Appeal No. 96-3544
Application No. 08/296,856
"the interior wall of the insertion end of the tube contoured
outwardly from the insertion end axis, forming an angle with the
axis less than 90 degrees to form a flared end" is met by Heyman.
It is axiomatic that, in proceedings before the PTO, claims
in an application are to be given their broadest reasonable
interpretation consistent with the specification, and that claim
language should be read in light of the specification as it would
be interpreted by one of ordinary skill in the art. In re Sneed,
710 F.2d 1544, 1548, 218 USPQ 385, 388 (Fed. Cir. 1983).
Moreover, limitations are not to be read into the claims from the
specification. In re Zletz, 893 F.2d 319, 321, 13 USPQ2d 1320,
1322 (Fed. Cir. 1989).
After reviewing the disclosure of the application and2
the common definition of the word "end ," we find that we are in3
agreement with the appellants that the broadest reasonable
interpretation consistent with the specification of the phrase
2See Figure 1 and page 6, lines 12-13, of the specification
which state that "[t]he end of the guide tube 10 nearest the
elbow 12 has an outwardly flared, bell-shaped end 18."
3The American Heritage Dictionary, Second College Edition,
(1982) defines "end" as "either extremity of something that has
length."
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