Ex Parte CANAVAN et al - Page 5


              Appeal 2007-0554                                                                       
              Reexamination Nos. 90/006,118 & 90/006,254                                             
              Patent 6,196,681 B1                                                                    
              Specification).  Cited in the body of the Specification (Specification col. 1, l.      
              19; col. 2, l. 50), but not incorporated by reference, is Canavan et al., U.S.         
              Patent 5,457,505, issued October 10, 1995 (hereafter Canavan ‘505).  The               
              Specification reports: (1) “For background, reference is made to U.S. Pat.             
              No. 5,457,505, which describes eyewear construction.  Reference is also                
              made to commercially available sport glasses such as Nike sport glasses that           
              include some structure made by a two-shot process in a single mold”                    
              (Specification, col. 1, ll. 18-22); (2) “The temple pieces may be substantially        
              of the form shown in the aforesaid U.S. Pat. No. 5,457,505 (note: two types            
              shown)” (Specification, col. 2, ll. 33-35); and (3) “The structure also readily        
              accommodates temple pieces that may be pivotable and extendable in the                 
              manner described in the aforesaid U.S. Pat. No. 5,457,505 to allow                     
              adjustment for a variety of wearers” (Specification, col. 2, ll. 48-51).               
                    The problem any person having ordinary skill in the art reading                  
              Appellant’s claims must face, and the problem we also encounter in trying to           
              interpret the scope and content of the subject matter claimed, is that most of         
              the terms in Appellant’s claims are not defined in the eight claims                    
              themselves or in the one page, two column supporting Specification.  For               
              example, the Specification does not discuss how, where, and to what extent             
              the soft inner portion of the claimed unitary structure is “adapted to engage          
              the brow and nose of the wearer” (Br. App. Claim 1).  Nor does the                     
              Specification define the “the two-shot process in a single mold that                   
              chemically bonds the soft portion to the hard portion” (Br. App. Claim 1).             
              But for the drawings and the function to be performed by various portions of           


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