Appeal No. 2003-2145
Application No. 09/310,627
printed circuit board to the other. The Examiner asserts that the eyelet of Alexander
meets this claim limitation. We agree. Alexander discloses that the eyelet is an
opening that allows gas to flow from one side of the circuit board to the other. (Col. 6,
ll. 6-8). Although Alexander does not suggest the channel in the eyelet could be used
for conducting solder therethrough, Alexander recognizes that solder would run out of
the through-hole if present during assembly. (Col. 6, ll. 25-31). This teaching would
also apply to a eyelet plug that contains a through-hole.
Appellant in the Reply Brief, page 7, argues that the flow of solder through the
eyelet of Alexander is contrary to its intended purpose. This argument is not
persuasive. The purpose of the opening in the reference does not have to be the same as
Appellant. We note that Appellant has failed to argue that the opening in the eyelet of
Alexander is not capable of allowing solder to flow from one side of the circuit board to
the other.
Appellant asserts that claims 46, 50 and 56 require the plug to extend through the
via of the circuit board and into a second via. (Brief, p. 21).
August teaches the means suitable for attaching a separable heat sink to a printed
circuit board. A person of ordinary skill in the art would have reasonably expected that
plugs that extend through the circuit board and into the heat sink were suitable for this
purpose.
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