Appeal No. 1999-0422 Page 5
Application No. 08/628,805
The term "approximately" is a term of degree. When a
word of degree is used, such as the term "approximately" in
claim 9, it is necessary to determine whether the
specification provides some standard for measuring that
degree. See Seattle Box Company, Inc. v. Industrial Crating &
Packing, Inc., 731 F.2d 818, 826, 221 USPQ 568, 573-74 (Fed.
Cir. 1984).
In the present case, we have reviewed the appellants'
disclosure to help us determine the meaning of "corresponds
approximately." The appellants' specification states: (1) at
page 1 that each fin is "secured in a groove or the like
recess in the base section," (2) at page 3 that cooling fin
plates 16 are "clamped in grooves 14 in the base section 12"
and (3) at pages 2 and 3 that the sheet forming each fin is
wavy along its longitudinal axis, the wave peaks of the wavy
form define a plane (E) on each side of the sheet parallel to
the longitudinal axis, and the transverse distance across the
longitudinal axis between the two planes (E) "corresponds to
the width i of the grooves" (page 3). Additionally, the
appellants' Figure 6 shows the distance between the planes (E)
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