Appeal No. 95-1661
Application 07/976,913
of the document sheet of the continuous tone areas to
be selectively screened. For each rectangular marked
area 14 shown the wand may be used to touch the sheet
at the four corner points of each area. Preferably the
points are touched in an order such that a straight
line joins adjacent points as in the order a, b, c, and
d to define a rectangle. Alternatively, a rectangle
may be defined by locating two diagonally opposite
corner points with an input indicating (or an
assumption by the program) that it is a rectangle. The
computer control for the digitizing tablet may also be
programmed to accept inputs of area data to define
other geometrical shapes such as circles and other
geometric shapes.
The above quoted portion of Jamali in our view indicates the
correctness of the assertions made by appellant in the brief as
to the quoted portions of both independent claims 1 and 18 on
appeal. Thus, we also construe, as urged by appellant, that it
is the user or operator of Jamali’s device who essentially
identifies the spatial area for the variable information rather
than the requirement of claim 1 that the control unit identifies
such area and rather than the claim 18 means for analyzing
deriving signals to determine the outline of at least one area of
which the largest to be printed variable character information is
to be printed. It is the user who determines the area in the
above quoted portion of Jamali since the user must touch the four
corner points to effectively define the area of each variable
information area 14. Thus, it is the user who defines a
rectangle or an area. Even the alternative approach of merely
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Last modified: November 3, 2007