Appeal No. 96-0555
Application No. 08/156,741
For this reason, it is our opinion that a prima facie
case of obviousness is not established with regard to either
of the rejections in which Vrobel is the primary reference,
and we will not sustain these rejections.
That is not the case, however, with Powell. The
connection system disclosed in this reference comprises a
first insulator 23 having an exposed face from which a
plurality of contacts 32 protrude, and a second insulator 40
having an exposed face in which there are sockets to receive
pins. The entrance 54 to each socket is tapered. The patent
teaches that the connection system "is designed for use in
hostile environments where [it] . . . might be subjected to
dirt and corrosive materials," and that it is designed to mate
with male and female "push-on" socket connectors (column 2,
lines 12-17). Powell does not disclose or teach providing an
elastomeric material on the face through which the pins
protrude, and it would appear that both that face and the face
having the sockets are of rigid material.
Webber discloses a connector comprising a plug member 6
which terminates in a convex resilient end surface 35 through
which a pin 8 protrudes. Jack member 7 terminates in an end
6
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