Appeal No. 1999-0734 Page 9
Application No. 08/686,495
generally given their ordinary and accustomed meaning, unless it appears that they were used
differently by the inventor. In re Paulsen, 30 F.3d 1475, 1480, 31 USPQ2d 1671, 1674 (Fed.
Cir. 1994). As ordinarily used, “serpentine” refers to objects that (1) resemble a serpent, (2)
wind or turn one way and another or (3) have a compound curve whose central curve is convex.1
Appellants point to nothing in the specification which evinces a meaning for “serpentine”
different from the ordinary and accustomed meaning. The ceramic body of Rutt has curves that
resemble a serpent, that turn one way and then another and have the requisite compound curve.
The body of Rutt thus has the required serpentine cross-section.
Group 4: Claim 18
Claim 18 requires that an electrically conductive coating cover the base, first side,
interfaces between ceramic layers and first electrode layers.2 As discussed above with respect to
claim 15, the base of the ceramic body is the bottom surface. Rutt does not describe any coating
1Merriam-Webster Collegiate Dictionary, electronic edition 2.5 (Merriam-Webster 2000).
A copy of the entry is enclosed with our opinion.
2While this coating limitation was present in original claim 18, we are unable to locate a
discussion of such a coating in the specification. The Examiner should review the specification
and make an objection thereto if appropriate. See MPEP § 608.01(l)(8th ed. Aug. 2001).
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