Appeal No. 2002-1481
Application No. 09/005,836
top of the rib structure to a section surrounded by the rib
structure, with the conductive pattern being in absolute contact
with the top of the rib structure. Independent claim 4 recites
an electrical apparatus having a circuit board with circuit
devices, said apparatus comprising, inter alia, a conductive
coating for coating from a top of rib structure to a section
surrounded by said rib structure, where a conductive pattern is
in absolute contact with the top of the rib structure.
From the language of each of these claims, and in accord
with the underlying disclosure, it is clear that the top of the
rib structure is coated. However, inconsistent with the above,
each of these independent claims requires that a conductive
pattern be in absolute contact with “the top” of the rib
structure; a relationship that is apparently impossible by virtue
of the aforementioned coating on the top of the rib structure.
It is also not clear what the word “contact” denotes in the
context used, i.e., electrical contact, mechanical contact, or
both electrical and mechanical contact. Additionally, even read
in light of appellant’s overall disclosure, we are at a loss to
understand the meaning of the modifying word “absolute” relative
to the already discussed “contact”. Lastly, the claims specify
4
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