Appeal No. 1998-0236
Application No. 08/472,536
members 10 and 10a which are interconnected by a connector 1.
The connector has upper and lower finned mounting portions 2
and a central body 3 intermediate the upper and lower finned
portions 2. The upper and lower finned portions 2
respectively extend into the lower end of the upper post
member 10 and upper end of the lower post member 10a. The
connector’s central body 3 is interposed between the adjacent
ends of the upper and lower post members and has a slot 4 for
receiving a tab at an adjacent end of a respective rail 6 to
support the adjacent end of the rail. Thus, the basic purpose
of Vivoli’s connector construction is to mount the horizontal
side rails of the fence.
The examiner concedes that Vivoli lacks a disclosure of
appellant’s claimed flanges, the interconnecting web and the
mounting bosses extending outwardly from each flange to engage
the internal wall structure of the post sections. He
nevertheless takes the following position:
Gieling et al. teaches the use of posts(1)
joined together by a “connector”(27) having
“first and second mounting portions”(33) each
including a “pair of flanges”(35a, 37a)
interconnected by a “web”(47) and “two or more
mounting bosses”(53) extending outwardly from
each flange, wherein end portions of each flange
and the mounting bosses engage the upper and
10
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