Appeal No. 2006-2654
Application No. 10/100,276
liquids or fluid” or “a groove or furrow.”2 In preferred embodiments, the
application describes channels “formed by traditional photolithography
method by HF etching. The channels are etched to a depth of about 18 µm.”
Specification [0014]. Giving the claim term “channel” its broadest
reasonable interpretation in view of the specification, we interpret “channel”
to be a structural feature of the apparatus, such as a groove, furrow, or other
passageway through which fluid can travel. The apparatus comprises at
least two channels (a “first” and a “second” channel).
The first and second channels of the apparatus are characterized in a
“wherein” clause of claim 1 as “separated over at least part of their length by
a wall defining a dam and over which fluid may flow from the first of said
channels into the second of said two channels.” We interpret the “wall
defining a dam” to be a part of the claimed apparatus because it is set forth
in the claim as a limitation of the channels, which are themselves integral to
the apparatus. This interpretation is consistent with the specification which
describes a preferred embodiment in which the “dam walls” separate the two
channels. Specification [0016]. Two side-by-side and parallel channels are
etched into a quartz plate producing a structural wall between them which
serves as a “dam wall.” Id. at [0014].
In sum, we interpret claim 1 to be directed to an apparatus which
comprises at least two integral channels formed from the apparatus surface.
The channels are separated by a dam wall along at least part of their length.
The dam wall is a structural part of the apparatus.
2 The Random House Dictionary 224 (1982).
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