Appeal No. 1997-3403 Application No. 08/032,889 the Examiner and find ourselves persuaded by the Examiner’s reasoning. We find that barrier member 40 of Rodrigues serves as a grommet and acts as a barrier to moisture getting into the enclosure 10, see Summary of the Invention. Figures 4 and 5 of Rodrigues show the structure recited in claim 1, as the Examiner has pointed out above. Members 46 and 48 constitute the deflectable portions, a part of 48 is the frangible section joining the diaphragm section and the deflectable portions. Thus, when a cable 30 is inserted along the line “l” through the barrier member 40 into the enclosure 10, the frangible membrane 48 is pierced, though only at the point of entry, and the deflectable members 46 as well as the membrane 48 close against the cable so that moisture is sealed out from getting into the enclosure, as happens in the claimed grommet. Therefore, we sustain the obviousness rejection of claim 1, and its grouped claims 5, 9, 14 and 15 over Smith and Rodrigues. Claims 2, 6 and 10 We consider claim 2 as representative of this group. The Examiner again combines Smith and Rodrigues. We note that Smith shows a resilient member 88 with a slit 90. The 10Page: Previous 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 NextLast modified: November 3, 2007