Appeal No. 96-1457
Application No. 08/098,165
Claim 26 is directed to a method of taking photographs with
a camera that is removed from a wallet for use, and is then
returned to the wallet after use. The examiner took Official
Notice of camera wallets, and concluded (Answer, page 11) that:
Thus, it would have been obvious to one having ordinary
skill in the art to (a) store the camera of Cummins in
a wallet, (b) remove the camera from the wallet, (c)
upon removal of the camera from the wallet, expose at
least on one of a plurality of predetermined different
areas of the film via a respective one of the lenses,
and (d) upon exposure of the one of the plurality of
predetermined different areas of the film, return the
camera to the wallet for the purpose of protecting a
camera when not in use.
Appellants challenged the examiner’s taking of Official Notice
(Reply Brief, pages 4 and 5), and, in response to this challenge,
the examiner cited U.S. Patent No. 5,043,751 issued to Rice “to
clearly establish that it is known in the art to store a camera
in a wallet,” and U.S.Patent No. 844,152 issued to Little “to
show that it is well known in the art to store a flat camera in
one’s pocket” (Supplemental Answer, page 1). The obviousness
rejection of claim 26 is sustained because the references cited
by the examiner in response to appellants’ challenge teach a
camera carried in a wallet and/or a pocket-sized camera, and
appellants have not rebutted the evidence submitted by the
examiner.
DECISION
11
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