Appeal No. 96-3696
Application No. 08/242,987
guiding a saw that cuts an exposed portion of a bone. The
appellants argue that the Bowman template means is not “over”
the bone, as is required by claim 1, but is positioned
laterally of the bone. According to the examiner, however,
“over” is a term “dependent on one’s point of reference and
the position of the patient” (Answer, page 6), and therefore
the Bowman template qualifies as being “over” the bone.
The interpretation to be given to “over” therefore is of
primary importance in evaluating whether claim 1 is
anticipated by Bowman. Looking to the appellants’
specification, the portion of the bone upon which the burr of
the appellants’ milling machine is to work is the exposed
proximal end of the tibia. To do so, the milling machine and
the template that holds it is positioned “over” the end of the
bone, that is, spaced from the end of the bone along its
longitudinal axis, above it as is shown in Figure 13. This
interpretation is confirmed by considering the apparatus
recited in independent claim 15, which is shown in Figures 3
and 5 and described in claim 15 also as being “over” the bone.
5
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Last modified: November 3, 2007