Appeal No. 1998-0728
Application 08/468,231
reference data is very time consuming to obtain in the first
place. Appellants argue that the functions performed by the
height correction means allow the reference data to remain
unaltered, producing the advantage over the references that
the processing time is less than that required for constantly
changing all the reference data (because only several
predetermined points are needed) and the advantage that it can
also be adapted for the situation where the vehicle is
inclined due to a heavy mass loaded at one end (Br12).
The Examiner essentially concludes that it would have
been obvious to provide height correction means in Evans to
determine the height of the vehicle because Evans can
determine the height of an object in front of the vehicle. It
is true that Evans can determine (to a limited degree) the
height of an object or depression in front of the vehicle
using the oblique structured light plane 32a in figures 4 and
5, where an obstruction shows up as a stripe 32d above, and a
depression shows up as a stripe 32c below, a stripe 32b
indicating the normal height of the floor, as shown in
figure 8 (col. 12, lines 23-42). There is no suggestion in
Evans about correcting the reference value (the location of
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