Appeal No. 2003-1302
Application 09/035,478
such as optical fibers, therein from respective ends to thereby
effect abutment of tip surfaces of the rod members against each
other. Independent claims 9, 25 and 26 are representative of the
subject matter on appeal and a copy of those claims may be found
in the Appendix to appellants’ brief.
The sole prior art reference of record relied upon by the
examiner is:
Kooji (Japanese)1 04-006507 Jan. 10, 1992
Claims 9 through 13, 25 and 26 stand rejected under
35 U.S.C. § 102(b) as being anticipated by Kooji.
Rather than reiterate the conflicting viewpoints advanced by
the examiner and appellants regarding the above-noted rejection,
we refer to the examiner's answer (Paper No. 25, mailed November
18, 2002) for a complete exposition of the examiner’s position
1 Our understanding of this foreign language document is
based on a translation prepared for the U.S. Patent and Trademark
Office. For appellants’ convenience, a copy of that translation
is attached to this decision.
2
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