Ex Parte Birk et al - Page 8

                  Appeal 2007-1710                                                                                           
                  Application 10/098,016                                                                                     
                  Id. at 1740, 82 USPQ2d at 1396.  “One of the ways in which a patent’s                                      
                  subject matter can be proved obvious is by noting that there existed at the                                
                  time of the invention a known problem for which there was an obvious                                       
                  solution encompassed by the patent’s claims.” Id. at 1742, 82 USPQ2d at                                    
                  1397.                                                                                                      
                                                    ANALYSIS                                                                 
                         First Issue.                                                                                        
                         Appellants’ contentions with regard to the fist issue have persuaded us                             
                  of error in the Examiner’s rejection of independent claim 1.  Claim 1 recites                              
                  “coupling-in a light beam of the optical system at a coupling-in point into a                              
                  device for adjusting the light beam and thereby generating a coupled-in light                              
                  beam in the device.”  Thus, the scope of claim 1 includes that there are two                               
                  light beams “a light beam of the optical system” (referred to throughout the                               
                  claim as the optical beam) and “a coupled-in light beam.”  Claim 1 further                                 
                  recites “directing the coupled-in light beam to at least two photo detectors                               
                  wherein each of the photo detectors is mounted on a housing part of the                                    
                  device and disposed apart from the beam path at different distances from the                               
                  coupling-in point.”  Thus, the scope of claim 1 includes the coupled-in light                              
                  beam being directed to two photo detectors, mounted at different distances                                 
                  from the couple-in point.  Further, claim 1 recites “adjusting at least one                                
                  optical element of the optical system to bring the coupled in light beam into                              
                  the nominal position, therefore adjusting the light beam to propagate along                                
                  the beam path in the optical system.”  Thus, claim 1 recites that an optical                               
                  element is adjusted to adjust the position of the coupled-in light beam and                                
                  the light beam (of the optical system).                                                                    



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