Appeal No. 98-1261
Application 08/435,869
shows two sets of contact members contacting each of the rings (7a and 8a, Figure 2), each contact
member comprises a single contact element (12 and 13, Figures 5 and 6), rather than the required
plurality of contact elements. Notwithstanding the arguments of the appellants, we find ourselves in
agreement with the examiner that it would have been obvious, however, to modify the contact elements
of French ‘008 by making the single element into a plurality of parallel spaced elements, in view of the
teachings of German ‘318, which is the first of the two alternate references set out by the examiner on
this point.
The German reference states, in a discussion of the prior art, that it was known to utilize a brush
with “parallel, flexible elements, acting independently from each other” and “formed by means of
segments of a metal plate” for an electrical connector utilized with a small electrical machine (translation,
pages 1 and 2). Its objectives are to improve upon these known brushes by providing a brush that
maintains the contact resistance between the brushes and the collector “as constant as possible . . . with
minimal contact pressure” so that “friction loss is reduced to a minimum,” while it also “satisfies the
demand for limited spatial requirement” (translation, page 3). The invention is disclosed as a resilient
brush (6) comprising a pair of spring portions (7 and 8) extending from a single plate element (10),
which brushes are in electrical contact with the rotating contact. The brushes are spaced from the
central axis of the rotating contact, and make electrical communication with the machine along annular
tracks as the machine rotates.
6
Page: Previous 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 Next
Last modified: November 3, 2007