Appeal No. 2000-0421
Application 08/912,429
We consider first the rejection of claims 1, 2, 5, 6, 9, 10,
13 and 14 under 35 U.S.C. § 102(b) as being anticipated by the
disclosure of Pastore. Anticipation is established only when a
single prior art reference discloses, expressly or under the
principles of inherency, each and every element of a claimed
invention as well as disclosing structure which is capable of
performing the recited functional limitations. RCA Corp. v.
Applied Digital Data Systems, Inc., 730 F.2d 1440, 1444, 221 USPQ
385, 388 (Fed. Cir.); cert. dismissed, 468 U.S. 1228 (1984); W.L.
Gore and Associates, Inc. v. Garlock, Inc., 721 F.2d 1540, 1554,
220 USPQ 303, 313 (Fed. Cir. 1983), cert. denied, 469 U.S. 851
(1984).
The examiner indicates how he reads the claimed invention on
the disclosure of Pastore [answer, pages 5-6]. Appellants argue
that Pastore does not disclose the claimed second electrical
interconnection. According to appellants, the solder balls 26 in
Pastore provide a thermal conduction path only, and not a second
electrical connection [brief, page 7]. The examiner responds
that Pastore [column 5, lines 54-57] teaches that the thermal
conductor can also be used as an electrical conductor [answer,
pages 10-11]. Appellants respond that a ground trace is not a
signal path [reply brief, page 3].
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