Appeal No. 96-2994
Application 08/282,413
ordinary skill in the art. Uniroyal, Inc. v. Rudkin-Wiley
Corp., 837 F.2d 1044, 1051, 5 USPQ2d 1434, 1438 (Fed. Cir.),
cert. denied, 488 U.S.
825 (1988); Ashland Oil, Inc. v. Delta Resins & Refractories,
Inc., 776 F.2d 281, 293, 227 USPQ 657, 664 (Fed. Cir. 1985),
cert. denied, 475 U.S. 1017 (1986); ACS Hosp. Sys., Inc. v.
Montefiore Hosp., 732 F.2d 1572, 1577, 221 USPQ 929, 933 (Fed.
Cir. 1984). These showings by the examiner are an essential
part of complying with the burden of presenting a prima facie
case of obviousness. Note In re Oetiker, 977 F.2d 1443, 1445,
24 USPQ2d 1443, 1444 (Fed. Cir. 1992).
With respect to independent claims 1 and 14, the
examiner cites Corthout as teaching the graphical depiction of
a virtual reality environment. The examiner notes that
Corthout does not specifically disclose that hidden objects
are obscured or that partitions are determined. The examiner
asserts that obscuring objects is conventional in flight
simulators, and that Bentley teaches that a hierarchic data
structure can be viewed as defining partitions. The examiner
also asserts that Fuchs teaches the use of partitions as
claimed [answer, pages 4-5]. The examiner concludes that it
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