Appeal No. 2001-2065
Application 09/124,871
closer spacing between data points." The Examiner concludes
that it would have been obvious to modify Allen with
additional sensors "to improve the resolution and sensing
accuracy of the dart board such that a dart could be sensed
anywhere on the 'skin' or surface of a dart board" (EA5).
We agree with the Examiner's finding that Vranish,
Schulz, and Santos teach that sensors can be added to increase
the coverage and enhance the measurement resolution. However,
we do not see why this fact would have motivated one of
ordinary skill in the art to divide the signal receiving
elements of Allen. It has not been explained, nor is it
apparent in the absence of Appellant's disclosure, why
enhanced measurement resolution would have been desirable in
Allen. The "resolution" in Allen is defined by the size of
the target area: all points within the target area are
assigned the same value or "score." It is simply not
necessary to determine the position of the dart within a
target area with any greater resolution. Allen does not
indicate any problem with making or using a single signal
receiving element for each target area. Accordingly, the
rejection lacks a showing of motivation for the proposed
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