Appeal No. 2001-1866 Page 10
Application No. 08/478,606
argument. To the contrary, the specification discloses that "[a]ll indicators and test
features are brought out . . . either on LCD 30 or through optical communications
port 40." (Id. at 7.) While the function of the option board connector is vague, the
specification's reference to it as "an option board interface 38," (id.), implies that the
connector is merely a socket for an optional board.
Having found that when the appellants' application was filed, the appellants did
not have possession of an "electronic energy meter compris[ing]: a communications
interface . . . [and] a test interface," wherein "the communications interface is an optical
communications port," and "the test interface is an LED," we maintain our rejection of
claims 16-24 as lacking an adequate written description. Having concluded that one
skilled in the art would not understand the bounds of the claims when read in light of the
specification, we likewise maintain our rejection of claims 16-24 as indefinite.
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