Appeal No. 2005-0841
Application No. 08/230,083
to allow a patentee to obtain through reissue a scope of protection
to which he is rightfully entitled for overlooked aspects. Hester,
142 F.3d at 1483, 46 USPQ2d at 1650.
In essence, reissue claims 14 and 16 are broader than the
claims in U.S. Patent No. 5,105,731 in that neither includes the
limitation in independent patent claim 1 which reads “wherein the
inner frame (4) has a surrounding rim (7) carrying rib members (8)
spaced transversely with stays (9) extending therefrom and a
surrounding frame (10) joining the stays (9),” or the limitation
in independent patent claim 11 which reads “wherein the clip
connection (6) comprises a springy tongue (22') formed separate
from the outer housing (3), said springy tongue (22') being
arranged on a locking element (30) which can be connected with the
outer housing (3), and said locking element (30) being guided over
a dovetail guide (31) on the outer surface of the outer housing
(3).”
These two limitations appeared in substance in original
application claim 2 (which depended from claim 1) and claim 12
(which depended from claim 1 through claims 10 and 11),
respectively. The examiner never rejected claims 2 and 12 on prior
art grounds and the appellant simply canceled these claims and
rewrote them in independent form as claims 15 and 16 (subsequently
renumbered as patent claims 1 and 11, respectively), canceled
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