Appeal No. 1996-1891
Application 08/058,478
The examiner contends that the specification fails to
teach a waveguide having a length corresponding to a quarter
wavelength at the lowest frequency of pressure wave energy to
be transmitted between the first and second ends, as required
by each of the independent claims, i.e., claims 1, 9, and 10. 2
Specifically, the examiner argues that although the
specification gives 70 Hz as typically the lowest bass
frequency (Spec. at 3, lines 29-32 ), it describes the 3
quarter-wave mode as being "at a predetermined bass frequency,
typically 80 Hz" (Spec. at 3, lines 5-6), which the examiner
does not consider to be substantially the same as 70 Hz
(Answer at 3, 8). It is not clear why the examiner believes
this alleged contradiction raises a non-enablement issue, as
he does not contend that one skilled in the art would have
2This requirement initially appeared in the claims and
abstract as originally filed and therefore does not raise a
question of noncompliance with the written description
requirement of the first paragraph of § 112. See In re
Wertheim, 541 F.2d 257, 264, 191 USPQ 90, 98 (CCPA 1976)
(original claims constitute their own written description
support).
3These lines read "The bass spectral components from the
other stereo channel may be summed and radiated by the
invention, typically from 70 to 300 Hz."
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