Appeal No. 1999-0431
Application 08/541,135
to representative, independent claim 1, the examiner cites
Guzay as teaching an elastic cover for a cable connector which
has an inner sleeve and an outer sleeve. The examiner notes
that Guzay does not teach the sleeves being expandable by
contact with an expanding chemical and shrinkable upon removal
of the chemical. The examiner cites Clemence as teaching the
cold shrinking of elastomeric materials by allowing a swelling
agent to vaporize. The examiner finds that it would have been
obvious to the artisan to apply the sleeves of Guzay to a
cable connection using a volatile swelling agent and allowing
its evaporation to shrink the sleeves because Clemence teaches
this technique for adhering a cover to a cable connection
[answer, pages 4-5].
Appellant argues that the examiner has selectively
chosen portions from Guzay and Clemence and ignored the
complete teachings of these references. Appellant argues that
the teachings of Guzay and Clemence are incompatible because
Guzay relates to mechanical or physical stretching of material
while Clemence relates to a chemical swelling process.
Appellant argues that combining the teachings of Guzay and
Clemence would render both covers ineffective for their
-6-
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