Appeal No. 2001-2371
Application 09/318,259
unchallenged by the examiner, the Japanese inflator, with
holes disposed throughout the length of its casing, does not
operate to inflate the airbag equally, or as equal as
possible, in the longitudinal direction of the casing.
Indeed, the appellant’s specification indicates that the hole
locations recited in claim 7 are specifically intended to
solve the problem of unequal airbag inflation in the Japanese
inflator. Thus, when read in context and in light of the
specification, claim 7 cannot reasonably be construed as
covering holes which are not positioned “only” near the
partition for the first chamber and “only” at the middle of
the casing for the second chamber.
Furthermore, the discussion in the appellant’s
specification of the problems posed by the Japanese inflator
and the manner in which the claimed invention solves these
problems impeaches the examiner’s assertions that the hole
positions recited in claim 7 are not disclosed as solving a
stated problem or as serving any particular purpose, and that
7
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