About Claims XXIII - article of manufacture

Article of Manufacture Claims

美國專利法第101條所提到的manufacture，與apparatus有所不同

裝置範圍中，各元件應有連接關係，為一個整體的發明
所謂article of manufacture，則可准許一些沒有相互連結的元件形成一個專利範圍 但兩者的區隔確實有一些模糊的地帶

article of manufacture的範圍包括列舉特定物品的各部位，如電阻包括：陶瓷核心、包覆碳，與為導電材料的長條結構在核心的兩端；包括可以means plus function方式撰寫

所謂Article of Manufacture Claims就是將一些並非"硬體"相互連結的元件寫在一起，article of manufacture也可用在電腦軟體上
舉例
US 6,233,573為一電腦軟體案，範圍是用以解決臨時詢問的具有多維的資料庫結構的記憶體
1. One or more computer memories collectively containing a dimensional database data structure for resolving temporal queries, comprising:

a time dimension table whose rows each represent a time and are each uniquely identified by a time key;

a second dimension table whose rows each represent one state of a time-variable attribute of a particular item, each row containing an item identifier for the item, a time-variable attribute value, and a time key identifying a row of the time dimension table representing a time at which the time-variable attribute value is effective for the item; and

a fact table whose rows each contain an item identifier identifying an item to which the row relates, such that a temporal query specifying a condition of the time-variable attribute and effective time may be resolved by using the time dimension table to identify rows of the second dimension table satisfying the condition, generating an intermediate table whose rows each contain an item identifier from an identified row of the second dimension table, and joining the intermediate table and the fact table.

US 5,903,881
1. A computer readable memory storing a computer program executable by a processor, for producing a user interface of an online banking system, the user interface comprising:

a first display area for listing a plurality of transaction instructions in a user selected account to be sent to a financial institution for processing, each transaction instruction including a description, and an amount;

a second display area, visually distinguished from and concurrently displayed with the first display area, for listing a plurality of uncleared transactions in the user selected account that have been sent to a financial institution as transaction instructions for processing, each uncleared transaction including a description and an amount;

an executable process that sends a transaction instruction in the first display area to a financial institution for processing, and removes the transaction instruction from the first display area and displays it in the second display area as an uncleared transaction;

a third display area, visually distinguished from and concurrently displayed with the first and second display areas, for listing a plurality of cleared transactions for the user selected account, each cleared transaction including a description and an amount, each uncleared transaction in the second display area being removed therefrom and listed in the third display area as a cleared transaction at a time subsequent to the transaction being cleared by a financial institution; and

a first account balance for the cleared transactions in the user selected account, and a second account balance for both cleared and uncleared transactions in the user selected account, the first and second account balances updated in response to the transactions present in the second and third display areas, and concurrently displayed with the first, second, and third display areas.

參考資料:USPTO, Landis on Mechanics Patent Claim Drafting
Ron