Ex Parte Cronley

Board of Patent Appeals and Interferences

Jun 30, 2011

11832750 (B.P.A.I. Jun. 30, 2011)

UNITED STATES PATENT AND TRADEMARK OFFICE
UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
United States Patent and Trademark Office
Address: COMMISSIONER FOR PATENTS
P.O. Box 1450
Alexandria, Virginia 22313-1450
www.uspto.gov
APPLICATION NO. FILING DATE FIRST NAMED INVENTOR ATTORNEY DOCKET NO. CONFIRMATION NO.
11/832,750 08/02/2007 Gerald Cronley CronleyCon 6644
7590 07/01/2011
Milton S. Gerstein
6629 N. Francisco Avenue
Chicago, IL 60645
EXAMINER
RIPLEY, JAY R
ART UNIT PAPER NUMBER
3679
MAIL DATE DELIVERY MODE
07/01/2011 PAPER
Please find below and/or attached an Office communication concerning this application or proceeding.
The time period for reply, if any, is set in the attached communication.
PTOL-90A (Rev. 04/07)
UNITED STATES PATENT AND TRADEMARK OFFICE
____________

BEFORE THE BOARD OF PATENT APPEALS
AND INTERFERENCES
____________

Ex parte GERALD CRONLEY
____________

Appeal 2009-012643
Application 11/832,750
Technology Center 3600
____________

Before LINDA E. HORNER, STEFAN STAICOVICI, and
FRED A. SILVERBERG, Administrative Patent Judges.

HORNER, Administrative Patent Judge.

DECISION ON APPEAL
Appeal 2009-012643
Application 11/832,750

2
STATEMENT OF THE CASE
Gerald Cronley (Appellant) seeks our review under 35 U.S.C. § 134
of the Examiner’s decision rejecting claims 21, 25-27, and 29. We have
jurisdiction under 35 U.S.C. § 6(b). We REVERSE.
THE INVENTION
Appellant’s claimed invention is directed to “a coupler for connecting
a male-end of one hose, tube, connector, faucet, and the like to a female end
of another hose, tube, connector, and the like.” Substitute Spec. 1, ll. 6-8.
Claim 21, reproduced below, is representative of the subject matter on
appeal (emphasis added).
21. In a fluid coupler for coupling a male end into a female
end, said coupler comprising a main housing having a first male
end for connecting to a female end of a mating element, and a
second female end having a main wall consisting of an inner
circular wall portion interiorly of which is defined a hollow
interior for receiving therein a threaded mating male end having
a series of sloping threads, and a sealing washer operatively
associated with said second female end for providing a fluid
seal, the improvement comprising:
a mounting element for engaging with the sloping threads
of a mating male end inserted in said second female end;
said mounting element comprising a pair of spaced-apart
fork elements, each said fork element having an elongated
interior surface facing the elongated interior surface of the other
said fork element;
at least one sloping elongated linear thread element
formed in each said elongated interior surface for engaging
with the sloping threads of a mating male end inserted in said
second female end and on opposite sides thereof;
Appeal 2009-012643
Application 11/832,750

3
said main wall of said second female end comprising a
pair of diametrically-opposed channels for sliding therethrough
said pair of spaced-apart fork elements, a respective said fork
element being slidingly received in a respective one of said pair
of diametrically-opposed channels;
said main housing further comprising a pair of
diametrically-opposed, interior cutout portions that cooperate
with the hollow interior of said pair of diametrically-opposed
channels and with said hollow interior of said second female
end, a respective one of said pair of diametrically-opposed,
interior cutout portions being associated with a respective one
of said diametrically-opposed channels, said pair of
diametrically-opposed, interior cutout portions exposing said at
least one sloping elongated linear thread element of each of said
pair of fork elements to said hollow interior of said second
female end;
said interior cutout portions being arcuate-cutout sections
of said inner circular wall portion of said second female end,
each said interior cutout portion extending arcuately such that a
portion of a respective said at least one sloping elongated linear
thread element projects interiorly and radially inwardly through
a respective said interior cutout portion into the interior of said
second female end;
each said fork element comprising a first end and a
second cantilevered end; each said at least one elongated linear
thread element sloping downwardly in a direction from said
second cantilevered end toward said first end; said elongated
linear thread elements being capable of wedging a male end
inserted in said second female end as said fork elements are
slid in said channels.
Appeal 2009-012643
Application 11/832,750

4
THE REJECTIONS
Appellant seeks review of the following rejections:
1. The Examiner rejected claims 21, 25, and 26 under 35 U.S.C. § 103(a)
as being unpatentable over Appellant’s Admitted Prior Art (AAPA)
1
,
Kies (US 6,050,766; issued Apr. 18, 2000), and Porta (US 3,973,791;
issued Aug. 10, 1976).
2. The Examiner rejected claims 27 and 29 under 35 U.S.C. § 103(a) as
being unpatentable over AAPA and Kies.
ISSUE
The Examiner found that Kies discloses at least one sloping elongated
linear thread-engaging element as called for in claim 21 and at least one
sloping thread-engaging element as called for in claim 27 because each
linear thread in Kies has a sloping face. Ans. 4 (citing Kies, col. 1, ll. 64-66
and figs. 5 and 6).
Appellant argues that Kies does not disclose the claimed sloping
thread-engaging elements that are capable of wedging or camming a male
end inserted in the second female end as the fork elements are slid in the
channels, as called for in independent claims 21 and 27. Br. 13 and 15.
The issue presented by this appeal is whether Kies discloses the
claimed sloping thread-engaging elements as called for in claims 21 and 27.

1
The Examiner identifies the AAPA as being the subject matter recited in
the preamble of Jepson-style claim 21. Ans. 3.
Appeal 2009-012643
Application 11/832,750

5
ANALYSIS
Independent claims 21 and 27 call for at least one sloping elongated
linear thread element (claim 21) or at least one sloping thread-engaging
element (claim 27) formed in the elongated interior surface on each spaced-
apart fork element of the mounting element. Claims 21 and 27 further call
for the sloping thread-engaging element to slope downwardly in a direction
from a second cantilevered end toward a first end of each fork element and
to be capable of wedging or camming a male end of a mating element
inserted into the second female end of the main housing as the fork elements
are slid in the channels.
The Examiner’s finding that Kies discloses the sloping thread-
engaging elements of claims 21 and 27 is based on an overly-broad claim
construction that fails to give due consideration to the language of the
claims. In particular, the Examiner stated that “sloping” is a relative term
requiring a frame of reference and the claims provide no such frame of
reference. Ans. 18. The Examiner further stated that Appellant’s arguments
as to the intended functionality of the sloping elements are unavailing
because “it is improper to place limitations and/or intended functionality
restrictions from the specification into the language of the claims.” Ans. 19.
We disagree with these statements. First, claims 21 and 27 each
provide a frame of reference for the claimed “sloping” nature of the
elements in calling for the sloping thread-engaging element to slope
“downwardly in a direction from said second cantilevered end toward said
first end.”
Appeal 2009-012643
Application 11/832,750

6
Second, the functional language at the end of each of claims 21 and 27
calls for a structure capable of wedging or camming the male end of a
mating element into the female end of the main housing as the fork elements
are slid in the channels. A patent applicant is free to recite features of an
apparatus either structurally or functionally. See In re Swinehart, 439 F.2d
210, 212 (CCPA 1971) (“[T]here is nothing intrinsically wrong with
[defining something by what it does rather than what it is] in drafting patent
claims.”). The Examiner, in making this rejection, must provide a sound
basis for believing that the functional limitation may, in fact, be an inherent
characteristic of Kies. See id. at 213. The Examiner has not averred or
provided any basis for finding that the thread-engaging elements of Kies
having sloping faces are capable of wedging or camming a male end of a
mating element into the female end of the main housing. In fact, we find
that the sloping face on each thread-engaging element of Kies would not
render the elements capable of performing the wedging or camming
functions recited in the claims. Further, Appellant has provided a cogent
argument as to why the thread-engaging elements of Kies are not sloped so
as to be capable of performing this recited function. See Br. 13 (arguing that
Kies does not provide for such camming or wedging functionality because it
is not a device used in a fluid environment for coupling a fluid male end and
female end together). As such, we cannot sustain the Examiner’s rejections
of independent claims 21 and 27, or their dependent claims 25, 26, and 29,
based on the erroneous finding as to the scope and content of Kies.
Appeal 2009-012643
Application 11/832,750

7
CONCLUSION
Kies does not disclose the claimed sloping linear thread-engaging
elements as called for in claims 21 and 27.
DECISION
The decision of the Examiner to reject claims 21, 25-27, and 29 is
REVERSED.

REVERSED

nlk