Appeal No. 2004-1914
Application No. 09/739,288
1. a. Being such that every part of the surface or the circumference is
equidistant from the center: a round ball.
b. Moving in or forming a circle.
c. Shaped like a cylinder; cylindrical.
d. Rather rounded in shape: the child’s round face.
e. Full in physique; plump: a round figure.
The American HeritageŽ Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition, Copyright
2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company, available at http://dictionary.reference.com/
search?q=round (Feb. 15, 2005).
The connecting portion of contact 10, shown flat in Figure 2 of Boyd, that
electrically connects finger elements (contact pieces) 22, 32 includes portions 12, 14
and integral portion 16. When folded for use (Figs. 1 and 5), integral portion 16 forms
fold 18. Col. 3, l. 15 - col. 4, l. 10. We find that fold 18 of integral portion 16 is
“generally round,” as shown in the Figure 5 cross-section.
Instant claim 18 is narrower than 15, in reciting that the predetermined shape is
“round.” At least the left-most portion of fold 18, as shown in Figure 5, is “round” -- i.e.,
“round” at least in the sense of moving in a circle or being rather rounded in shape.1
Thus, the features relied upon for patentability in the instant claims that are
subject to the 35 U.S.C. § 103 rejection -- i.e., a “round” or “generally round”
interconnection pattern -- we find to be within the four corners of the Boyd reference.
The claimed subject matter is also obvious under § 103. Anticipation is the epitome of
1 Appellants refer to the disclosed “connecting portion” 22a as “annular” (e.g., spec. at 19, ll. 16-
22), but have chosen language for the claims that differs in scope from an “annular” pattern.
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