Appeal No. 2002-2023 Paper 31
Application No. 08/689,526 Page 6
the pointer" (id., p. 11). Thus, the original claim language "changing an orientation of
the pointer" did not specify what triggered the change and broadly encompassed both
rotating the pointer in place, i.e., changing the direction in which the pointer pointed
(e.g., effectively exaggerating the spacing between screen elements), and changing the
direction in which the pointer was heading (e.g., preventing the pointer from coasting
onto an element from any direction). Independent claims 1, 8 and 15 were later
amended to recite "changing an orientation of the pointer responsive to said
compared pointer movement line with said barrier,"3 thereby clearly specifying what
triggered a change in orientation. Since at least two points are needed to define a
"movement line", changing the orientation of the pointer "responsive to said compared
pointer movement line with said barrier" precludes using the current pointer (i.e., only
one point) of the cursor in relation to the barrier to trigger changing the orientation of the
pointer. This interpretation is not inconsistent with the plain meaning of the term or with
its use in appellant's specification. Moreover, this interpretation is consistent with
statements made by both the examiner and appellant during prosecution. For example,
in the Final office action,4 the examiner stated
Leah et al. (5,808,601) implements a similar barrier (or boundary)
and cursor function but it does it in a different way for example applicant
claims in independent claims 1, 8 and 15 to summarize that he identifies
and compares the pointer movement line with the barrier to determine
movement control actions in contrast to Leah et al. to summarize identifies
3 See the AMENDMENT filed August 20, 1999 (Paper 10, pp. 2-3).
4 See the Final office action mailed February 5, 2001 (Paper 20). In essence, in the Final office
action, the examiner relied on McCambridge to "show changing the orientation" of a pointer, Keyson to
"show changing the speed" of a pointer, and Kanamaru to show "comparing a pointer movement line with
a selected area or barrier (Paper 20, p. 8, last ¶).
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