Appeal No. 2004-0653
Application No. 09/872,053
connector (152, 178) including a plurality of data pins (154) and
a plurality of data contact pins, with the plurality of data pins
being arranged in first and second rows. The examiner further
observes that the connector (178) of Furay can be used with a 2.5
inch disc drive (col. 5, lines 34-36), and also contends that the
connector may be mounted to the drive in various configurations
"including for 3.5-inch environment (col. 5, lines 38-40)" (final
rejection, page 2). The examiner's findings as to what is
lacking in the Furay reference vis-a-vis appellants' claimed
subject matter is that this patent has no explicit disclosure
concerning the requirements in appellants' claims on appeal of no
more than forty data contact pins and pin pitch of 2.54 mm.
To account for these differences, the examiner turns to
Baxter, urging that this patent specifically discloses forty
(col. 4, line 19) data pins (48) and a pin pitch of 2.54 mm.
From such teachings, the examiner concludes that it would have
been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time
appellants' invention was made to "configure the Furay connector
as having no more than forty contact data pins and pin pitch of
2.54 mm, as taught by Baxter et al, to use the Furay hard drive
in Baxter et al environment" (final rejection, page 3).
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