Appeal No. 1996-4111
Application No. 08/311,902
forth in that earlier decision are provided below for
convenience:
The novelty of the claimed subject matter lies in
providing a non-conductive material (plastic) coating
to all of the surface of conventional battery terminal
connectors, except for anticipated electrical contact
areas, to prevent their corrosion. See Specification
in its entirety.
Appellant acknowledges that such conventional
battery terminal connectors are known. See
Specification, page 1. These conventional battery
terminal connectors are also known to have corrosion
problems, due to their proximity to battery vent caps
and their contact with road salts and water. Id.
These battery terminal connectors are sometimes
provided with a plastic or rubber sheath to protect
them from corrosion. See Specification, page 2. The
use of a plastic or rubber sheath, however, is known to
be ineffective since it does not form "a tight seal
which will prevent liquids and other foreign materials
from touching the battery terminals." Id.
However, we find that Davidson teaches using a
plastic insulating coating (non-conductive material) to
all surfaces of a safety battery connector, except for
"regions of anticipated direct electrical connection"
to prevent corrosion. See column 5, lines 5-35. We
also find that the safety battery connector described
in Davidson is analogous to the claimed battery
terminal connectors since it, like the claimed battery
terminal connectors, connects an electrical cable to a
battery terminal post and is exposed to the same
environment and the same problem, i.e., corrosion,
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