Appeal No. 1998-1478
Application No. 08/517,604
and therefore is not the broadest reasonable interpretation
consistent with the specification.
Of course, the examiner would have us believe that his
interpretation is consistent with the specification, since he
has read "inclined" as encompassing vertical, based on his
dictionary definition (see Answer, page 6). However, again
this interpretation is unreasonable, as the normal use of
"inclined" denotes an oblique angle to the horizontal or
vertical or, rather, at an angle to both the horizontal and
vertical, as asserted by appellants (Brief, page 4).
Therefore, again the examiner's reading of the claim is
unreasonable and inconsistent with the normal usage of the
terms.
Additionally, the examiner regards "straight" as only
requiring that the bar for the pole piece be straight in one
direction. Since Figure 2 shows pole pieces 24 and 24 as1 2
straight lines, the examiner concludes that they are straight
bars. "Straight" is defined in The Random House College
Dictionary, (1982), page 1297, as "1. without a bend, angle,
or curve" or "2. exactly vertical or horizontal." Pole pieces
24 and 24 each have a bend or angle along both the top1 2
7
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