Appeal No. 2001-0888 Page 4
Application No. 08/790,559
independent claim 20 defines a method comprising the steps of providing a mandrel
body, positioning a bladder around the mandrel body wherein the bladder has "at least
one caul sheet section coupled to said outer surface of said bladder," and placing a
plurality of fibers around the bladder and caul sheet to form an uncured body.
Concerning the here claimed "coupled" feature, the examiner regards VonVolkli's
flexible boot and his weaved nylon fabric (i.e., see lines 52-56 in column 5) as
corresponding respectively to the appellant's claimed bladder and caul sheet section
and argues that "since the weaved nylon fabric is maintained onto the boot (bladder) [of
VonVolkli] . . . throughout the molding process, such an assembly can be considered as
'coupled'" (Answer, page 4). This argument is not well taken.
As correctly argued by the appellant, the weaved nylon fabric referred to by the
examiner becomes part of the finished radome product of VonVolkli (e.g., again see
lines 52-56 in column 5) and thus is intended by patentee to be separable from his
flexible boot. Indeed, VonVolkli expressly teaches using a release agent on the outer
surface of this boot in order to assist in separating the cured composite material of the
finished radome product from the boot (e.g., see lines 34-44 in column 5 in conjunction
with lines 7-22 in column 7). Under these circumstances, patentee's weaved nylon
fabric and boot cannot be regarded as satisfying the here claimed "coupled" feature
simply because the fabric and boot are temporarily in contact during a portion of
VonVolkli's method.
It is here appropriate to remind the examiner that application claims before the
Patent and Trademark Office are to be given their broadest reasonable interpretation
consistent with the specification. In re Sneed, 710 F.2d 1544, 1548, 218 USPQ 385,
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