Appeal No. 2002-0312 Page 6
Application No. 08/953,922
adjusting mechanism is mounted at least in part on a snow blade mounting carriage
which is connected to the front of the truck.
Cummins discloses a tracked vehicle whose primary use is for transporting a
helicopter. The vehicle can be operated from a distance by a wireless remote control
system which includes a battery powered portable radio transmitter that sends signals
to a receiver located in the vehicle. In one of the embodiments (Figure 19), the vehicle
is depicted with an “earth-moving” plow blade installed on the front. Although the
reference describes using the remote control to operate mechanisms for lifting a
helicopter on and off of the vehicle and attaching it thereto, it contains no teaching of
controlling the blade separate from the vehicle (see column 10, lines 26-30). From our
perspective, one of ordinary skill in the art would have been instructed by Cummins that
a vehicle having an earth-moving blade attached to its front can be operated by a
wireless remote control system. However, there is nothing which would suggest that
the blade can be raised, lowered or pivoted with respect to the vehicle by utilizing radio
remote control signals, or that there is an adjusting mechanism attached at least in part
to a plow mounting carriage and which so moves the blade.
It is well established that the mere fact that the prior art structure could be
modified does not make such a modification obvious unless the prior art suggests the
desirability of doing so. See, for example, In re Gordon, 733 F.2d 900, 902, 221 USPQ
1125, 1127 (Fed. Cir. 1984).
Page: Previous 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 Next
Last modified: November 3, 2007