Appeal No. 2000-0377
Application 08/777,841
While it is true that the references need not expressly
state the motivation, the motivation must come from somewhere in
the evidence of record, such as the knowledge of one of ordinary
skill in the art or in the nature of the problem to be solved.
It is not persuasive to just make up a rationale that might fit
the circumstances, as the Examiner appears to have done, because
the lack of factual support smacks of hindsight. In any case,
however, we find that the combination does not meet all of the
limitations of claims 1 and 4.
Claim 6
The Examiner finds that the combination of Hotka and Yamada
meets the limitations of claim 6 except for providing a visual
representation of positions of mechanical toggle switches and
rotary switches (FR4; EA5). The Examiner finds that the APA of
Appellant's figure 2 shows visual representation of positions of
mechanical toggle switches and rotary switches as prior art (FR4;
EA5). The Examiner concludes that it would have been obvious to
add the visual representation of mechanical toggle switches and
rotary switches, as taught by the APA, to the combination of
Hotka and Yamada "because it would result in ease of operation
and realistic view of system" (emphasis omitted) (FR4) and
"because it would help a user, from his/her workstation, to
- 10 -
Page: Previous 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 Next
Last modified: November 3, 2007