Appeal No. 1999-2058
Application 08/433,643
The claims are apparatus claims drafted in means-plus-
function format under 35 U.S.C. § 112, sixth paragraph, where
the means "shall be construed to cover the corresponding
structure, material, or acts described in the specification
and equivalents thereof." The invention is disclosed in terms
of block diagrams (Figs. 2 & 3) and flowcharts (Figs. 4 & 6)
rather than specific hardware or circuits. The specification
discloses that the various means outside the box 60 in Fig. 3
can be operated by a mouse (specification, p. 22, line 20 to
p. 23, line 1). The specification discloses that the means
need not necessarily be physical means and that arrangements
whereby the functions are accomplished by software fall within
the scope of the invention (specification, p. 32,
lines 15-19). Thus, only a computer program and mouse are
specifically disclosed. Appellants do not argue the § 112,
sixth paragraph, claim interpretation and, thus, the issue is
waived. See 37 CFR § 1.192(c)(8)(iv) (1998) (brief must
specify the errors in a rejection).
Claims 1, 11, 13, 15, and 17
Maayan discloses a computer digital image analysis
system. The image to be analyzed is digitized into pixels
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