Appeal No. 1999-2618
Application 08/647,223
Mr. Kerwin's credentials are very impressive, and we find
him to be an expert in electrical engineering. We agree
with Mr. Kerwin that one of ordinary skill in the electrical
engineering art would interpret "coupling" as requiring the
ability to transfer energy or signals from one circuit to
another either electrically or magnetically. This is
consistent with standard electrical engineering dictionary
definitions. See The New IEEE Standard Dictionary of
Electrical and Electronics Terms (5th ed., IEEE, Inc. 1993)
("coupling . . . The association of two or more circuits or
systems in such a way that power or signal information may
be transferred from one to another."); Weik, Communications
Standard Dictionary (3d ed., Chapman & Hall 1996)
("coupling: The transfer of energy from one conductive or
dielectric medium, such as an optical waveguide or wire, to
another, including fortuitous transfer.").
The meaning of "coupled" depends on the context.
Compare Festo Corp. v. Shoketsu Kinzoku Kogyo Kabushiki Co.,
234 F.3d 558, 582, 56 USPQ2d 1865, 1882 (Fed. Cir. 2000)
(claim 9 recites "the permanent magnets of the piston and
body being polarized so as to magnetically couple the body
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