Appeal No. 1998-2825
Application No. 08/595,282
without inputting an exercise mode representing the fitness of
the user, we are satisfied that it would have been obvious to
one of ordinary skill in the art at the time appellant made
his invention to have eliminated the step of entering a
fitness/exercise mode in the apparatus and method taught by
Crossing in order to obtain a target zone or heart rate range
for a user of average fitness based solely of the user’s age.
In this regard, we view the proposed modification of Crossing,
that is, the elimination of the step of entering a fitness
mode, as the elimination of a feature along with its attendant
advantage. It is well settled that it is a matter of
obviousness for one of ordinary skill in the art to eliminate
a feature of the prior art along with its attendant advantage.
In re Thompson, 545 F.2d 1290, 1294, 192 USPQ 275, 277 (CCPA
1976); In re Larson, 340 F.2d 965, 969, 144 USPQ 347, 350
(CCPA 1965); In re Keegan, 331 F.2d 315, 319, 141 USPQ 512,
515 (CCPA 1964). In addition, a person of ordinary skill in
the art would have recognized that the proposed modification
to Crossing would have resulted in a simpler circuit and
software, thus, in a less expensive overall system. Cost and
simplicity are factors that inherently motive modification or
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