Appeal 1997-2572
Application 08/220,562
A vessel for a metal smelting furnace having a[5]
smelting zone including a heat-resistant interior
wall, and cooling means for protecting the interior
of said vessel, characterized by
(a) at least a portion of the interior wall of
said vessel above the smelting zone consisting of at
least one cooling pipe coil;
(b) said coil including fluid passage-forming
sections;
(c) said cooling pipe coil being exposed to the
center of the vessel, and
(d) neighboring sections of said coil being
arranged in a contacting relation.
The Federal Circuit, commenting on the district court's
construction of the claim, notes (id. at 1282, 230 USPQ at
46):
The district court correctly observed that the
phrase "consisting of" appears in clause (a), not
the preamble of the claim, and thus limits only the
element set forth in clause (a). The [district]
court correctly declined to read this usage of
"consisting of" as excluding all other elements from
the claim as a whole.
"Having" in the context of the Mannesmann claim means "comprising".5
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