Appeal No. 1998-1734
Application No. 07/508,024
the object can be moved accordingly. In particular, when
conditions in the physical task space of the object change, the
internal representation or configuration of the path is changed.
However, rather than recalculating the entire configuration
space, only the values associated with those states that are
actually affected need to be redetermined using a “budding”
process.
This case, along with a related case, Application Serial No.
07/617,303, has had a long and torturous prosecution history.
Instant claims 1, 30 and 41-45 have been previously appealed to
this Board and a decision was rendered in that case on July 22,
1992, wherein the examiner’s decision rejecting the claims as
being directed to nonstatutory subject matter under 35 U.S.C.
§ 101 was affirmed. On appeal to the Court of Appeals for the
Federal Circuit (Federal Circuit), our reviewing court affirmed
the decision of the Board in this case, as well as in the
companion case, on December 19, 1994 (In re Trovato, 42 F.3d
1376, 33 USPQ2d 1194 (Fed. Cir. 1994). Then, in a decision of
July 25, 1995, the Federal Circuit vacated its original decision
of December 19, 1994, and remanded this application for
reconsideration in view of the new guidelines adopted by the U.S.
Patent and Trademark Office for examination of computer-related
2
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