Appeal No. 95-2413
Application 07/936,865
be information left out. Figures 15A and 15B appear to show
erosion for a spiral according to Sato '375 and appellants'
mathematical analysis and do not show or discuss any width
associated with path. A spiral according to Sato '375 (or
Sato '374 or Suzuki) will cause uniform erosion if only the
spiral curve is considered to cause the erosion.
Fourth, the claim limitation of "substantially
proportional" permits some variance and appellants have not
shown how this language distinguishes over the teachings of
the three main references, even assuming, arguendo, they do
not produce uniform erosion. Thus, for example, Suzuki's
disclosure that the swept area is "almost proportional" to the
radius (col. 5, line 65) and that the "erosion rate is almost
the same" (col. 6, lines 3-4) is considered to disclose that
the total arc length at a certain radius is "substantially
proportional" to the erosion profile function times the
radius.
Fifth, assuming that appellants' interpretation of Suzuki
in figures 14A and 14B (which are said to show the magnetic
path and erosion profile for Suzuki, specification, page 25),
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