Appeal No. 2005-1943
Application No. 09/091,508
of the answer, the concept of an arrangement that allows fluid
flow through all of the pack sections connected by the open
joiner caps is not required by appellants’ claim 1. Therefore,
appellants argue a limitation not present in the claim. Claim 1
requires that the pack sections be connected by open joiner caps
“into a hollow separation arrangement.” Pall ‘923 discloses such
a configuration. That is, beginning at line 37 of column 3 of
Pall ‘923, Pall ‘923 teaches that each of the end caps 17, 18,
25, and 26 is provided with a central aperture communicating the
central open area enclosed by the primary and reserve filter
elements 15 and 16, and together constituting the central passage
5.
Beginning at line 5 of column 4 of Pall ‘923, Pall ‘923 also
teaches that the normal flow of fluid enters the filter head at
inlet port 2, enters the space 4, and then it flows through the
primary filter element 15 in core 30, and the filtrate then
enters the central passage 5 and leaves the filter unit at the
outlet port 3.1
The above-identified disclosure of Pall ‘923 clearly
indicates that caps 18 and 25 secure pack sections 15 and 16 into
“a hollow separation arrangement”, as made evident by the normal
1 When the filter element 15 becomes plugged, valve 50 opens, and the
flow of fluid then continues, but now it passes valve 50 and enters
space 60 on the outside of the reserve filter element 16, and then it
flows through the filter element, and emerges via core 31 into central
passage 5, as before, and then leaves the filter unit via port 3.
-5-
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Last modified: November 3, 2007