Appeal No. 1997-1173
Application No. 08/428,775
USPQ 385, 388 (Fed. Cir. 1984), cert. dismissed, 468 U.S. 1228
(1984), citing Kalman v. Kimberly-Clark Corp., 713 F.2d 760,
772, 218 USPQ 781, 789 (Fed. Cir.1983).
Claim 1 calls for a bonded structure which comprises
inter alia “a plurality of physical and electrical connections
between said integrated circuit element input/output pads and
said substrate input/output pads . . . wherein said physical
and electrical connections are formed by said soldering metal”
(emphasis added). In rejecting claim 1 as anticipated by
Matsubara et al., the examiner has taken the position that the
bonded structure in Fig. 1 of Matsubara et al. meets such a
limitation (Answer, page 3). Appellants argue that Matsubara
et al. does not teach that “the physical and electrical
connections are formed by the soldering metal” because the
semiconductor device and the liquid crystal display of
Matsubara et al. are “joined by a hardened adhesive filling
the space between them” (Brief, pages 8-9). We agree with the
appellants.
It is axiomatic that the claims of a pending application
will be given their broadest reasonable interpretation
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