Appeal No. 2002-1470 Page 5
Application No. 09/490,192
The examiner responds (answer, page 4) that data
communications bus 64 of Grossheim extends within control unit 64
and inherently extends within the vehicle.
With respect to the issue of whether Grossheim discloses a
data communications bus as discloses and claimed in the present
invention, we note that terms in claims are to be given their
ordinary and accustomed meaning, unless it appears that the
inventor used them differently. Envirotech Corp. v. Al George,
Inc., 730 F.2d 753, 759, 221 USPQ 473, 477 (Fed. Cir. 1984). See
also Hoechst Celanese Corp. v. BP Chems. Ltd., 78 F.3d 1575,
1578, 38 USPQ2d 1126, 1129 (Fed. Cir. 1996). From appellant's
statement (brief, page 6) that the “disclosed structure in the
Grossheim et al. patent is simply not a data communications bus
as would be understood by those skilled in the art, and as
disclosed and claimed in the present application” it is our view
that appellant intended for the phrase "data communications bus"
to be given its ordinary and customary meaning, as understood by
one of ordinary skill in the art. We take notice2 that a bus in
a computer system is a shared communication link, which uses one
set of wires to connect multiple subsystems. From the definition
2 Computer Organization and Design, by David A. Patterson et al.
© 1994 Morgan Kaufman Publishers. A copy of the pertinent pages are attached
to this Decision.
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