Appeal No. 98-1287
Application 08/359,706
Discussion
Claims 1, 3/1, and 7/1
The examiner contends that Wiklund discloses everything claimed except for four elements: a
telescope; a solid state image sensor; “the on-off arrangement;” and “the target center”. (Answer at 4.)
In the examiner’s opinion, Wells discloses the use of a telescope and a solid state image sensor;
McClenahan discloses using an on-off arrangement; and Shoemaker discloses the reasoning behind
having a target center. (Answer at 4.)
Our review of the Wiklund reference reveals that Wiklund was faced with a problem similar to
that facing appellants; namely, a need for accurate alignment of a survey instrument with a target.
Wiklund ensures proper alignment by “rotational modulation” of a measuring light beam. As shown in
Fig. 2, oscillator 13 is used for modulating a light signal sent via transmitter 11. The light signal is
reflected by target prism 12 back to receiver 14. The reflected light signal is detected by rotational
modulation detector 24. The detected light signal is used as a feedback signal for positioning of the
instrument by means of motors 26 and 27. See column 5, line 42 through column 6, line 34 of the
reference. The two additional embodiments (shown in Figs. 4 and 5) also ensure proper alignment by a
“rotational modulation” of transmitted light beams.
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