Appeal No. 2005-0322
Application No. 10/431,268
element and the tie bar has a number of recesses disposed in
axial spaced-apart relationship and engageable by the projections
to establish a form-fitting connection. As conceded by the
examiner (see page 3 in the answer), however, each of these
references fails to respond to the limitation in claim 1
requiring the projections and recesses to be pressed together
when exposed to a tensile stress and interlock at an axial
clearance which increases along the engagement zone in axial
direction corresponding to the tensile stress of the tie bar. To
address these deficiencies, the examiner turns to either Holbrook
or Ing.
Holbrook and Ing disclose injection molding machines similar
in many respects to those disclosed by Mailliet, Choi, Arend and
Hammon. The Holbrook and Ing machines differ from the Mailliet,
Choi, Arend and Hammon machines, however, in that the cooperating
surfaces of their tie bars (Holbrook’s columns 14 and Ing’s tie
bars 16) and securing elements (Holbrook’s inner clamp sleeve 80
and Ing’s gripper sleeve 98) are smooth and without axially
spaced apart projections or recesses. The Holbrook and Ing
securing elements comprise walls of fluid expansible chambers.
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