Appeal No. 2003-2081
Application No. 09/893,931
or catch into or on.” While appellants argue that the V-shaped contacts of Hoppe, Jr.
do “not exhibit good resistance to pulling forces” (see reply brief at page2), we find that
this is an admission that these V-shaped contacts do fasten the connector to the wire,
but that it does not perform this function to forces as high as desired. Therefore, we
find that the detents 99 and 100 would be “locks” and that they “bite” into the insulation,
but not as strong as appellants may desire. Nonetheless, they are “locks.”
Appellants argue that the examiner’s reliance upon Endo is in error and that the
“structure of Endo et al. is formed so that a plated surface (not an edge) of Endo et al.
cuts into the insulation and contacts the core. Fig. 6 clearly shows that the press-
connecting blade 41a, 41b are cut only a shallow distance into the insulation and
present a curved plated surface of contact to the conductor.” (See reply brief at pages
3-4.) Appellants argue that “[a]gain, it is noted that the Examiner refers to ‘planar wire
locks’ of Endo et al. However, as shown above, the elements 41a and 41b are not
planar, and Endo et al. does [sic, do] not refer to those structures as locks.” (See reply
brief at page 4.) Additionally, we note that the portion of Endo cited by appellants in the
brief at page 8 uses the terms “edge face” in describing the contact portion of the
connecting faces 31 and 32. Here again, we turn to the dictionary to define “edge” as
the abrupt border or margin of anything; the part nearest some limit. Webster’s New
Universal Unabridged Dictionary, Deluxe Second Edition p. 576 (1979). We have
employed the above definitions of the terms “lock” and “edge” since appellants have not
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