Appeal No. 2005-1393
Application No. 09/751,609
are persuaded that Figure 2 of Nagy depicts member 24 as bendable
and resilient under an applied force.
Appellant also contends that leg 24 of Nagy does not have
the claimed "force constant selected to produce a displacement of
the distal portion when the paintbrush is subjected to a
mechanical shock so that the paintbrush does not slide off the
magnet" (claim 1). We agree with the examiner, however, that it
is reasonable to conclude that bendable leg 24 of Nagy inherently
possesses such a force constant. It is significant, and
apparently not appreciated by appellant, that the appealed claims
are drafted in broad language which specifies no magnitude for
the force constant, displacement and mechanical shock.
Consequently, since the appealed claims encompass an unlimited
range of magnitudes for the force constant, displacement and
mechanical shock, and we agree with the examiner that bendable
leg 24 of Nagy has some force constant which produces a
displacement of the distal portion when subjected to some
mechanical shock, we find that the claim language does not serve
to distinguish the claimed resilient member from leg 24 of Nagy.
Although appellant submits that most of the force between the
paintbrush and can of Nagy would be transformed into compression
or tension in leg 24, and would not result in a significant
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