Ex Parte Rasmussen - Page 4




               Appeal No. 2006-1277                                                                       Page 4                
               Application No. 10/221,711                                                                                       


                      Cam [ kam ] (plural cams)                                                                                 

                              noun                                                                                              

                              machine part that transfers motion: an irregularly-shaped                                         
                              projection on a rotating shaft that changes rotary motion into a                                  
                              reciprocating up-and-down motion in another machine part (cam                                     
                              follower) that touches it                                                                         

               According to the examiner,                                                                                       
                              it is clear from the formatting and text of the MSN Encarta                                       
                              definition (see above) that the primary definition of cam is a                                    
                              “machine part that transfers motion”.  This is clear from the bold                                
                              texting of the definition, indicating that this is the primary, broad                             
                              definition of “cam”.  The definition is further qualified or limited                              
                              by the language following the colon, which is clearly a secondary                                 
                              definition of the previous description of ”cam”.  This secondary                                  
                              definition is a limitation of the previous definition, and does not                               
                              constitute the complete broad definition of the term.  The examiner                               
                              is required to give claim language its broadest reasonable                                        
                              interpretation consistent with the specification, and maintains that                              
                              the [Christrup] reference meets the broadest reasonable                                           
                              interpretation of “cam”, which is believed to be a ”machine part                                  
                              that transfers motion”.                                                                           

                      The appellant, on page 4 of the brief, contends that the examiner has erred in ignoring the               
               remainder of the MSN Encarta definition following the bold text.  Additionally, on page 5 of the                 
               brief, the appellant cites the Oxford English Dictionary Online definition, which defines “cam”                  
               as “A projecting part of a wheel or other revolving piece of machinery, adapted to impart an                     
               alternating or variable motion of any kind to another piece pressing against it, by sliding or                   
               rolling contact” and argues that, among other things, a torsion spring does not impart motion by                 
               sliding or rolling contact.  The appellant urges that a person of ordinary skill in the art would not            
               consider a torsion spring to be a “cam.”                                                                         







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