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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