Appeal No. 1997-0524
Application No. 08/495,699
conductive pin extending through the housing wall with the
conductive pin having a smaller cross-sectional area which
acts as a fuse. More particularly, Appellants indicate at
pages 5-7 of the specification that the sealing structure has
a preselected coefficient of expansion compatible with that of
the pin and the wall and a softening point temperature in
excess of the conducting temperature adjacent the surrounded
periphery surface of the pin. Appellants assert that this
sealing structure prevents melting and venting through the
sealing structure occasioned by the inherently high melting
temperatures of the fuse.
Representative claim 1 is reproduced as follows:
1. A hermetic terminal assembly housing wall comprising;
a wall defined aperture extending between opposed inner
and outer faces of a portion of said housing wall:
an integral, unitary current conducting pin of the same
material throughout from one end thereof to an opposite end
thereof, said pin extending in spaced relation through said
wall defined aperture from said outer face to said inner face
of said wall defining aperture with a smaller preselected
portion of said pin having a preselected integrally associated
smaller cross-sectional area to act as a fuse, and,
a sealing member surrounding and extending radially
between the peripheral surface of said integral, unitary pin
and said wall defined aperture to hermetically seal said
current conducting integral, unitary pin in said aperture,
2
Page: Previous 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 Next
Last modified: November 3, 2007