Appeal No. 2000-0302
Application No. 08/796,363
device.
As indicated by the parenthetical insertion in his quotation
from this paragraph on page 5, lines 7 to 9 of the answer,1
the examiner seems to believe that the language "the quill 24
may be returned" means the quill is lowered relative to the
wire. This interpretation of Tiffany's disclosure is clearly
incorrect because Tiffany specifically states at col. 3, lines
10 to 12, that as the welding is completed the quill 24 is in
its lowermost position, so that return of the quill to its
Fig. 2 position, as disclosed in col. 3, lines 15 to 17, would
necessarily involve raising the quill relative to the wire.
Moreover, Tiffany expressly discloses at col. 2, lines 65 and
66, and at col. 3, line 18, that the wire is cut by the burner
60 (thereby separating the welded ball 50 from the wire). We
find absolutely no disclosure in the reference of the claimed
step of separating the ball from the wire by lowering the
capillary tool (quill) relative to the wire.
In view of the foregoing, it should be evident that
Tiffany also does not disclose the last-recited step of
1 We note that the quotation does not accurately repeat
the text of the Tiffany patent.
4
Page: Previous 1 2 3 4 5 6 Next
Last modified: November 3, 2007