Appeal No. 1998-0331
Application No. 08/297,257
of the bearings which is to be minimized by the bearing
loading means is indefinite, particularly, in view of the
later language in the claim describing the resulting movement
of the spindle carrier and workpieces that is minimized as
movement "in the direction parallel to the axis of rotation of
the spindle carrier," i.e., axial movement. The meaning of
the word "lateral" in the context of the claim is further
obscured by the description of the prior art in the
appellants’ specification wherein the conventional gearbox
housing bearing is described as providing "both thrust and
axial support to the carrier stem, that is, the bearing
prevented both lateral and axial movement of the carrier stem"
(p. 3). The meaning of "lateral movement" in both claims 1
and 4 requires clarification and may warrant a 35 U.S.C. §
112, second paragraph, rejection in the absence of a
satisfactory explanation.
CONCLUSION
To summarize, the decision of the examiner to reject
claims 1, 2, 4 through 12 and 14 under U.S.C. § 103 is
reversed.
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