Appeal No. 95-2600
Application 07/990,458
exposed in figure 3 does not mean they are not contained in the
housing. It is noted, for example, that a dish can "contain"
objects even though it is open at its top.
In our opinion, the language "a support frame mounted to
said housing" in claim 1 does not require the frame to be a
separate piece from the housing, but includes a frame which is
part of the housing. That is, we read "mounted" as a structural
limitation of the frame being attached to the housing, including
being formed as one piece with the housing, not as a process
limitation of the frame being connected as a step during the
manufacture. In any case, however, the examiner points out that
"element 20 has two different portions, i.e. the front shield
portion in Fig. 4 and the flat portion in Fig. 3" (Examiner's
Answer, page 5) and also finds the side elements 21A and 21B to
be part of the housing (Examiner's Answer, page 4). The shield
portion which covers the front and sides (up to the hinges) of
frame 20 is a main cover and appears to be a separate piece from
the frame as indicated by the line parallel to the front surface
of the goggle in figures 3 and 4. The side frames 21A and 21B
are clearly separate pieces because they are attached at the
hinges. Therefore, it appears that Suwa does have a housing,
consisting of the shield and side elements, separate from the
frame in which the optical blocks are mounted.
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