Appeal No. 1997-4051 Page 6
Application No. 08/479,245
the memory is transferred from the device controller
to the external device, and the write-through mode,
the data is directly transferred from the channel
system to the external storage device." (Examiner’s
Answer at 4 (internal footnote omitted).)
He concludes, “The reference reads clearly on the claims ...
if the meaning of all terms used in these claims are
consistent with their ordinary meaning in the art.” (Id. at
3-4.)
In short, the examiner admits that Shimoi would have
suggested the claimed limitations of a “‘write-back cache’”
and a “write-through cache” only if the limitations are given
the meaning that the reference assigns to the terms “write-
back” and “write-through.” For his part, the appellant argues
that, because the limitations should be given the meaning that
he assigns to the terms, Shimoi would not have suggested the
claimed invention. We agree with the appellant.
“Although words in a claim are generally given their
ordinary and customary meaning, a patentee may choose to be
his own lexicographer and use terms in a manner other than
their ordinary meaning, as long as the special definition of
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