Appeal No. 1998-0073
Application 08/273,813
But even while being carried about, many practical work
environments for hand-held data terminals seem to subject
the terminals to greater hazards than a typical office
computer environment. For example, the terminals are
likely to be used in dusty warehouses. The terminals may
also be affected by inclement weather conditions in
conjunction with certain outdoor uses, such as at
airports or in truck yards. The desirability of rugged
and weather resistant terminals seems apparent (emphasis
added).
Hsieh’s computer is also portable which allows the user to
carry it to different locations other than a controlled office
environment and subject the computer to adverse conditions
such as those addressed above by Chadima. Therefore, we find
that the Examiner has provided sufficient reason for one of
ordinary skill in the art to combine a reference providing a
sealing unit with Hsieh’s external ports in the bottom housing
of a portable computer. Since Appellant’s claim 2 does not
preclude external ports that are sealed using rubber O-rings
and gaskets, we affirm the Examiner’s rejection of claim 2
under 35 U.S.C. § 103 over Hsieh and Chadima.
In regard to the rejection of claim 3, Appellant on page
21 of the brief and page 5 of the reply brief argues that
Chadima’s handle is a resilient strap for holding the computer
by the user. Appellant adds that Hsieh does not disclose a
“multiple-mounting” handle as recited in claim 3. Appellant
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