Appeal No. 2002-2185
Application 08/976,361
[i]ts purpose is to provide those who would
endeavor, in future enterprise, to approach
the area circumscribed by the claims of a
patent, with the adequate notice demanded by
due process of law, so that they may more
readily and accurately determine the
boundaries of protection involved and
evaluate the possibility of infringement and
dominance.
Additionally, claims are considered to be definite, as required
by the second paragraph of 35 U.S.C. § 112, when they define the
metes and bounds of a claimed invention with a reasonable degree
of precision and particularity. See In re Venezia, 530 F.2d 956,
958, 189 USPQ 149, 151 (CCPA 1976).
As explained by the examiner (answer, pages 7 through 9), it
is not clear what is meant and encompassed by the claim language
“substantially unobstructed flow area” and a flow area
“substantially as large” as each flow area through the openings
without the fuel rod received therethrough.
From our perspective, the underlying disclosure provides no
explanation or guidelines whatsoever that would enable one
skilled in the art to gain an understanding of what would be a
“substantially unobstructed” flow area, and what flow area would
8
Page: Previous 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 Next
Last modified: November 3, 2007