Appeal No. 2002-1146
Application No. 09/160,634
2), the only discussion of nulls in the antenna pattern in
Lusignan relates to the actual design of the antenna shape such
that nulls are placed at the orbit locations corresponding to the
interfering satellites (col. 6, lines 45-65). However, Lusignan
provides no discussion related to moving the center line of the
antenna to place the interfering satellite in the null pattern.
Additionally, the Examiner has failed to point to any teachings
in the applied references, nor do we find any, that supports the
conclusion that “when an antenna is moved or tuned to get a
better quality signal the interfering signals are taken out of
the pattern by movement, ... because the interfering signals are
no longer withing the reception pattern” (answer, page 9). Thus,
although we agree with the Examiner that null portions in antenna
reception patterns may be recognized in the art, we do not find
any specific teaching in the references that would have motivated
one of ordinary skill in the art to move the center line of the
antenna away from the interfering satellite and position it in
the null portion, as recited in claims 1 and 8.
“Deficiencies of the cited references cannot be remedied by
the Board’s general conclusions about what is ‘basic knowledge’
or ‘common sense.’” In re Zurko, 258 F.3d 1379, 1385, 59 USPQ2d
1693, 1697(Fed. Cir. 2001). Furthermore, “the Board’s findings
7
Page: Previous 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 Next
Last modified: November 3, 2007