Appeal No. 2002-1987
Application No. 08/880,032
We make reference to the answer (Paper No. 22, mailed July
31, 2001) for the Examiner’s reasoning and to the brief (Paper
No. 21, filed May 14, 2001) for Appellants’ arguments
thereagainst.
OPINION
With respect to the rejection of claims 34-39, 41 and 42,
Appellants argue that Freadman does not teach or suggest a
speaker enclosure in a portable computer and instead, is directed
to speakers enclosed in a monitor or a keyboard of a conventional
computer (brief, page 6). The Examiner responds by pointing out
that, under the broadest reasonable interpretation, the computer
of Freadman represents a portable computer since nothing in the
reference precludes the system from being moved from one location
to another (answer, pages 3 & 4).
We agree with Appellants that the computer of Freadman is
not portable as it includes separate monitor and keyboard.
Although its components can be moved from one location to
another, it is not a portable computer within the ordinary
meaning of the term “portable computer.”3 A portable computer,
therefore, must be self-contained with respect to functionality
3 According to IBM Dictionary of Computing, McGraw-Hill, Inc., 1994, p.
517, “portable computer” is defined as “A microcomputer that can be hand
carried for use in more than one location,” a copy of which accompanies this
decision.
3
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