Appeal No. 2000-0007 Page 6
Application No. 08/586,919
The examiner's response to the appellant's argument
(answer, pp. 6-7) is that
[i]t is inherent to one having ordinary skill in the art
that the ultra-sonic anti-collision Suyama teaches
determines direction and distance. Suyama's transmitter
is equivalent to the claimed transmitter means in claim
13. Suyama's direction sensor and ultrasonic circuit are
equivalent to Appellant's ultrasonic finder means. . . .
In claim 13, all the "means for" language are function
limitations, not structural elements. The broad language
of the Appellant's claim are functionally equivalent to
the structure shown by Suyama.
Suyama discloses a radio-controlled vehicle (e.g., a golf
cart) having a steering motor, a drive motor, a drive
mechanism, and a direction sensor for receiving an RF signal
from a remote station (e.g., a golfer) to actuate the drive
motor and to control the steering motor to direct the vehicle
to the station. Also, an ultra-sonic anti-collision circuit
for preventing the vehicle from colliding with any obstacle
lying in the way of its travel is provided on the vehicle. As
shown in Figure 1, the vehicle includes, inter alia, a
non-directional antenna 10 to receive a radio frequency signal
transmitted by a transmitter carried by an operator of the
vehicle which is in a remote position from the vehicle, and a
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