Appeal No. 95-0868
Application 07/987,552
Claim 5 is reproduced below.
5. A non-contact IC card comprising:
an antenna for receiving an external analog signal containing digital data;
at least three receivers, coupled to the antenna, for receiving the analog signal and for
detecting the digital data wherein each of the at least three receivers has a different signal detection
threshold level for detecting the digital data;
a CPU for controlling the IC card and processing the digital data; and
selection means coupled to the at least three receivers and controlled by the CPU for
connecting a selected one of the at least three receivers to the CPU, the CPU controlling the
selection means by connecting to the CPU, from the receivers of the at least three receivers that
have accurately detected the digital data, the receiver having the lowest signal detection threshold
level.
The examiner relies on the following references:
Davis et al. (Davis) 4,766,295 August 23, 1988
Claims 5 and 6 stand rejected under 35 U.S.C. § 103 as being unpatentable over Davis. The
examiner finds that Davis teaches the subject matter recited in claim 5 except that Davis uses two receivers
instead of three receivers. The examiner concludes (Examiner's Answer, page 2):
It would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was
made to have provided additional receivers in the Davis et al. system because providing additional
receivers would not have changed the overall structure or operation of the system, and it would
have provided for the system to utilize that particular receiver which was most power efficient
based upon the received signal strength as already taught by Davis et al. (col. 5 lines 1-31).
OPINION
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