Appeal No. 1999-0185 Page 3
Application No. 08/583,481
of that claim by the reference. Kloster Speedsteel AB v.
Crucible Inc., 793 F.2d 1565, 1571, 230 USPQ 81, 84 (Fed. Cir.
1986).
In the present case, the nose cone shown in Figures 1-3 of
the Johnson patent is not described in the specification or
even identified by a reference numeral or reference character.
The word “Speltra” in Figures 2 and 3 is not another term for a
nose cone (i.e., a protective cone constituting the forward end
of a rocket or a missile). Instead, the term “Speltra” is an
acronym for the French language expression of “External
Carrying Structure for Triple Launching of Ariane 5.” See page
2 of appellant’s reply brief and the published European patent
application mentioned on page 2 of the reply brief.
Thus, the only disclosure of a nose cone in the Johnson
patent is the outline of the cone shown in Figures 1-3 of the
patent drawings. In Figures 5 and 6, which depict different
operating sequences, the nose cone is not illustrated, thus
indicating that the nose cone was jettisoned prior to the
operating stage indicated at “a” in these Figures. Johnson’s
support part housing one or more of the payloads in the
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