Appeal No. 2006-0406
Application 09/497,865
each or all of the elements can be used for transmission,
thus the language fails to provide any distinguishing
feature since any/all corresponding element(s) including the
element receiving the strongest signal can be used for
transmission and would be used in the event that all of the
elements are generating the transmission beam. Secondly,
the combination of references suggests determining the
direction of arrival of all signals, including the strongest
signal. The element receiving the strongest signal
obviously would be part of the elements transmitting back in
the same direction as the received direction.
Appellants admit that the claim phrase "so that the
corresponding element can be used for transmission" would include
a system that uses all elements for transmission, but that Aoki
does not teach a digital receiver determining signal strengths
for the coded element signals and locking on to a strongest
signal having a corresponding element since it uses phase
differences rather than the strongest signal (RBr4).
Everyone is in agreement that the phrase "so that the
corresponding element can be used for transmission" does not
preclude using all elements, including the "corresponding
element," for transmission. Appellants' drawings do not show the
transmitter arrangement and it is not clear to us from the
description of the transmitter at page 15 of the specification
whether appellants are actually using all elements or whether
appellants use only one element and merely concede that the
claims do not preclude using more than one element. It is
disclosed (page 14): "The transmit signal will be directed to the
same antenna beam position from where the received signal
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