Appeal No. 2004-0352 Page 4
Application No. 09/716,767
the shaft also has external threads at its distal end, which receive a nut 25 for
“connecting” the body of the force sensing transducer to the wheel (column 1, lines 39-
42). In other words, from our perspective, in the Ward device the shaft is caused to
rotate with the steering wheel by means of the splined connection, and the steering
wheel is held in this position on the shaft by the threaded nut. Ward does not discuss
the relative hardness of the various components with respect to one another.
With regard to the invention as recited in claim 1, Ward fails to disclose or teach
(1) a tube threadedly coupled to the free end of the body, (2) that the tube is composed
of a material relatively softer than the external threads on the body, and (3) that the tube
is so coupled as to have the tube material located in the grooves on the body.
Dubuque discloses a tube 16 joined to a rod end 22. With particular reference to
Figure 2, the tube end is provided with internal threads 18 located inwardly of an
unthreaded entrance portion 20, and the rod has external threads 12, inward of which is
a portion having longitudinal grooves 14. As shown in Figure 4 and explained in
columns 2 and 3, once the rod is screwed into the tube to the extent desired, the
entrance portion of the tube is swaged to the rod, thus pressing the ridges defining the
longitudinal grooves into the inner surface of the tube, which prevents the two
components from rotating with respect to one another. Dubuque teaches that the tube
be of a softer material than the rod end, so that the swaging causes the metal in the
tube to flow into the grooves of the rod (column 1, lines 64 and 65).
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