Appeal No. 2000-0572
Application 08/687,643
suggested an indexer meeting the limitation in claim 1
requiring at least a part of the optoelectronic sensor
arrangement to be designed as a distance measuring system for
measuring within a horizontal plane a distance to edges of the
wafer-shaped objects and to edges of the magazine shelves
relative to the transmitter. The appellants’ position that
the references fall short in this regard is well taken.
Birkner discloses an indexer having much in common with
the indexer set forth in claim 1 including a vertically
adjustable magazine 11 having compartments or shelves 12 for
wafer-shaped objects 13, a first handling plane H-H for
removing and charging the wafer-shaped objects, and an
optoelectronic sensor arrangement including a transmitter 7
and a receiver 8 for detecting the wafer-shaped objects and
magazine shelves relative to a reference plane E-E which is
fixed relative to the first handling plane.
A fair reading of the Birkner reference clearly indicates
that the distances measured by the optoelectronic sensor
arrangement are vertical distances (i.e., in the Z direction
as shown in Figures 1 and 4) between respective magazine
6
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