Appeal 2007-1167
Application 10/784,056
into account the broadest reasonable interpretation of the word “within” that
is consistent with Applicant’s own specification. As previously stated,
“support member slidably connected within the releasable clamp”
encompasses a support member that is slidably connected within an
appendage of a clamp. Here, the support member (spatial guide 20) lies
within an appendage (pair of bolts 62) and the clamp (rigid block 28).
Second, we address whether the prior art discloses that “the flexible
brush member is positioned at a 90 degree angle to the shaft” as required by
Claims 6 and 11 (Br. App. A). Blevins discloses that its brush member
“may be mounted on handle 36 by suitable bracket means 39 as shown by
the dotted outline in FIG. 1” (Blevins, col. 3, ll. 49-51). Blevins’ Figure 1
appears to show the brush member mounted at a 90 degree angle to the shaft.
Drawings are evaluated “on the basis of what they reasonably disclose or
suggest to one skilled in the art.” In re Aslanian, 590 F.2d 911, 914, 200
USPQ 500, 503 (CCPA 1979). Appellant argues that, in Blevins, “the brush
member itself is not at a 90 degree angle to the shaft” (Br., p. 10). However,
Claims 6 and 11 do not state that the brush bristles must be 90 degrees to the
shaft; they state that the brush member must be 90 degrees to the shaft.
Thus, under the broadest reasonable interpretation of “brush member,”
Blevins’ Figure 1 appears to show a brush member positioned at a 90 degree
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