Appeal No. 2005-0564
Application No. 09/732,787
selected with ease of gripping in mind. In view of what the
overall teachings of Gerrans would have suggested to one of
ordinary skill in the art, we find the Examiner’s proposed
combination of the admitted prior art and Gerrans to be
reasonable. Gerrans relates to an electrical connector assembly
wherein a part of the cable attached to the connector is
encapsulated in molded coating 16 which covers and waterproofs a
part of the connecting portion and the attached cable (Figure 1;
col. 3, lines 58-63). Gerrans in Figure 1 also shows a terminal
fitting as the connector C with terminal fitting shown as 1 and
11 which is connected a sheathed wire 22. In fact, as contended
by Appellant (reply brief, page 3), the ridged contour of the
insert base 4 (Figures 1 & 1A) and the connector piece 30
(Figures 2 & 2A) provide the firm and non-slip grip for handling
of the connector. Therefore, the “smoother grip” due to the
narrowing profile of covering 16 does not appear to contradict
the firm grip around foundation portion 9 and ridge 4 in Figure
1.
Although the quality of the grip is not specifically
discussed in Gerrans, we remain unconvinced by Appellant’s
arguments that the absence of sharp or pointy edges may not
necessarily provide smoother gripping (reply brief, page 6). In
6
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