Appeal No. 1997-3822
Application No. 08/406,668
5-9, and 11-33 under 35 U.S.C. § 103. Claim 10 stands
objected to for depending from a rejected claim. We reverse.
A. The invention
The invention is a telephone system which can be used to
(a) make or receive a normal telephone call and (b) send or
receive a voice-mail message.
B. The claims
The independent claims are claims 1, 5, 14, and 24, of
which claim 14, one of the broader claims, reads as follows:
14. A telephone control system permitting a caller to
selectively transmit either a standard telephone transmission
or a voice-mail message to a called party at the called
party’s single address, the system comprising:
selector means for permitting a caller to select either a
standard telephone transmission or a voice-mail message;
processing means for storing a caller’s voice-mail
message in the event the caller selects a voice-mail message;
and
transmission means for placing a call to said called
party at said called party’s single address and, in the event
the caller has selected a voice-mail message, transmitting to
the called party said stored voice-mail message, otherwise,
processing said call as a standard telephone transmission.
C. The references and rejections
The examiner's rejections are based on the following
prior art:
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