Appeal No. 2000-2168
Application 09/130,383
in the preamble is recited merely in the future tense such as by
the use of the words "to prevent" at line one of claim 1. The
preamble ends with the recitation of "the guard comprising." The
body of the claim does recite the guard's features in the present
tense including the panel itself comprising the guard, the upper
margin thereof along with its associated acute angle, the trough
in the lower margin of the panel and a broadly defined means for
temporarily securing the panel. However, even as each of the
features recited with respect to the guard itself are recited in
the present tense, their respective relationship to the details
of the cabinetry recited in the preamble are recited in a
potential or future tense such as by the use of the words "to
overlay"; "when the panel is attached to the lip, to direct";
"for temporarily securing"; "to dispose"; and "to position." As
asserted by the examiner in the answer, representative claim 1
defines, positively, the features of the guard per se, and not
any present tense interaction of it with the cabinetry itself as
set forth in the preamble. The interactions recited are
futuristic and may never occur. The guard itself is claimed in
the body of the claim only in the context or environment of use
of the sink or cabinetry of the preamble. Correspondingly, there
is no positive recitation in representative claim 1 on appeal of
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