Appeal No. 2005-2712
Application No. 10/408,302
aircraft platform and the different types of points along the mission route. The examiner
has also determined that Tang discloses a flight simulation method and apparatus that
receives adjustments to predetermined criteria initially used to determine the area
containing the mission route and resolution of regions in the area and subsequently
uses the processing element to determine an area and resolution of regions within the
area based upon the adjusted criteria (col. 5, lines 13-27).
Appellant contends that Tang is directed to a system and method for generating a
minimum-cost airline flight plan from a point of origin through a set of fixed points to a
destination point, and is not directed to flight simulation like that described in the present
application wherein the data input and the information determined by the processing
element is used to generate a terrain model for display in a flight simulator during a
flight simulation used by a pilot to prepare in advance for a mission prior to actually
flying the mission.
While we would agree with appellant that Tang does not address a flight simulation
in the sense of a terrain model for display in a flight simulator used by a pilot to prepare
in advance for a mission prior to actually flying the mission, we also note that claims 32
through 39 on appeal are in no way limited to that particular form of “flight simulation.”
Using the terminology “flight simulation” in its broadest sense, wherein each of the flight
paths evaluated in Tang (before arriving at the optimal flight plan) represents a “flight
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