitation nor
the dovetail guide limitation, the limitations that had been
added to overcome a prior art rejection, the reissue claim
11 Reissue claim 14 also differs from both patent claim 9 and also patent
claim 11 in that the limitation "[i]n a check valve assembly in association with
the ventilation system for the passenger space of a motor vehicle" has been
changed to "[a] check valve assembly adaptable for use with a ventilation system
for a passenger space of a motor vehicle," but we consider this alteration
neither a broadening nor a material narrowing.
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