Appeal No. 95-0005
Application 08/141,412
References relied on by the Examiner
Tolson 3,337,992 Aug. 29, 1967
White 4,132,981 Jan. 02, 1979
Lapsley (UK) 1,253,826 Nov. 17, 1971
(United Kingdom)
The Rejection on Appeal
Claims 44-50 stand finally rejected under 35 U.S.C. § 103
as being unpatentable over Lapsley, Tolson, and White.
The Invention
The invention is directed to a method and apparatus for
determining the quantity of utility consumed during a given
time period by a customer. Claims 44, 47 and 50 are the only
independent claims, of which claim 44 is drawn to a method and
claims 47 and 50 are drawn to an apparatus. All of the claims
specifically require a single inductive coupling for bidirec-
tional communication of signals and data between an
interrogator and a meter transponder. While method claim 44
does not recite the words "single inductive coupling," it
explicitly recites a primary winding and a secondary winding,
and according to claim 44, the signal from the interrogator to
the transponder is induced from the primary winding to the
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