Andrew Corp. v. Beverly Mfg. Co., No. 04 C 6214, 2006 WL 3486884 (N.D. Ill. Dec. 1, 2006) (Holderman, Chief J.).

In this claim construction opinion regarding several patents relating to cable hangers used for telecommunications towers, Judge Holderman refuses to limit several claim terms based upon the preferred embodiments described in the specifications.  The Court explained that "district courts should not generally rely on preferred embodiments in specifications to confine claims unless the embodiment defines the outer limit of the claim." 

The Court also relies upon claim differentiation in interpreting several terms.  For example, the Court held that limiting a "bail" to a semi-circular or hoop-like shape instead of the more general "hinged band" that the Court chose would render the dependent claim which required a bail with a C-shaped profile meaningless.

Finally, at the beginning of the opinion, Judge Holderman provided a very detailed explanation of the current claim construction standards.