Appeal No. 1998-0659
Application No. 08/264,527
In the second subparagraph of this claim, the specific
function associated with the means limitation is "applying
said masking noise signal to a selected body part of said
patient to alleviate said symptoms of tinnitus." One of the
means disclosed by Appellants for implementing the aforesaid37
function of the “means” is an electrode.
This means-plus-function clause is construed as limited
to the corresponding structure disclosed in the specification
and equivalents thereof. This structure is met by the
electrodes which are attached to the patient as recited at
sections 2, 5.2, 6.4 and 9, and shown in figures 1-3, of
Matsushima. As Appellants' embodiment and Matsushima both use
electrodes to apply their noise signal, they perform the same
function and as Appellants have not disclosed any particular
electrodes for applying the signal to the patient, the
electrodes of Matsushima
are an equivalent. They perform the same claimed function in
substantially the same way to achieve substantially the same
result.
37Specification, page 3, lines 35-37, and claim 11.
31
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