What are some examples of enablement issues in electrical and mechanical devices?

The MPEP 2164.06(a) provides several examples of enablement issues in electrical and mechanical devices:

• In MagSil Corp. v. Hitachi Global Storage Technologies, Inc., claims were found to lack enablement when they recited a broad range of resistance changes without sufficient support in the specification for the full claimed range.
• The case of Auto. Techs. Int’l, Inc. v. BMW of N. Am., Inc. involved a claim limitation for a means responsive to motion, which was construed to include both mechanical and electronic sensors. The specification failed to provide details for electronic sensors, leading to an enablement rejection.
• In In re Gunn, a disclosure using block diagrams with functional labels was found non-enabling when there was no indication whether the parts were “off the shelf” or required specific construction.

These examples illustrate that enablement issues often arise when the specification lacks sufficient detail to support the full scope of the claims, particularly in complex technical fields.

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• enablement examples