Appeal No. 1997-2708
Application No. 08/337,204
Appellants contend (Brief, page 10) that "the teachings
of the Sparrow reference solely apply to 'minutiae' coding and
identification of fingerprints, and thus, the claims on appeal
are not anticipated by ... the Sparrow reference." We agree.
Sparrow states (column 1, lines 47-62) that according to
his invention,
each fingerprint is scanned by a scanning system
which typically includes a scanning 'line' which
sweeps in a predetermined manner, such as
horizontally, vertically or radially, from a
prescribed origin for the scanning system utilized.
When the scanning line moves over an irregularity
(such as a ridge ending, bifurcation, etc.), the
irregularity is recorded by the use of at least
three coordinates: a type code (T) to particularly
identify the irregularity, a measure (M)of the
scanning line position when it hits the
irregularity, and a ridge count (R) which is the
number of ridges intersecting the scanning line, at
that position, between the irregularity and a
prescribed point on, or origin for, the scanning
line. A collection of coordinates sets (T, M, R)
uniquely specifies the topology of a fingerprint or
any part thereof.
Sparrow further explains (column 2, lines 8-9) that the
irregularities are also called "minutiae." In the detailed
description of the invention, Sparrow indicates that after the
fingerprint is scanned, a binary enhanced image of the
fingerprint is supplied to a topological coordinate extractor
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