Appeal 2007-0514
Application 10/394,641
During examination of a patent application, claims are given their
broadest reasonable construction consistent with the specification. In re
Zletz, 893 F.2d 319, 320-21, 13 USPQ2d 1320, 1322 (Fed. Cir. 1989).
Further, while claims are read in light of the specification, specification
limitations are not read into the claims. Id. Here, Appellant has not
explained why the Examiner's interpretation of the claim term "lip" is in
error or is inconsistent with Appellant's specification. Moreover, as noted
by the Examiner, the claimed "lip" does not require any particular type of
sloping or overlapping, e.g., that there be a continuous slope from the outer
edge of the lip to where the lip meets the main body of the mat. Therefore,
Appellant's argument that Seaux fails to describe "overlapping sloping lips"
is not convincing. Furthermore, Appellant's argument that Seaux fails to
describe the chamfered peripheral edges of the upper and lower half-pieces
of the mat as part of the peripheral extension does not persuade us otherwise.
Insofar as Seaux describes the edges of the mat half-pieces as forming the
peripheral edges and the edges of the mat half-pieces as being chamfered,
Seaux describes the peripheral edges as being chamfered. Accordingly, we
affirm the decision of the Examiner to reject claims 1 and 3 under § 102(e)
as anticipated by Seaux.
As to claim 2, Appellant argues that Seaux does not describe an
integral joint (i.e., claim 2 requires that "the attachment means is a
composite integral fit joint, a snap fit joint or an integral design feature joint
in which the joint is held together by material interference with the
contacting surfaces of the overlapping lips") (Brief, p. 8, para. 2).
According to Appellant, the claimed integral joint does not require any
separate attachment devices, e.g., stakes, pegs or other clamping means, as
described by Seaux, to keep individual mats with sloped lips from sliding
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