Appeal No. 1998-1441
Application No. 08/294,779
“[t]he process for varying some characteristic of one wave in accordance with another
wave.” McGraw-Hill Electronics Dictionary, Fifth Edition (1994). We also note that a
standard electronics dictionary contains the following definition for “modulator”: “A
transmitter circuit or device that varies the amplitude, frequency, phase, or other
characteristic of a carrier signal in accordance with the waveform of a modulating signal
which contains useful information. The carrier can also be direct current, pulse train, light
beam, laser beam, or other transmission medium.” Id.2
Thus, the “light beam modulation as claimed” merely refers to varying a
characteristic of the light beam in accordance with the input image information. Consistent
with the accepted definitions of the terms, change of “laser writing power and writing time”
refer to characteristics of a laser beam which may be representative of image information.
Further evidence of the obviousness of light beam modulation as claimed is found
in Tsukada, also applied against claim 55. “[T]here are already proposed various image
forming apparatus for the formation of images, such as characters or graphics, by
scanning a recording medium, such as an electrophotographic photosensitive member,
with a light beam, such as a laser beam, modulated in response to information signals.”
Tsukada, column 1, lines 12-18.
Claim 55 also recites “means for applying a modulated electric field.” The recited
form of “modulation” does not appear to follow the accepted definition of the term, but the
2A copy of the relevant definitions is to be mailed with this decision.
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