Appeal No. 95-3096
Application 08/139,072
end sections 22 which are brazed to the conductive
layer on the windshield. The middle section has male
plug 18 which is disclosed as being a lead area to
which an electrical connection can be made. In paper
no. 16, page 3, lines 3-5, the lead (conductor) is
admittedly 1) “flexible”, and 2) attached to male plug
18 by a female connector (not shown) attached to the
lead (not shown).[ ] Eckardt et al. discloses a lead2
connected to the conductive layer on the windshield.
The lead comprises a flexible braid having a plug
mounted on one end of the braid. It would have been
obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time
the invention was made to form the admittedly flexible
lead of Boaz as a flexible braid having a plug mounted
at one end, as taught by Eckardt et al., to allow
stresses to be absorbed by the flexible braid. It is
noted that the claims recite the connection piece as
“to be mounted” to the braid or “connected” to the
braid. Thus the plug connection of Boaz to the braid
meets these limitations.
Appellants argue, in essence, that it would not have been
obvious to combine Boaz and Eckardt. They note that Eckardt
discusses the use of bridge elements, such as disclosed by Boaz,
at column 1, lines 38 to 55, and discloses the use of a metal
braid as a replacement for such elements to avoid the solder
2Paper No. 16 is an amendment filed by appellants on
February 23, 1993. The portion referred to by the examiner
states:
Boaz is directed to an electrical terminal of the
type having a male plug connector 18 onto which a
flexible conductor can be fitted via a female plug
connector.
In addition, we take official notice of the fact that the
wires used in automobile electrical systems are usually stranded,
rather than solid. The wire connected to lug 18 of Boaz would
therefore be flexible, although presumably not braided.
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