Appeal No. 98-1253
Application No. 08/249,931
contention since the above-noted beveled or inclined portion
can
be broadly considered to be on the lip, and does indeed have a
diameter which "progressively increases" and extends away from
the ribs or collars 56.
In view of the foregoing, we will sustain the rejection
of claims 1, 7-9, 11-15 and 17 under 35 U.S.C. § 102(b) as
being anticipated by Otani.
Turning to the rejection of claims 1, 7-9, 11-15 and 17
under 35 U.S.C. § 103 as being unpatentable over Scowen in
view of Vogel, the examiner is of the opinion that it would
have been obvious to make the end plug portions of the plugs
42 of Scowen of an "umbrella shape" in view of the teachings
of Vogel. We do not agree. The examiner has correctly noted6
that (1) Scowen discloses elastomeric plugs 40 for sealing
passages 34 in a connector 14 and (2) Vogel teaches a plug 22
6We are at a complete loss to understand why the examiner
did not utilize the "known" (specification, page 1, line 7) or
"conventional" (specification, page 4, lines 3 and 6) rubber
plug/connector depicted by the appellants in Figs. 5 and 6 of
the drawings, and modify this "known" or "conventional"
plug/connector by providing an end plug portion of umbrella
shape in view of the teachings of Vogel.
7
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