Appeal 2006-2970
Application 09/224,340
describes the contents of Martin, but never explains why Martin does not
teach the limitation.
The "connector assembly" refers to a connector assembly of a PCB
module as recited in claim 1. While a connector assembly can have a single
connector, claim 7 requires "said connector assembly further comprises a
plurality of connectors," so there must be a plurality of connectors on the
PCB module; see Appellant's Figure 4; Specification 14, ll. 12-15. Mazura
is vague about the connector and Martin teaches only a single connector 50
on the module; thus, neither meet the limitation of "said connector assembly
further comprises a plurality of connectors." While it may have been well
known to provide a plurality of connectors on a PCB module, the Examiner
has provided no reasoning or evidence as to this limitation and such fact is
not appropriate for Official Notice. In addition, although we interpret the
limitation of a plurality of connectors "for connecting to wire harnesses" to
be a statement of intended use since no wire harnesses are claimed, the
plurality of connectors must be capable of connecting to wire harnesses.
The Examiner does not address the limitation. The PCB connectors in
Mazura connect to connections on a rear wall plate (col. 4, ll. 11-13) and are
apparently not capable of connecting to a wire harness. The PCB connectors
in Martin connect to connectors on a mother board (col. 5, ll. 27-32), so
apparently are not capable of connecting to a wire harness. Because the
Examiner does not address the limitation "said connector assembly further
comprises a plurality of connectors for connecting to wire harnesses," we are
constrained to reverse the rejection of claim 7 and its dependent claims 9-11.
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