Appeal No. 1996-3525 Page 10
Application No. 08/089,595
clear to us that in Morris '163, a demand signal is generated
upon the user moving push button 17 into operative association
with the push button 37 sufficient for push button 37 to close
the switch 30. Furthermore, it is our determination that the
claimed term sensor is readable on push button 37 of Morris4
'163 because the push button 37 is designed to respond to a
physical stimulus (the motion of push button 17) and transmit
a resulting impulse for operating a control (switch 30).
The appellants' disclose (specification, p. 18) that the
preferred sensor is an inductive sensor and that an inductive
sensor is one that generates a signal in response to a
disturbance within a designated space. However, since the
claimed sensor is not limited to an inductive sensor, it would
be inappropriate to apply the appellants' definition of
inductive sensor to the claimed sensor since limitations are
not to be read into the claims from the specification.
4Webster's Third New International Dictionary, (1971)
defines sensor as "a device designed to respond to a physical
stimulus (as heat or cold, light, a particular motion) and
transmit a resulting impulse for interpretation or measurement
or for operating a control."
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