Appeal No. 1999-0414
Application No. 08/625,352
threshold level adjuster establishing said threshold level.”
Referring to Mirmilshteyn, the examiner finds correspondence to the required
elements of instant independent claim 1 by identifying pivot 8 of the reference as
having a “torque resistance.” The examiner also identifies
elements 29 and 30 of the reference as being a “torque adjuster” for establishing
the claimed threshold level. With regard to the application of a torque exceeding a
predetermined threshold level to rotate the earphone, the examiner identifies push
button 30 and spring 29 of Mirmilshteyn as elements of the prior art which meet the
claimed limitation.
We disagree with the examiner and will not sustain the rejection of claim 1
(and, therefore, claims 2-4 and 8-10) under 35 U.S.C. § 102(b) over Mirmilshteyn.
Nowhere in the patent disclosure does Mirmilshteyn mention anything about torque
needed to overcome any threshold level. When push-button 30 is pressed, spring
29 is compressed and half-couplings 21, 24, 26 and 27 are disengaged so that
coupling member 8 is disconnected from headband 3 and from holder 6 of the ear
cup 1 [see column 4, lines 33-40]. This allows coupling member 8 to rotate relative
to the headband 3 and it allows holder 6 with the ear cup to rotate relative to the
coupling member. There is no disclosure in Mirmilshteyn about any torque
4
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