Appeal No. 2000-0076
Application 08/970,231
As indicated above, independent claims 1, 27 and 39
recite a manufacturing facility comprising, inter alia,
subassembly production lines for constructing predetermined
subassemblies. These claims further require the subassemblies
to comprise a structural section from a “class” of structural
sections, the “class” being variously defined as “including”
“walls, floors, roof, foundation base frame” (claim 1),
“walls, floors, roof trusses, roof, foundation base frame”
(claim 27) and “walls, floors, roof” (claim 39). The use of
the open-ended term “including” to define the “class” (as
opposed to the closed-ended phrase “consisting of”) leaves the
class open to the inclusion of
other unspecified elements. See MPEP § 2111.03. Given the
lack of any relevant discussion in the underlying
specification, the open-ended nature of the classes recited in
claims 1, 27 and 39 renders the scope of these classes, and
thus of the claims themselves, unclear. This frustrates the
purpose of 35 U.S.C.
§ 112, second paragraph, which is to provide those who would
endeavor, in future enterprise, to approach the area
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