Appeal No. 94-3474
Application 07/956,126
not explicitly defined “illumination” in his specification as
meaning UV irradiation and since it appears that the examiner has
interpreted the expression “without the addition of free-radical
generators” as excluding any and all means for generating free-
radicals in the claimed reaction.
In the absence of a definition by appellant for the term
“illumination,” we interpret the term in accordance with its
common and ordinary meaning. The American Heritage Dictionary
defines the term as meaning an act of illuminating, i.e. to
provide light or to expose to radiation. The only source of2
“illumination” or light the prior art teaches for use in the
chlorination of methylaromatic compounds by a free-radical
mechanism is UV radiation as evidenced by the teachings of
Kobayashi, Davis and Klauke. From these teachings, we find one
having ordinary skill in the art would have understood
“illumination” to mean UV irradiation or light containing UV
radiation. According to Davis, sunlight would be a sufficient
source of UV radiation for generating free-radicals. The
examiner has not presented any evidence or scientific reasoning
that “illumination” would have a broader meaning beyond using UV
The American Heritage Dictionary, Second College Edition, Houghton2
Mifflin Company, Boston, MA, 1982, page 641.
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