Appeal No. 2002-1181 4
Application 09/576,154
and the rounded bottom surface outside of the interior volume and not occupied by
bubble solution (Paper No. 7, paragraph bridging pages 2 and 3). The appellants urge
that this is not the case, and point out on pages 3-6 of the Brief how the structural
elements recited in the claims establish the presence of the “outer three-dimensional
space disposed between the side wall and the rounded portion of the bottom surface.”
The “space” upon which the examiner has focused is the annular space
designated in Figure 1 as 70, which surrounds the interior portion containing the bubble
solution. In this regard, and with reference to Figure 1, claim 1 recites that the bubble
solution container has an annular neck [20], a rounded bottom portion [26], and a
container side wall [24] that connects those two elements and at least partially defines
“an interior volume.” Claim 1 goes on to establish that the container side wall has a
portion [24c, 24d] that is spaced from the rounded bottom surface [26] so that it “at
least partially defines a centrally located three-dimensional space within said interior
volume [which holds bubble solution 66] and so that an outer three-dimensional space
[70] is disposed between said side wall portion [24c, 24d] and said rounded bottom
surface [26].” It is our view that, especially when considering this language in the light
of the disclosure, one of ordinary skill in the art would have understood the structure
and the relationships of the various elements recited, and therefore claim 1 is not
indefinite on this ground. We reach the same conclusion with regard to the manner in
which space 70 is described in claims 8 and 17.
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