Interference No. 104,745
As for the meaning of "spectrometer," whether we interpret the Bai count alternative by
looking to Bai's specification or not makes no difference to the outcome, as explained below.
The fact that paragraph d recites a passageway for transporting analyte ions to the spectrometer
makes it clear that the recited "spectrometer" is a mass spectrometer rather than an optical
spectrometer, which is the type of spectrometer described in the definition of "spectrometer"
quoted by Laiko from Webster's College Dictionary (1991). LOppBr. 30.14 "Mass
spectrometry" is defined as follows in Gessner G. Hawley, The Condensed Chemical Dictionary
545-46 (8th ed, 1971):15
A method of chemical analysis in which ions are passed in a vacuum first
through an accelerating electric field and then through a strong magnetic field.
This has the effect of separating the ions according to their mass, as they traverse
the magnetic field at different velocities (electromagnetic separation). Because of
their greater kinetic energy, the heavier ions describe a wider arc than the lighter
ones. The ions are collected in appropriate devices and are identified on the basis
of their mass.
See Manning, 296 F.3d at 1103, 63 USPQ2d at 1685 (consulting a dictionary to establish the
plain meaning of "treat" in the count preamble). The foregoing definition of "mass
spectrometry" does not require or imply the step of producing a "mass spectrum," as argued by
Laiko. An example of a mass spectrum, which is defined as a "[PHYS] A display, record, or plot
of the distribution in mass, or in mass-to-charge ratio, of ionized atoms, molecules, or molecular
14 That definition reads "n. an optical device for measuring wavelengths, deviation of
refracted rays, and angles between the faces of a prism, est. [sic, esp.] an instrument consisting of
a slit through which light passes, a collimator, prism that deviates the light, and a telescope
through which the deviated light is viewed and examined."
15 Copies of this and other definitions cited for the first time in this opinion are enclosed.
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