Appeal No. 2002-1735 Page 8
Application No. 08/903,878
expandable buffers. To wit, "[w]hen the occurrence of the print overrun is detected
during print processes of dot image data, the storage capacity of the print image
buffer is expanded according to the data processing load of the compressed print data
stored in each band of the intermediate buffer," col. 2, l. 67 - col. 3, l. 3 (emphasis
added); "[w]hen the load is greater than the threshold value K, the buffer capacity of the
print image buffer 69 expands into the expansion print image buffer 68 so that the
storage region for storing bit image data can be expanded." Col. 7, ll. 24-27 (emphasis
added).
The examiner fails to allege, let alone show, that the addition of Suzuki or Hower
cures the aforementioned deficiency of Takayanagi and Hattori. Absent a teaching or
suggestion of an image-data storage capacity of a printer's buffer that can neither be
expanded nor contracted, we are unpersuaded of a prima facie case of obviousness.
Therefore, we reverse the obviousness rejections of claims 1-18 and 39-41.
CONCLUSION
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