Appeal No. 2004-2335 Page 10
Application No. 09/867,495
It is the proper interpretation to be accorded the language "said second end having
means for securing said second end to a support" of claim 5, and the impact of that
language on the invention as a whole, that is at issue. In my opinion, when such
language is given its broadest reasonable interpretation consistent with the specification
as such would be understood by one of ordinary skill in the art, it does not require the
securing means to be attached to the second end of the elastic cord as depicted in
Figure 2 of the pending application, i.e., "as disclosed" as the majority has determined.
On the contrary, I consider that the language in question is susceptible to a much
broader interpretation and is clearly readable on an arrangement like that seen in the
Vasilopoulos patent applied by the examiner, wherein a means for securing (i.e.,
alligator clip 92) is indirectly secured to the second end (32) of an elongate elastic cord
(30) via base ring (12) and a swivel fitting (40), thereby providing a bungi (bungee) cord
having first and second ends with the first end having a hook (50, 52) secured thereto
and a second end having securing means in the form of a clamp/clip (90, 92) capable of
securing said second end to a support. This broader interpretation, in my view, is clearly
supported by the specification of the present application (e.g., page 5), wherein it is
indicated that the second end of the bungi (bungee) cord (2) of appellant's invention is
secured "in any conventional manner" to a clasp (5). The arrangement of Vasilopoulos
merely represents one conventional manner in which a securing or attachment means
Page: Previous 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 Next
Last modified: November 3, 2007