Appeal No. 1994-4024 Page 4
Application No. 07/759,865 Paper No. 31
[the] extender, etc.[,] may be made to be plastic
mounts according to the present invention. Even in
these cases, there are similar advantages.
Appellant's response relies on the earlier finding that
there is no circumferential groove on the claimed lens mount
as sufficient to maintain the Board's construction (Paper
No. 30 at 2-3). Appellant further argues that placing the
groove on the lens mount would be a less practical solution to
the problem the inventors faced.
DISCUSSION
The cited portion of Appellant's specification requires a
broader claim construction. Not only does the passage
disclose that the lens mount may be plastic, but it also
provides that it be made "according to the present invention"
such that "there are similar advantages" (Paper No. 1 at 9:9-
11). Generally, the claims of a patent are not limited to the
preferred embodiment, unless by their own language. Karlin
Tech., Inc. v. Surgical Dynamics, Inc., 177 F.3d 968, 973, 50
USPQ2d 1465, 1469 (Fed. Cir. 1999). Thus, while a plastic
camera mount with a circumferential groove is plainly the
preferred embodiment, a plastic lens mount with the same
groove is also disclosed. Nothing in the language of the
claim excludes a plastic lens mount made according to the
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