Appeal No. 2004-1321 Page 7
Application No. 10/002,633
impingement-jet axis. Figure 2c shows a trapezoidal trough which has a plane base
and whose walls may be made straight or curved (p. 6); and
(3) the heat transmission coefficient on the surface of the appellant's troughs is roughly
equal to that which would prevail on the base area without the trough. This in turn is in
contrast to the known elements having areas running perpendicularly to the wall, in
which elements a considerably reduced heat transmission coefficient is to be expected
(p. 7).
In our view, the broadest reasonable meaning of the phrase "similar rotationally
symmetrical forms" as it would be understood by one of ordinary skill in the art, taking
into account the enlightenment afforded by the appellant's specification and drawings,
is that it includes within its scope a trapezoidal1 trough with a plane base and straight
walls running perpendicularly to the plane base.2
The cylindrical pockets of Cermak run perpendicular to the wall. Thus, each
cylindrical pocket defines a trapezoidal trough having a plane base and a straight wall
running perpendicularly to the plane base. Accordingly, the claimed "similar rotationally
1 A trapezoid is a quadrilateral having two parallel sides. A quadrilateral is a plane figure with four
sides and four angles. Thus, a rectangle is a trapezoid.
2 Limitations are not to be read into the claims from the specification. In re Van Geuns, 988 F.2d
1181, 1184, 26 USPQ2d 1057, 1059 (Fed. Cir. 1993) citing In re Zletz, 893 F.2d 319, 321, 13 USPQ2d
1320, 1322 (Fed. Cir. 1989).
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