Appeal No. 96-4122
Application 08/077,419
The appellants’ specification reveals that an inertial
reference system does not take into account inclination
changes of the road surface, whereas a road surface-fixed
reference system is without the effects of changes in the road
surface. What the examiner regards as a road surface-fixed
reference system in Adachi (column 3, lines 51-69; column 4,
lines 38-63; column 5, lines 1-55) is one which detects
attitude changes in the vehicle body, i.e., pitching and
rolling due to a number of causes including bumps or holes on
the road surface. Such a system does not remove the effects
of changes in inclination of the road surface. We agree with
the appellants that motion due to changes in road surface
inclination cannot be equated with motion detected in a road
surface-fixed reference system. The examiner has not properly
applied the meaning of road surface-fixed reference system in
the context of the appellants’ specification. The examiner
erroneously regards vehicle pitching or rolling due to road
surface changes as motion in a road surface-fixed reference
system. See Examiner’s Answer at page 3, lines 17-23).
Moreover, even if we regard Adachi’s attitude change
detection as a road surface-fixed reference system, it is
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