Appeal 2007-3154
Application 10/262,817
under 35 U.S.C. § 6(b). Claim 1 is representative of the claims on appeal,
and reads as follows:
1. A pump apparatus comprising:
(a) a tubular member comprising an electroactive polymer actuator
that is configured to expand and contract at least a portion of an inner
volume of said tubular member based upon received control signals; and
(b) a control unit electrically coupled to said actuator and sending
said control signals to said actuator.
The Examiner relies upon the following references:
Adolf US 5,250,167 Oct. 5, 1993
Kaneto US 5,556,700 Sep. 17, 1996
Soltanpour US 6,682,500 B2 Jan. 27, 2004
We reverse.
DISCUSSION
Claims 1-6, 8, 9, 14, 18, 19, 21, 24, and 32 stand rejected under 35
U.S.C. § 102(e) as being anticipated by Soltanpour.
According to the Examiner,
In the specification and figures, Soltanpour discloses the
device as claimed by Appellant. In particular, Soltanpour
discloses a pump apparatus 10 comprising tubular members 17,
17', an enclosed housing 11, an electrically actuated diaphragm
20 (comprised of multiple ionic polymer metal composites) that
expands and contracts in response to electrical signals from
electrodes 22, 24, controlled by a voltage source and computer
controller 43 that can display sensed operational parameters
(see FIG la, columns 4-6). The pump further comprises
check/control valves 16 and 18 between the inlet and outlet,
respectively, of the pump apparatus and the pumping chamber.
The Soltanpour device varies the inner volume of pumping
chamber 14, forcing fluid through the valves to generate a
pumping action.
(Answer 4-5.)
2
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