Ex parte GROVE - Page 9




          Appeal No. 96-3174                                                          
          Application 07/970,608                                                      


          the closed mold cavity and redistribute the resin within the                
          mold.  This compresses the resin, which solidifies” (page 17,               
          last paragraph).                                                            
               We believe that one of ordinary skill in the art would                 
          appreciate from this statement that the act of redistributing               
          the plasticized resin melt within the mold cavity involves                  
          “compressing” the resin in the sense that a compressive force               
          is applied thereto to bring about redistribution.  Consistent               
          with the well established principle that claim language must                
          be read in light of the specification,  we consider that the5                                     
          words “compress” (claim 1, paragraph (c)), “compressing”                    
          (claim 15), and “pressurize” (claim 18, line 18) cover                      
          applying a compressive force to the plasticized resin melt,                 
          such that the claim language questioned by the examiner                     
          encompasses within its metes and bounds the act of applying a               
          compressive force to the melt as it is being injected to                    
          redistribute the melt in the mold cavity.  Given this                       
          interpretation, it is our view that one of ordinary skill in                
          the art would have no difficulty in adjusting the timing of                 

               In re Prater, 415 F.2d 1393, 1404, 162 USPQ 541, 5505                                                                     
          (CCPA 1969).                                                                
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