Appeal No. 2004-2173
Application No. 09/970353
specifically, appellants contend that Bahder's clamps (11, 12)
apply a compressive force to achieve a seal between the
insulating sleeve (10) and the insulating shields (8, 9), while
substituting a weld for each of Bahder's clamps (11, 12) would
not produce this compressive force and thus, would not form a
proper seal between Bahder's insulating sleeve (10) and the
insulating shields (8, 9) of the communication lines. Moreover,
appellants urge that the examiner has failed to cite any language
in Bahder or Crawley that would teach or suggest how one skilled
in the art could form a seal in Bahder's splice connection using
a weld.
The examiner's response to appellants' arguments is to
continue to urge that Crawley teaches the "functional
equivalence" of the clamps (11, 12) used in Bahder and the weld
coupling of Crawley, and to further contend that replacing the
clamps of Bahder with welds as purportedly taught by Crawley
"would result in the same securing and sealing function
occurring" (answer, page 13).
Like appellants, it is our conclusion after having reviewed
the disclosures of the Bahder and Crawley patents that the
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