Dometic Corp., Dometic Sweden Ab v. International Trade Commission

NOTE: This disposition is nonprecedential.
United States Court of Appeals
for the Federal Circuit
______________________
DOMETIC CORP., DOMETIC SWEDEN AB,
Appellants
v.
INTERNATIONAL TRADE COMMISSION,
Appellee
CITIMARINE, L.L.C., MABRU POWER SYSTEMS,
INC., SHANGHAI HOPEWELL INDUSTRIAL CO.
LTD., SHANGHAI HEHE INDUSTRIAL CO. LTD.,
Intervenors
______________________
2024-1796
______________________
Appeal from the United States International Trade
Commission in Investigation No. 337-TA-1346.
______________________
Decided: April 6, 2026
______________________
STEPHEN REID HOWE, Husch Blackwell LLP, Milwau-
kee, WI, argued for appellants. Also represented by AVERY
HITCHCOCK; KARA RENEE FUSSNER, St. Louis, MO; BEAU
JACKSON, Kansas City, MO; MATTHEW KAMPS, Chicago, IL.
NAMO KIM, Office of the General Counsel, United
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DOMETIC CORP. v. ITC 2
States International Trade Commission, Washington, DC,
argued for appellee. Also represented by AMANDA PITCHER
FISHEROW.
PAUL M. BARTKOWSKI, Bartkowski PLLC, McLean, VA,
argued for all intervenors. Also represented by THOMAS
RICHARD BURNS, JR. Intervenor Mabru Power Systems,
Inc. also represented by MARK D. BOWEN, Malin Haley Di-
Maggio & Bowen, PA, Fort Lauderdale, FL. Intervenors
Shanghai Hopewell Industrial Co. Ltd. and Shanghai Hehe
Industrial Co. Ltd. also represented by JASON XU, Rimon,
P.C., Washington, DC.
______________________
Before TARANTO, CLEVENGER, and STOLL, Circuit Judges.
TARANTO, Circuit Judge.
Dometic Corp. and Dometic Sweden AB (together,
Dometic) filed a complaint with the International Trade
Commission against Citimarine, L.L.C., Mabru Power Sys-
tems, Inc., Shanghai Hopewell Industrial Co. Ltd., and
Shanghai Hehe Industrial Co. Ltd. (collectively, Citima-
rine), seeking an order to block importation of certain prod-
ucts under section 337 of the Tariff Act of 1930, as
amended, 19 U.S.C. § 1337. Dometic asserted, as now rel-
evant, that the products infringe claims 1–2, 4–5, 7, and
18–22 of its U.S. Patent No. 8,056,351, whose subject is an
air conditioning device for nautical vehicles. The Commis-
sion denied relief to Dometic on claims 1–2, 4–5, and 7 on
the ground that those claims are invalid for anticipation.
The Commission denied relief to Dometic on claims 18–22
on two related grounds—that the accused imported prod-
ucts do not infringe those claims and that the domestic
products asserted to meet section 337’s domestic-industry
requirement do not come within the claims. We now af-
firm.
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DOMETIC CORP. v. ITC 3
I
A
The ’351 patent addresses the problem of providing
easily installable marine air conditioners in a confined and
tightly packed space. ’351 patent, col. 1, lines 19–27. It
describes a device with a main body, blower, and assembly
with certain components and rotational properties. Id., col.
1, lines 35–42. The main body consists of a drain pan and
the features mounted above the drain pan, in which the
evaporator occupies a mounting area above it. Id., col. 4,
lines 1–7; id., col. 9, lines 58–65; id., col. 11, lines 24–26.
The blower includes a fan for moving air into and out of the
air conditioner system. Id., col. 1, lines 37–39; id., col. 11,
lines 26–31. The assembly includes a guiding cover and a
cylindrical duct element to facilitate the flow of air between
the main body and blower, where the guiding cover is a
cover-like element that is on top of the evaporator. Id., col.
1, lines 38–39, 50–53; id., col. 9, line 66, through col. 10,
line 2.
Independent claim 1 reads as follows:
1. An air conditioning device for a nautical vehicle
including:
a main body; and
a blower including an inlet and an outlet,
the inlet being in an air communication
with the main body, the blower further in-
cluding blades rotating therewithin
about a first axis, and
an assembly for adjusting the blower
with respect to the main body about a
second axis so as to alter an orienta-
tion of the outlet, the assembly including
a guiding cover and a cylindrical duct el-
ement for maintaining the main body and
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DOMETIC CORP. v. ITC 4
the blower at the second base, the first base
of the duct element dimensioned to corre-
spondingly fit the guiding cover, and the
duct element being rotatably adjustable
around the guiding cover about the second
axis at the first base so as to alter the ori-
entation of the outlet.
Id., col. 12, line 52, through col. 13, line 3 (emphases
added). As the emphases indicate, the claim recites the
above-described components and two axes—one around
which the fan blades inside the blower rotate, the other
around which the blower as a whole can rotate, vis-à-vis
the main body, to change the direction of the blower’s out-
let. See id., col. 1, lines 39–42; id., col. 2, lines 47–50; id.,
col. 11, line 26, through col. 12, line 3.
Independent claim 18 reads as follows:
18. An air conditioning device for a nautical vehicle
including:
a main body; and
a blower including an inlet and an outlet,
the inlet being in an air communication
with the main body, the blower being ro-
tatable about [a] first axis so that the
outlet can be oriented toward a first
direct[i]on and a second direction, and
the first and second directions point
to substantially different lateral sides
of the main body, and
an assembly for adjusting the blower
with respect to the main body about a
second axis so as to alter an orienta-
tion of the outlet, the assembly including
a guiding cover and a cyli[n]drical duct ele-
ment for maintaining the main body and
the blower and the blower in air
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DOMETIC CORP. v. ITC 5
communication with one another, the duct
element having a first base and a second
base, coupled to the blower at the duct ele-
ment dimensioned to correspondingly fit
the guiding cover, and the duct element
being rotat[a]bly adjustable around
the guiding cover about the second
axis at the first base so as to alter the ori-
entation of the outlet.
Id., col. 14, lines 4–20 (emphases added). As the emphases
indicate, this claim recites two axes, but neither is defined
as the axis of the fan blades’ rotation inside the blower (un-
like an axis in claim 1). Cf. id., col. 1, lines 39–40; id., col.
12, lines 16–19. Instead, both axes in claim 18 are for
changing the direction of the blower outlet. One is identi-
fied simply as an axis for rotating the blower to do so. See
id., col. 3, lines 1–4. The second is also an axis for adjusting
the orientation of the blower but is identified as doing so by
rotating the duct element of the assembly (attached to the
blower) around the guiding cover. See id., col. 1, lines 56–
58; id., col. 11, lines 17–18.
B
In November 2022, Dometic filed its complaint, accus-
ing Citimarine of violating section 337(a)(1)(B) of the Tariff
Act of 1930, 19 U.S.C. § 1337(a)(1)(B), by importing and
then selling units of certain marine air conditioning sys-
tems that, Dometic asserted, infringe the ’351 patent. J.A.
268–94. The Commission instituted an investigation based
on the complaint the next month. Certain Marine Air Con-
ditioning Systems, Components Thereof, and Products Con-
taining the Same; Institution of Investigation, 87 Fed. Reg.
76216, 76216–17 (Dec. 13, 2022) (Institution). The accused
products, as well as the domestic-industry articles pro-
tected by the patent, see 19 U.S.C. § 1337(a)(2), are “certain
marine air conditioning systems, components thereof, and
products containing the same.” Institution, at 76216.
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DOMETIC CORP. v. ITC 6
The Commission-assigned administrative law judge
(ALJ) issued an order in May 2023, construing certain
terms in the asserted claims. J.A. 3754–84. Relevantly,
neither party requested a construction of “guiding cover,”
but the parties disputed the proper construction of the lim-
itation “assembly for adjusting the blower with respect to
the main body,” which appears in claims 1 and 18. J.A.
2821–28. The parties addressed two limitations in claim
18: “the blower being rotatable about first axis so that the
outlet can be oriented toward a first direct[i]on and a sec-
ond direction”; and “an assembly for adjusting the blower
with respect to the main body about a second axis,” with
the assembly’s “duct element being rotat[a]bly adjustable
around the guiding cover about the second axis.” Citima-
rine contended that the claimed axes must be distinct,
while Dometic took no position on that issue. Compare J.A.
3768–77 (Citimarine), with J.A. 2305–17 (Dometic). The
ALJ determined that the first axis and second axis limita-
tions of claim 18 need not be different (but refrained from
answering whether the limitations require two modes of ro-
tation). J.A. 3781.
In June 2023, Citimarine moved for summary determi-
nation against Dometic on the grounds that the technical
prong of section 337’s domestic-industry requirement was
not satisfied and, alternatively or in addition, anticipation
of asserted claims 1–5, 7, and 18–22 by, as now relevant, a
prior-art product referred to as the Vector Compact. J.A.
7209–66; see J.A. 211. Of importance for the present ap-
peal, Citimarine argued in particular that the Vector Com-
pact practices (and practiced before the priority date of the
’351 patent) the “guiding cover” limitation in independent
claim 1 because “(1) [the] Vector Compact includes a metal
cover-like element (also known as a ‘shroud’) that covers
the evaporator of the unit; (2) it has a circular operating for
directing air to the adjacent blower; and (3) it has a cylin-
drical section extending from the opening.” J.A. 7232.
Dometic opposed, arguing, among other things, that the
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DOMETIC CORP. v. ITC 7
’351 patent describes the “guiding cover” in the assembly
“as a ‘fan plate’ that is a ‘cover-like element’ that includes
a ‘flat section with a circular opening for directing to the
adjacent blower and has a cylindrical section extending
from the operating.’” J.A. 9682.
The next month, the ALJ issued an initial determina-
tion that partly granted Citimarine’s motion, finding, as
now relevant, that the Vector Compact anticipates claims
1–2, 4–5, and 7. Certain Marine Air Conditioning Systems,
Components Thereof, and Products Containing the Same,
Inv. No. 337-TA-1346, 2023 WL 4761667, at *13–14 (July
18, 2023) (Initial Summary Determination). The ALJ
agreed with Citimarine’s argument that the shroud of the
Vector Compact discloses the “guiding cover” of the ’351 pa-
tent, because it is a cover-like component that discloses the
combination of components of the claimed guiding cover.
Initial Summary Determination at *10–11. In September
2023, the Commission affirmed the Initial Summary Deter-
mination, adopting the findings pertaining to the guiding
cover limitation. J.A. 190–208.
In December 2023, the ALJ issued a Final Initial De-
termination, concluding that no violation of section 337 had
been proved for the remaining asserted clams, i.e., claims
18–22.1 Certain Marine Air Conditioning Systems, Compo-
nents Thereof, and Products Containing the Same, Inv. No.
337-TA-1346, 2023 WL 8664238, at *20 (Dec. 8, 2023) (Fi-
nal Initial Determination). In so doing, the ALJ supple-
mented his claim construction to contrast the blower
rotation of the first axis limitation with the assembly (duct
element) rotation of the second axis limitation. Under the
former limitation, the ALJ concluded, the blower must
have “a different type of rotation separate from the
1 In October 2023, the Commission granted
Dometic’s motion to remove claims 3, 11, and 17 from the
investigation. J.A. 26776–78.
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DOMETIC CORP. v. ITC 8
assembly’s adjustment/rotation” of the second axis limita-
tion (the latter involving the duct element’s rotation
around the guiding cover), with the required different type
of rotation of the first axis limitation “involving a struc-
tural component that may be a part of, but is identifiably
distinct from, the claimed portion of the ‘assembly.’” Id. at
*24. The ALJ found, under that requirement, that Dometic
had not proved infringement by the accused products or
satisfaction of the technical prong of the domestic-industry
requirement. Id. at *33–34, 40–41.
In March 2024, the Commission affirmed the ALJ’s
noninfringement and technical-prong findings. Certain
Marine Air Conditioning Systems, Components Thereof,
and Products Containing the Same, Inv. No. 337-TA-1346,
2024 WL 1176054 (Mar. 11, 2024) (Commission Determi-
nation). In particular, the Commission agreed with the
ALJ’s claim construction requiring two modes of rotation
for the blower. Commission Determination, at *24–35.
Dometic timely appealed the Commission’s determina-
tion under 19 U.S.C. § 1337(c). We granted Citimarine
leave to intervene. We have jurisdiction under 19 U.S.C.
§ 1337(c) and 28 U.S.C. § 1295(a)(6).
II
We review the rulings of the Commission under the Ad-
ministrative Procedure Act, 5 U.S.C. § 706. See 19 U.S.C.
§ 1337(c); Broadcom Corp. v. International Trade Commis-
sion, 28 F.4th 240, 249 (Fed. Cir. 2022). Rulings of law are
reviewed under the de novo standard, and factual findings
are reviewed for substantial-evidence support. Broadcom,
28 F.4th at 249; see 5 U.S.C. § 706(2)(E).
Dometic challenges both the Commission’s ruling that
claims 1–2, 4–5, and 7 are anticipated and the Commis-
sion’s ruling that neither the accused products nor the do-
mestic industry products practice claims 18–22. In each
challenge, Dometic argues that the Commission relied on
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DOMETIC CORP. v. ITC 9
an incorrect claim construction—one for the anticipation
ruling, and a separate one for the nonfringement/domestic-
industry ruling. The Commission agrees with Dometic
that its anticipation ruling turns on a claim-construction
dispute but suggests that the dispute over its nonfringe-
ment/domestic-industry ruling is not a matter of claim con-
struction but of claim application.
We may assume, with Dometic, that the latter ruling,
like the former, depends on a claim construction. We de-
cide the two claim-construction disputes de novo, because
their resolution turns only on intrinsic evidence. See Teva
Pharmaceuticals USA, Inc. v. Sandoz, Inc., 574 U.S. 318,
331–33 (2015). We resolve both disputes against Dometic
and in favor of the Commission, and we therefore affirm.
A
Relevant to both claim-construction disputes is a prin-
ciple we have articulated in a number of cases involving a
claim that separately recites two structural elements of a
claimed invention. In 2010, drawing from earlier claim-
construction precedent, we stated that “[w]here a claim
lists elements separately, ‘the clear implication of the claim
language’ is that those elements are ‘distinct component[s]’
of the patented invention.” Becton, Dickinson & Co. v. Tyco
Healthcare Group, LP, 616 F.3d 1249, 1254 (Fed. Cir. 2010)
(second alteration in original) (quoting Gaus v. Conair
Corp., 363 F.3d 1284, 1288 (Fed. Cir. 2004), and citing En-
gel Industries, Inc. v. Lockformer Co., 96 F.3d 1398, 1404–
05 (Fed. Cir. 1996)). We have explained, however, that the
implication is merely a “‘presumption’ that separately
listed claim limitations may indicate separate and distinct
physical structure, but that presumption may always be re-
butted in the context of a particular patent.” Google LLC
v. EcoFactor, Inc., 92 F.4th 1049, 1058 (Fed. Cir. 2024) (em-
phasis added).
The context provided by the patent as a whole is there-
fore important in determining what to make of a separate
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DOMETIC CORP. v. ITC 10
listing of two differently named structures. Becton itself,
immediately after its statement of an implication of sepa-
rate listing, turned to other claim language and the speci-
fication in determining that the two separately listed
elements at issue could not be the very same structure. 616
F.3d at 1254–56; see Google, 92 F.4th at 1058 (stressing
this aspect of Becton). The court in Google drew a different
conclusion based on the different context presented there.
Google, 92 F.4th at 1058 (“[T]he specification contemplates
an embodiment in which one claimed input is calculated
based on at least one other claimed input.”); see also Powell
v. Home Depot U.S.A., Inc., 663 F.3d 1221, 1231–32 (Fed.
Cir. 2011) (“[T]he specification teaches that the cutting box
may also function as a ‘dust collection structure.’”); Rec-
tractable Technologies, Inc. v. Becton, Dickinson & Co., 653
F.3d 1296, 1303 (Fed. Cir. 2011) (“The claims and the spec-
ifications indicate that the ‘needle holder’ and ‘retainer
member’ need not be separately molded pieces.”).
Further, caution is required about identifying when the
Becton presumption is triggered at all. Specifically, the
precise nature of the interpretive question in dispute in a
case may matter to how strong the Becton interpretive pre-
sumption is or whether it applies at all. Notably, Becton
was focused on whether separate listing of structural ele-
ments implied distinctness simply in the sense that they
could not be the very same structure—could not “be one
and the same,” i.e., “the same structure” (because the two
claim terms had “different meanings”). 616 F.3d at 1254
(citations omitted). Other cases in which we have applied
the Becton presumption seem also to have involved a sim-
ple nonidentity dispute over whether a single physical
structure could be two structures separately listed in a
claim. See Magnolia Medical Technologies, Inc. v. Kurin,
Inc., ___ F.4th ____, ____, 2026 WL 628364, at *3–4, No. 24-
2001, slip op. at 8–11 (Fed. Cir. Mar. 6, 2026); Regeneron
Pharmaceuticals, Inc. v. Mylan Pharmaceuticals Inc., 130
F.4th 1372, 1380 (Fed. Cir. 2025); Kyocera Senco Industrial
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DOMETIC CORP. v. ITC 11
Tools Inc. v. International Trade Commission, 22 F.4th
1369, 1382 (Fed. Cir. 2022). In that context, the presump-
tion is rooted in a common-sense fact about ordinary lan-
guage.
It is not clear to what extent, if at all, such a presump-
tion applies (in patent-claim construction or in ordinary
language) where the question is not whether two sepa-
rately named structures can be one and the same but, in-
stead, is how two separately listed structures (e.g., a house
and a garage), clearly not the very same, are physically re-
lated to one another. Is there a presumption that two such
structures, which are distinct in the sense of not being the
same, cannot be physically related to each other in a par-
ticular way—for example, cannot touch except for one at-
taching to the other or share some portions with each other
or be so disposed that one is inside the other? The simple
ordinary-language principle that underlies Becton—that
different words are presumed to have “different meanings,”
616 F.3d at 1254—does not imply a particular restriction
on the physical relationship of two plainly nonidentical
structures. Without a different language principle, it may
well be that, in ordinary usage, identifying the physical re-
lationship of separately listed elements requires immedi-
ately turning to additional language or context, without
any default starting point, or any strong one, rooted simply
in the fact of separate listing. Dometic has not addressed
this seemingly different question or pointed to cases or
principles of ordinary-language interpretation that do so.
The distinction just noted would weaken or make inap-
plicable the Becton presumption—thus reinforcing the
Commission’s position—on the first of the two claim-con-
struction disputes before us. But we need not rely on the
idea that the Becton presumption is weaker or inapplicable
where the question is not one of identity but of the physical
relationship between what remain two structures even un-
der the Commission’s anticipation rationale. Here, even if
the Becton presumption is triggered for the first dispute,
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DOMETIC CORP. v. ITC 12
context overcomes it, as it has in other cases. With respect
to the second claim-construction dispute, we note below
that the presumption might apply, and if so, it would sup-
port the Commission’s position, but we need not and do not
rely on it to affirm the Commission based on its extensive
and correct full claim-construction analysis.
B
Dometic’s only challenge to the Commission’s finding
of anticipation of claim 1 and dependent claims 2, 4–5, and
7 concerns the “guiding cover” limitation of those claims. It
is undisputed that, as claim 1 makes clear, the “guiding
cover” is part of the claim-required “assembly.” What is
disputed is whether the “assembly” must be physically dis-
joint from (except for attaching to) the claim-required
“main body.” Dometic relies on Becton to argue that the
two must be physically disjoint (except for attaching to
each other) because they are separately listed in the
claims. If so, the “guiding cover” (part of the “assembly”)
cannot be part of the “main body.” It would follow, Dometic
asserts, that the Commission’s finding of anticipation by
the Vector Compact product would have to be set aside, be-
cause the portion of the Vector Compact the Commission
identified as the “guiding cover” (a shroud) is part of what
the Commission identified as the “main body.”
We reject Dometic’s contention that the “assembly”
must be physically disjoint from the “main body” (except
for attaching to each other). The Commission’s conclusion
does not treat the Vector Compact shroud as being both the
main body and the assembly, so the precise interpretive
question here may well be materially different from the one
squarely treated in Becton, as already discussed. But we
do not rely on that possible distinction. Instead, we con-
clude that the Becton presumption, which we may assume
to apply, is overcome here.
Nothing in the intrinsic evidence offers support to
Dometic’s position except the fact that the components,
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DOMETIC CORP. v. ITC 13
“main body” and “assembly,” are separately listed—which
is what (by assumption) triggers the presumption. For ex-
ample, no other claim language undermines a conclusion
that a portion of the assembly can be part of the main body.
This case is critically different from Becton in this respect.
There, the court held that Becton’s position “renders the
asserted claims nonsensical,” because claim language re-
quiring a connection between the two listed elements
(spring means and hinged arm) would be “facially nonsen-
sical” if the two elements were actually “one and the same.”
Becton, 616 F.3d at 1255. Dometic identifies no claim lan-
guage that suggests a comparable conclusion here.
Turning to the rest of the patent document, we find
support for the Commission’s interpretation allowing the
guiding cover (as part of the assembly) to be included in the
main body. Figure 1 of the specification includes a guiding
cover and a main body, where the main body consists of the
drain pan “and what is mounted above it.” ’351 patent , col.
11, lines 25–26 (emphasis added); see id., fig. 1. The evap-
orator (along with the compressor and condenser) occupies
a mounting area above the drain pan. Id., col. 4, lines 1–7;
see also id., col. 9, lines 58–65. The guiding cover, which is
part of the assembly, is “placed on the top of the evapora-
tor.” Id., col. 9, line 66, through col. 10, line 2; id., col. 12,
line 61. The figure shows that, in the patent, the guiding
cover can thus be mounted above the drain pan via the
evaporator, and in turn, can be included in the main body,
as the main body is defined.
The Abstract says that the inventive “air conditioning
system for a nautical vehicle includes a main body, includ-
ing an assembly, and a blower including an inlet and an
outlet.” ’351 patent, Abstract (emphasis added). That
phrasing directly supports the Commission’s view. See
Hill-Rom Co. v. Kinetic Concepts, Inc., 209 F.3d 1337, 1341
n.* (Fed. Cir. 2000) (“We have frequently looked to the ab-
stract to determine the scope of the invention, . . . and we
are aware of no legal principle that would require us to
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DOMETIC CORP. v. ITC 14
disregard that potentially helpful source of intrinsic evi-
dence as to the meaning of claims.”) (collecting cases). That
characterization aligns with a statement in the specifica-
tion, describing Figure 1, that “the air conditioner 1 can
largely be divided into a main body 4 and the blower 2.”
Id., col. 11, lines 24–25.
Dometic points to the specification’s statement that the
system “includes a main body, a blower and an assembly,”
id., col. 1, lines 36–37, but that statement does imply that
no part of the assembly can be part of the main body, and
the other statements already quoted indicate otherwise.
Similarly, the shroud in the ’351 patent (also contained in
the Vector Compact product) does not help Dometic. It is
mounted above the drain pan in the main body, consisting
of three covers, one each for the evaporator, compressor,
and condenser, and is also included in Figure 1. Id., col. 4,
lines 43–51; id., col. 6, lines 17–22. The shroud thus con-
tains components that are part of the main body, because
they are mounted above it, precluding the shroud from be-
ing entirely distinct from either the assembly or the guid-
ing cover, which can also be in the main body.
Dometic points to prosecution history, but we see there
no basis to disturb the Commission’s conclusion. During
prosecution, the Examiner rejected then-pending claim 54
(which later issued as claim 1) as anticipated by U.S. Pa-
tent No. 5,848,536 (“Dodge”). J.A. 35178. Dodge teaches
changing the orientation by “rotating the square mounting
plate [ ] supporting the blower housing [ ] ninety degrees
about an axis through the motor,” J.A. 41672, col. 5, lines
16–18, and Dometic amended its claim to overcome the re-
jection, J.A. 35200–14. But Dometic has not shown that
this prosecution history precludes a portion of the assembly
from being part of the main body.
Dometic asserts that a “guiding cover” is “more than a
mere cylindrical protrusion.” Dometic Opening Br. at 39
(capitalization removed). But the Commission did not
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DOMETIC CORP. v. ITC 15
construe the phrase to be a mere cylindrical protrusion.
The ALJ expressly stated that anticipation existed even
under Dometic’s construction (“a combination of a flat sec-
tion, circular opening, and cylindrical protrusion”), Initial
Summary Determination, at *10, and the Commission af-
firmed without disagreeing, J.A. 203. And Dometic has not
shown how its contention about the meaning of “guiding
cover” (as opposed to its argument about the relation of the
assembly and main body) would alter the Board’s anticipa-
tion finding.
For those reasons, we affirm the Board’s claim con-
struction underlying its finding of anticipation of claims 1–
2, 4–5, and 7.
C
Dometic’s only challenge to the Commission’s determi-
nations of infringement and the absence of domestic indus-
try regarding claim 18 and dependent claims 19–22 is a
challenge to Commission’s construction of the “first axis”
limitation of claim 18. The Commission concluded that the
first axis of rotation for the blower in that limitation must
allow rotation independently of the rotation allowed in the
“second axis” limitation, the latter expressly involving ro-
tation of the duct element around the guiding cover, the
former not (but instead, implicitly, rotation of the blower
around the duct element)—so that, in effect, there are two
structurally and functionally distinct rotational degrees of
freedom. See Commission Determination, at *13–35. We
reject Dometic’s challenge to the Commission’s construc-
tion.
The Commission invoked the Becton principle as one
relatively small part of its analysis, applying it to claim 18’s
separate listing of a “blower being rotatable about [a] first
axis . . .” and an “assembly for adjusting the blower with
respect to the main body about a second axis . . . .” Com-
mission Determination, at *9, 30; see also Commission Br.
at 48–49; Citimarine Br. at 43. Dometic argues that any
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DOMETIC CORP. v. ITC 16
Becton presumption here should be found to be rebutted.
Dometic Reply Br. at 25–26. We need not explore whether
the Becton presumption applies to the question here: It
might be viewed as whether two different structures are
presumptively required (the duct element of the assembly
versus the blower itself); or it might be viewed as whether
two different functional properties (rotation types) are re-
quired. Cf. In re Kelley, 305 F.2d 909, 914 (C.C.P.A. 1962)
(“We see no reason why a single structural element . . . .
which performs two separate functions, cannot support a
claim reciting broadly these separate functions.”). The
Commission relied chiefly on direct claim-construction
analysis, which Becton confirms. And we agree with the
Commission’s claim-construction analysis and deem it suf-
ficient even without the confirmatory Becton point. The
claim language and other intrinsic evidence strongly indi-
cate that two independent rotation hubs—two types of ro-
tation—are required.
Claim 18 recites two axes and two operations. It first
requires that “the blower be[] rotatable about [a] first axis
so that the outlet can be oriented toward a first direct[i]on
and a second direction[.]” ’351 patent, col. 14, lines 7–9
(emphases added). It then recites “an assembly for adjust-
ing the blower with respect to the main body about a second
axis so as to alter an orientation of the outlet.” Id., col. 14,
lines 10–12 (emphases added). It elaborates, with respect
to the second axis limitation, by requiring that the “duct
element”—a part of the “assembly”—“be[] rotat[a]bly ad-
justable around the guiding cover about the second axis at
the first base so as to alter the orientation of the outlet.”
Id., col. 14, lines 17–20. As Becton and the authorities that
it cites confirm, this claim language is naturally read as the
Commission read it. This understanding makes sense of
the difference in the “blower” and “assembly” language and
the very existence of two separate limitations with their
“first” and “second” axis requirements. See Commission
Determination, at *21, 30.
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DOMETIC CORP. v. ITC 17
The specification and figures teach, and explain the
aim of, such a configuration. One may visualize a cylinder-
shaped liquid container with a lid that can rotate around
the container, where on the top of the lid (either centered
or off-center) is a spout that itself can rotate independently
of the lid’s rotation. A reason for this independent rotation
is apparent if the spout is off-center of the lid and is long
enough that it sticks out beyond the rim of the container if
pointed to the closest rim point but stays within the rim
defining the cylinder if pointed to the farthest rim point:
The spout’s rotatability permits keeping the entire top-
down-view profile within the cylinder. The specification
and figures teach a version of that analogue—with the
blower being the counterpart of the spout on the lid, and
the lid being the attachment of the duct element of the as-
sembly rotatable around the guiding cover.
The “assembly . . . second axis” limitation provides for
the latter. See ’351 patent, col. 1, lines 53–55; id., col. 11,
lines 54–56. The second rotational axis is used to reorient
the blower relative to the main body by rotating the duct
element of the assembly around the cylindrical section of
the guiding cover, which can be achieved by loosening the
clamp, rotating the duct element to the desired orientation,
and then tightening the clamp. Id., col. 1, lines 40–42; id.,
col. 10, lines 16–22; id., col. 11, lines 32–33; id., col. 11, line
64, through col. 12, line 3. By rotating the entire duct ele-
ment and attached blower, the orientation of blower outlet
“can be altered and can vary by more than 270 degrees”
relative to the main body, allowing the outlet to face many
different directions, including the left and right sides of the
units. Id., col. 11, lines 41–44, 49–57.
The duct element has an opening to the guiding cover
and an (opposite end) opening to the blower, and the latter
can be smaller than and off-center from the former. Id.,
figs. 24A, 24B, 25, 30A-1, 30A-2, 30B. The patent contem-
plates that the blower will have an outlet that should be
able to point in different directions and may stick out from
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DOMETIC CORP. v. ITC 18
the otherwise-cylindrical profile of the blower. Id., figs. 28,
29. To achieve the ability to install the unit in many dif-
ferently configured nautical vehicles, the ability to point in
different directions is important, and sticking out is a prob-
lem, given limited space and numerous air-obstructing
nearby objects. Id., col. 1, lines 19–28; id., col. 2, lines 14–
17. The patent describes this problem as a problem of con-
trolling the “height” of the device because the blower is on
the side (not top) of the unit; it is like the liquid container
in the analogy turned on its side (so that the container’s
width profile becomes a height profile). Id., col. 12, lines 4–
27. The height of the system can be adjusted based on how
the blower is fastened in relation to the duct element and
the direction in which the blower outlet (akin to the spout)
points. Id., col. 12, lines 6–21. The invention thus aims to
solve problems of generating airflow and allowing a flexible
installation while minimizing the system’s height in a con-
fined space, and it does so by using two types of rotations.
Id., col. 1, lines 37–42.
Dometic contends that the “first axis” and “second axis”
may collapse into a single functional rotation and need not
be distinct, Dometic Opening Br. at 51–55, but that argu-
ment misunderstands the invention. The fact that the
blower and duct element are coupled does not eliminate the
distinct structural roles of the two modes of rotation. See
’351 patent, col. 1, lines 53–55; id., col. 11, lines 37–38.
Even if the axes may be colinear, that alignment would not
collapse the two modes of rotation into one. Dometic’s as-
sertion that the coupled blower and duct element form a
unitary structure such that both rotations move as one,
Dometic Opening Br. at 56–59, is similarly misplaced be-
cause it does not grapple with the bases by which the two
independent rotations occur.
The prosecution history further supports the Commis-
sion’s construction requiring two modes of rotation of the
blower. During prosecution, claim 18 (then-claim 72) was
allowed only after Dometic amended “the blower being
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DOMETIC CORP. v. ITC 19
rotatable about an axis” to a “first axis,” and Dometic also
added an assembly limitation for adjusting the blower
about a “second axis.” J.A. 35228 (emphasis added); see
also J.A. 27725; J.A. 35179. Dometic’s proposed construc-
tion of a potentially single mode of rotation would effec-
tively reverse this change during prosecution and collapse
the two axes in as-issued claim 18 into the single rotational
axis of the pre-amendment version of the claim. See Com-
mission Determination, at *22–23, 29.
For those reasons, we reject Dometic’s challenge to the
Board’s claim construction underlying the findings that led
to denial of relief for claims 18–22.
III
We have considered Dometic’s other arguments and
find them unpersuasive. For the foregoing reasons, we af-
firm the Commission’s final determination.
The parties shall bear their own costs.
AFFIRMED
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