Appeal No. 1999-0434
Application No. 08/664,257
Each of independent claims 30 and 31 requires an insulation layer "comprising a
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fluoropolymer having a signal dissipation factor less than about 3 x 10 and a dielectric
constant less than about 2.1 at high frequencies" (emphasis added). In appellant's
amendment to the specification and claims filed July 24, 1997, appellant inserted support
in the specification (page 15) for the quantities now claimed. Although admittedly not
appearing in the original disclosure, in the Remarks accompanying the above-noted
amendment appellant alleged (page 12 of the Remarks) that the properties were inherent
in the fluoropolymer of the insulation layer "discussed at page 3, line 14 in the specification
and at page 15, line 24."
As support for the alleged inherency appellant submitted, in the Information
Disclosure Statement filed on the same date, a product data sheet which compares
HYFLON MFA perfluoropolymers with FEP. Page 3 of the data sheet lists PFA, MFA, and
FEP. The entries for PFA, MFA, and FEP are apparently the material offered as evidence
of the inherency.3
According to the evidence of record, and consistent with our understanding of the
terms, both "signal dissipation factor" and "dielectric constant" are measured quantities
which change with the frequency of applied signals. The "at high frequencies" language in
3We note that appellant's specification, at page 3, lines 11 through 15 suggests that MFA, PFA,
and FEP have similar physical properties. The specification at page 15 lists FEP as an insulation material
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for plenum high speed data grade cables. The numerical quantities in claims 30 and 31 -- 2.1 and 3 x 10 -
- are apparently related to the data sheet entry for FEP.
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