Appeal No. 2003-2098 Page 8
Application No. 09/833,978
member 36 to closed position. The toggle member 36 now connects the prong
17 to the contact element 10 [sic, 19] so that the electrical device is connected in
series between the prongs 17 and 18 and is energized. The remote control
switch is, therefore, rendered inoperative as regards the control of the operation
of the electrical device. The plug 14 may be removed from the adapter so that
the operation of the electrical device will depend solely on the position of the
toggle member 36. It will be evident, of course, that if the plug 14 is left inserted
in the adapter and the switch 11 is in closed position, the electrical device will
remain energized even if the toggle member 36 is moved to open position. The
toggle member 36 performs the functions of a switch and may be regarded as
such.
It will now be seen that an adapter 10 has been provided which has a pair
of prongs 17 and 18 which are insertable in an electrical outlet and which has a
pair of contact elements engageable with the prongs of a plug of an electrical
device. It will also be seen that one prong 18 is directly connected to one
contact element 20 but that the other prong 17 may be connected to the other
contact element 19 either through a toggle or switch member 36 of the adapter
or through a remote control switch 11. Moreover, it will be seen that the toggle or
switch member 36 of the adapter renders the remote control switch inoperative
and also that the member 36 may function independently to control operation of
the electrical device if the plug 13 [sic, 14] is removed from the adapter.
The appellant's argument
The appellant argues (brief, pp. 6-7) that Freeman fails to disclose every element
set forth in claim 1. Specifically, the appellants point out that "Freeman has a pair of
male plugs, but lacks the 120 VAC ground plug mechanism."
The examiner's response to the appellant's argument
The examiner's response (answer, p. 4) to the above-noted argument is that
"claim 1 does not require a ground plug mechanism."
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