Appeal No. 96-2194
Application 08/042,292
orientation for the sensor relative to the seam (Spec. at 7, line
47 et seq.).
Claim 1, which is the broader of the two independent
claims (claim 13 is the other independent claim), reads as
follows:
1. Apparatus for tracking a feature on a
workpiece comprising:
at least two pairs of electrodes disposed on a
planar mount oriented parallel to the axis of the
feature and above the workpiece with one electrode in
each pair operating as a transmitter of an electric
field and the other electrode in each pair operating as
a receiver of the field;
means to drive each of the transmitting electrodes
at a separate frequency;
means to combine the signals from the receiver
electrodes to provide information indicative of the
position of the mount relative to the feature; and
means to drive the mount in response to the
position information.
The references relied on by the examiner are:
Houskamp 4,656,406 Apr. 7, 1987
Hüschelrath et al. (Hüschelrath) 4,792,755 Dec. 20, 1988
Claims 1, 6-9, 13-15 and 17-19 stand rejected under
35 U.S.C. § 103 as unpatentable over Hüschelrath in view of
Houskamp. Appellant treats the rejected claims as standing or
falling together (Brief at 3) and specifically argues the
limitations of only claim 1. As a result, we will treat
claims 6-9, 13-15 and 17-19 as standing or falling with claim 1.
-3-
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