Appeal No. 1997-1451
Application 08/145,974
a joint physically connecting the rods to one another at
their respective connecting ends;
an open-ended sleeve sized to slide onto the connected
rods and to cover the joint and the corrodible surfaces of the
rods;
an inner layer of the sleeve comprising a thermoplastic
polymer for softening and liquefying when heat is applied to
the structural member; and
an outer layer of the sleeve comprising a heat-shrinkable
polymer for shrinking when heat is applied to the structural
member, and for forcing the liquefied inner layer into
intimate contact with the corrodible surfaces, the liquefied
thermoplastic polymer coating the corrodible surfaces and the
joint, and exuding from open ends of the sleeve, forming a
bead and acting as a barrier to corrosion-causing elements.
The references relied upon by the examiner as evidence of
obviousness are:
Wetmore 3,297,819 Jan. 10,
1967
Weatherby 4,124,983 Nov.
14, 1978
Van Beersel et al. (Van Beersel) 4,728,550 Mar. 1,
1988
All of the appealed claims are rejected under 35 U.S.C.
§ 103 as being unpatentable over Van Beersel in view of
Weatherby and Wetmore. On page 4 of the answer, the examiner
expresses his position as follows:
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