Appeal No. 97-4173
Application 08/575,963
symbols in the pay-off line do not match
there is no payout, when the pay-off line
has certain symbols, such as: three
cherries, the payout is a small amount and
when the pay-off line has other symbols,
such as: JACKPOT, the payout amount is
quite large. If there was not a variable
payout, they would not be called gaming
machines. “[I]n considering the disclosure
of a reference, it is proper to take into
account not only specific teachings of the
reference but also the inferences which one
skilled in the art would reasonably be
expected to draw therefrom.” In re Preda,
401 F.2d 825, 159 USPQ 342, 344 (CCPA
1968). One of ordinary skill in the art
would be expected to infer the normal
operation of gaming machines when presented
with the gaming machines disclosed in
[Fukuda] and Wilhelm '048. It would follow
then, that various combinations of symbols
on the reels of the gaming machines of
[Fukuda] or Wilhelm '048 would result in
prizes of different values and therefore
corresponding coupons of different values.
The penultimate paragraph of claim 1 recites, inter
alia:
each said reel being divided into a
plurality of separate segments, a coupon
value located within each said segment with
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Last modified: November 3, 2007