Appeal No. 96-3624
Application No. 08/293,104
positional and functional indicia and wherein the membrane
covers a plurality of switches. The examiner recognizes that
Koike does not disclose that the membrane is a programmable
display membrane with electrical connections. Therefore,
Hunter was applied for the teaching of using a programmable
display membrane and a processor which can be electrically
programmed to display indicia and for its teaching of
replacing conventional non-electrical overlays to permit the
expansion of the number of functions without cluttering the
keyboard. Polaroid is relied on for the teaching of the
conventionality of a flexible programmable display membrane,
the examiner concluding that it would have been obvious “to
replace the flexible membrane of Koike with the programmable
flexible membrane of Polaroid because it provides the
advantage of increased flexibility as taught by Hunter”
[answer-page 6].
We disagree. In Koike, an indicia sheet 6 carries groups
of key indicia, one group of indicia intended for a timepiece
function and another group intended for a calculator function.
When mechanical slide switch 8 is moved, one of the groups of
indicia is visible and the other group is masked. Depending
6
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