Appeal No. 2000-2175 Page 8
Application No. 09/268,925
620, 34 USPQ2d at 1820; Kropa v. Robie, 187 F.2d 150, 152, 88
USPQ 478, 481 (CCPA 1951).
The determination of whether preamble recitations are
structural limitations or mere statements of purpose or use
"can be resolved only on review of the entirety of the
application to gain an understanding of what the inventor
actually invented and intended to encompass by the claim. See
Corning Glass Works, 868 F.2d at 1257, 9 USPQ2d at 1966. The
inquiry involves examination of the entire application record
to determine what invention the appellant intended to define
and protect. See Bell Communications, 55 F.3d at 621, 34
USPQ2d at 1821 (looking to patent specification to determine
whether claimed invention includes preamble recitations); In re
Paulsen, 30 F.3d 1475, 1479, 31 USPQ2d 1671, 1674 (Fed. Cir.
1994) (examining "patent as a whole"); Vaupel Textilmaschinen
KG v. Meccanica Euro Italia SPA, 944 F.2d 870, 880, 20 USPQ2d
1045, 1053 (Fed. Cir. 1991) (looking to claims, specification,
and drawings); Gerber Garment Tech., Inc. v. Lectra Sys., Inc.,
916 F.2d 683, 689, 16 USPQ2d 1436, 1441 (Fed. Cir. 1990)
(noting that preamble recitations provided antecedent basis for
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