Appeal No. 1999-1101
Application 08/727,125
measurement. One of ordinary skill in the art would have been
motivated to measure electromagnetic radiation to remotely
sense the amount of chlorophyll in view of Demetriades-Shah.
The rejection of claim 20 is sustained.
Claim 21 depends on claim 19 and recites that the
changing standard includes a changing background reflection.
Appellants argue that there is no contemplation in the
references in dealing with the difficulty of background
reflections which are strong and disturbing in making the
measurements (Br18). We do not find any disclosure in the
specification about what is meant by "a changing background
reflection." If background reflection is intended to refer to
soil reflection, which changes as the crop biomass (fractional
cover) increases, then Demetriades-Shah discloses that
vertically downward-looking measurements can be used to
provide a good correlation between crop growth and chlorophyll
per unit ground area (pp. 1051, 1055). Demetriades-Shah
teaches that either a vertically downward-looking or oblique-
looking sensor can be used; each provides correlation to a
different characteristics of the crop. In any case, since
"the changing standard includes a changing background
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