Appeal No. 2004-2059
Application No. 10/278,725
Independent claim 1 sets forth a decking tile divided into a
plurality of portions, with the portions being connected to each
adjacent portion by a “membrane.” First, although Boyd does not
use the word “membrane” to describe the small cross-sections of
material (3), the examiner’s determination that these thin
elements (3) constitute membranes is reasonable on its face when
the term “membrane” is read in light of appellant’s specification
and the commonly accepted meaning of that term.1 Second,
independent claim 1 also contains several non-structural,
functional limitations of the claimed “membrane” describing the
membrane’s capabilities and how these capabilities impact on the
manner in which the decking tile may be used. More particularly,
claim 1 describes the membrane as being “adapted to be severable”
so that “each portion [is] removable from said tile upon severing
of the membranes connecting it to the other portions.” Based on
the fact that the Figures 6-9 panel of Boyd may be constructed of
rigid plastic (column 3, lines 64-65), and that the connecting
elements (3) are described in the Boyd specification as being of
1We observe that the word “membrane” may mean “[a] thin
pliable layer of tissue covering surfaces or separating or
connecting regions, structures, or organs of an animal or plant.”
Webster’s II New Riverside University Dictionary, copyright ©
1984 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
6
Page: Previous 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 Next
Last modified: November 3, 2007