Appeal No. 2006-1554 Page 5
Application No. 10/369,819
We disagree with the examiner that in normal use the front panel (209)
would be in a hidden position. We interpret “normally hidden” as used by the
appellants in the claims “not solely on the basis of the claim language, but upon
giving claims their broadest reasonable construction ‘in light of the specification as
it would be interpreted by one of ordinary skill in the art.’” Phillips v. AWH Corp.,
415 F.3d 1303, 1316, 75 USPQ2d 1321, 1329 (Fed. Cir. 2005) (quoting In re Am.
Acad. of Sci. Tech. Ctr., 367 F.3d 1359, 1364, 70 USPQ2d 1827, 1830 (Fed. Cir.
2004)). We must be careful not to read a particular embodiment appearing in the
written description into the claim if the claim language is broader than the
embodiment. See Superguide Corp. v. DirecTV Enterprises, Inc., 358 F.2d 870,
875, 69 USPQ2d 1865, 1868 (Fed. Cir. 2004) (“Though understanding the claim
language may be aided by explanations contained in the written description, it is
important not to import into a claim limitations that are not part of the claim. For
example, a particular embodiment appearing in the written description may not be
read into a claim when the claim language is broader than the embodiment.”) The
challenge is to interpret claims in view of the specification without unnecessarily
importing limitations from the specification into the claims. See E-Pass Techs.,
Inc. v. 3Com Corp., 343 F.2d 1364, 1369, 67 USPQ2d 1947, 1950 (Fed. Cir.
2003).
The specification throughout refers to the “normal operating position” of the
computer (as shown, for example, in Figure 1) and describes that “an outer casing
270 is provided which may be mounted on housing 12 through locking
engagement of casing portions with the housing and other casing portions to form
an enclosure with no visible means of unlocking the casing when the computer is
[in] its normal operating position.” Specification, page 39, lines 19-23. The
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