Appeal No. 1998-0215
Application No. 08/052,671
fiber and intumescing substances described in Pedlow. See,
e.g., Brief, page 5 and Reply Brief, page 2. However, we are
not persuaded by this argument.
We note that this phrase only limits the claimed heat-
bondable component to a thermoplastic resin and other
substances that do not materially affect the basic and novel
characteristics of the claimed invention. See In re 4
Janakirama-Rao, 317 F.2d 951, 954, 137 USPQ 893, 896 (CCPA
1963). The claimed electrical insulation material itself,
however, does not exclude those additional substances which
affect its basic and novel characteristics. In re Herz, 537
F.2d 549, 551-52, 190 USPQ 461, 463 (CCPA 1976)(“It is
axiomatic that claims are given their broadest reasonable
construction consistent with the specification. [Citation
omitted.] This complements the statutory requirement for
particularity and distinctness (35 U.S.C. [§] 112, second
paragraph), so that an applicant who has not clearly limited
4It appears that appellant erroneously states that the
phrase “consisting essentially of” precludes those materials
which materially affect the basic and novel characteristics of
the invention described in the prior art, i.e., Pedlow. See
Brief, page 5.
8
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