Appeal 2007-1309
Application 10/873,241
[sic]. Also inserting foils or thin plates between the
wedge and the frame half bordering thereon can produce
a further stress. (Ortwein, col. 2, ll. 13-19.)
5. Ortwein does not expressly disclose that the elastic layer undergoes vertical
compressive stress when the elastic layer lies wedged into the rail.
6. Figures 1 and 2 of Ortwein show the elastic layer 3 extending completely
along the length of the rail between the lower face of the rail head and the
upper face of the rail base (i.e., along the rail web) when the elastic layer 3 is
disposed against the rail web. As such, Figures 1 and 2 of Ortwein clearly
show a snug fit of the elastic intermediate layer 3 against the lower face of
the rail head and the upper face of the rail boot.
7. A common definition of elastic is “Easily resuming original shape after
being stretched or expanded; flexible.” The American HeritageŽ Dictionary
of the English Language, (definition 1a), 4th ed. (2000).
8. The prestressing in Ortwein would necessarily cause the elastic layer 3 to
expand at the upper and lower ends as it is squeezed from the sides by the
wedge, such that a vertical compressive stress would inherently occur when
the column of the elastic layer 3 lies wedged into the rail 1.
9. Ortwein does not disclose that the elastic intermediate layer 3 is made of
rubber or a hard rigid material. Ortwein further does not disclose that the
elastic intermediate layer 3 is formed by extrusion.
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Last modified: September 9, 2013