Appeal No. 96-0733
Application 08/173,805
This is an appeal from the decision of the examiner finally
rejecting claims 1 through 3, 5, 6, 8 through 15 and 38, which
constitute all of the claims remaining of record in the
application.
The appellants' invention is directed to a modular
communications terminal block and mateable connector. The
subject matter before us on appeal is illustrated by reference to
claim 1, which reads as follows:
1. An environmentally protected terminal having a
plurality of standardized sealed mateable/demateable individual
interfaces capable of interconnecting a plurality of devices in
an outside environment, the apparatus comprising:
a terminal including a plurality of paired electrical
contacts, at least one end of each contact sealed in a gel
sealing material within the terminal but capable of forming a
repeatably sealed mateable/demateable connection with a separate
pair of electrical contacts apart from the terminal, the separate
pair of electrical contacts being surrounded by an elastomeric
member filled with a gel sealing material, the end opposite to
the mateable/demateable end within the terminal forming a
permanently sealed electrical contact to a wire, wherein the pair
of mateable/demateable electrical contacts remains sealed before,
during, and after connection to the separate pair electrical
contacts, and wherein the interface between the separate paired
electrical contacts and the block at mateable/demateable
electrical contact within the terminal is formable in the absence
of specialized tools.
THE REFERENCES
The references relied upon by the examiner to support the
final rejection are:
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