Appeal No. 1999-1765 Page 8
Application No. 08/839,193
is therefore clear to us that in claim 1 appellants are
claiming a water rod and end cap assembly, wherein the water
rod is extendible through a tie plate of a fuel assembly of a
boiling water nuclear reactor. Thus, we do not agree with3
the examiner when he says in his answer (Paper No. 24, p. 4)
that the appellants are “not claiming what they regard as
their actual invention.”
In light of the foregoing, it is our opinion that claim 1
on appeal reasonably apprises those of skill in the art of its
scope and defines appellants’ invention with a reasonable
degree of precision and particularity adequate to satisfy the
requirements of 35 U.S.C. § 112, second paragraph. Thus, we
3We consider the following to be a fair reading and
interpretation of appellants’ claim 1, on appeal.
1. A water rod [assembly] for a fuel assembly of a
boiling water nuclear reactor, [said water rod assembly
comprising a] water rod comprising a first end and a second
end, at least one of said first and second ends comprising
threads adapted to be received by a threaded aperture in a tie
plate of the fuel assembly and being directly threadedly
attachable to the tie plate without an end plug, and an end
cap attached to the water rod over said at least one of said
first and second ends, [wherein said at least one end is
extendible] through the tie plate a sufficient distance to
allow the end cap to be attached thereto.
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