Appeal No. 1998-0509
Application 08/236,771
"Br__") for a statement of Appellants' arguments
thereagainst.
OPINION
Claim interpretation
The last parts of claims 1 and 28 recite "wherein the
insert[s] reduces distortion of the housing caused by torque
of the fastener[s], wherein the torque results from the
fastener[s] turning" (plural in claim 28). These
limitations are considered to be purely functional because
no structure or mechanism has been recited to support the
function of reducing distortion and the claims are not in
means-plus-function format. Claim 1 recites an "insert
including an electrical insulating material" and claim 28
recites "electrically insulating inserts," which do not
provide any structure
for reducing distortion; compare claim 12 which recites
"said insert including a deformable material." We interpret
claims 1 and 12 to impliedly require the insert to be a
deformable material as well as an electrically insulating
material.
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