Appeal No. 95-3876
Application 08/222,009
as flash firing control circuit 5. Although controversies may
not be resolved on the basis of an oral statement, 37 CFR
§ 1.2, it is nevertheless worth noting that counsel's
statement comports with the simplest reading of the claim and
confirms Appellants' intent to be bound by that reading.
Consequently, to the extent that we must turn to the intrinsic
evidence of record to determine the meaning of the claim, the
preponderance of evidence of record supports the inference
drawn from the express language of the claim that the control
means is subject to the provisions of paragraph six.
The control means corresponds
to the flash firing control circuit
An element of a claim recited in means-plus-function
format must be construed to cover the corresponding structure
or material described in the specification or its equivalents.
35 U.S.C. § 112[6]. According to the specification,
[t]he flash firing control circuit 5
is a circuit operable to control the
flash firing of the flash tube Xe by
controlling the ON-OFF of the
insulated gate bipolar transistor IGBT
and is constituted by four transistors
Q3 to Q6 and ten resistors R8 to R17.
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