Appeal No. 1997-1358
Application 07/874,651
have no express basis in the claims. See Id. Although
appellants are correct that they are entitled to be their own
lexicographer, where an inventor chooses to be his own
lexicographer and to give terms uncommon meanings, he must set
out his uncommon definition in some manner within the patent
disclosure so as to give one of ordinary skill in the art
notice of the change. Intellicall, Inc. v. Phonometrics,
Inc., 952 F.2d 1384, 1388, 21 USPQ2d 1383, 1386 (Fed. Cir.
1992).
On the record before us, we find that the present
specification does not define the term “notched portion” in a
manner which would alert the artisan that a specific
definition is assigned to that term. We agree with the
examiner that the artisan would ordinarily assume that the
ridges 9 proximate to the free end of Binder’s fingers 3 and 4
would be considered “notched portions” as that term is
ordinarily interpreted. Therefore, we agree with the examiner
that the broad interpretation of “notched portion” as used in
claim 20 reads
8
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