Appeal 2006-2619
Application 10/935,566
power and waveforms to be supplied to an electrode before the system
executes the actual joining step, and which comprises at least hardware,
software, or a combination of the two as the specified components which
receive any manner of welding parameter and automatically applies any
manner of configuration to any part or element of the welder supply system
based at least on that welding parameter. The term “comprising” used in
transition as well as in the body of the claims, of course, opens the claims to
encompass any system that contains any manner of additional component(s)
and types of received information. See generally, Vehicular Technologies
Corp. v. Titan Wheel Int’l Inc., 212 F.3d 1377, 1383, 54 USPQ2d 1841,
1845 (Fed. Cir. 2000); Genentech Inc. v. Chiron Corp., 112 F.3d 4954, 501,
42 USPQ2d 1608, 1613 (Fed. Cir. 1997); In re Baxter, 656 F.2d 679, 686,
210 USPQ 795, 802 (CCPA 1981).
There is substantially no dispute that the welding system disclosed by
Niedereder comprises at least the components specified in appealed claim 1
as the examiner contends. Indeed, Appellants admit that the system of the
reference can “configure other devices attached to a network based at least
upon a welding parameter” (Br., e.g., 5: 11-12; 7: 21-22; Reply Br., e.g.,
3:15-16). Even so, Appellants contend that Niedereder would not have
disclosed “an analyzer” as specified in claim 11. Appellants have not
informed us why this is so, and the Examiner has not pointed to a component
of Niedereder’s system which would have been recognized by one of
ordinary skill in the art as capable of performing the claimed function of this
component.
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