Appeal No. 2001-2649
Application No. 09/358,926
See page 3 of Appellant's specification. Upon our review of
Figure 4, we see that the female connector member 12, the
conductive bullet-shaped member 11 and the end terminal 10 are
all one piece.
The American Heritage Dictionary, Second College Edition,
defines integral as "a complete unit; whole."2 Furthermore, we
note that the Appellant has also argued that integral means that
the hollow internal threaded member and the conductive end of the
terminal post are one piece. Appellant points out that Lienard
has a three-piece construction while the applicant only has a
two-piece construction, the male conductor and the female
conductor member. See pages 4 and 5 of the appeal brief.
Therefore, we find that the term "integral" for the purposes of
this application means that the female connector member, the
conductive end terminal and the bullet-shaped wire splaying end
are all made up of one piece.
Turning to Lienard, we find that Lienard fails to teach this
structural limitation. Lienard teaches that the thread post 2 is
totally separate and discrete from female member 1. See Figures
2 The American Heritage Dictionary, Second College Edition,
1982, page 687. A copy of the pertinent portions have been
provided.
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