Appeal No. 2006-1534
Application No. 09/829,007
as that, from all of the questions and answers provided during the questioning, the claim
accumulates a score for at least one indicator based on any of those questions and
answers.
As to Finkelstein, it does explicitly recite accumulating a score for each symptom
in the computer listings, columns 50-72, in which the score for each symptom is
accumulated in the next entry for the matrix “scr” by accumulating the symptom code
stored in “scl” with an explicit number. Again, we note that the claim limitation does not
indicate what particular operands are placed into the accumulator, but only that an
accumulator is used and its operation is “based on” the questions and answers
occurring over the session. It is not even necessary that the accumulator take any
answer directly into its operation, but only that whatever is accumulated is based on an
answer, however tangentially. Finally, we note that, as the examiner points out,
Finkelstein describes trend analysis, which implies accumulation of the data within the
trend, at column 10. [See Answer at p. 10] Although the appellants do not address this
point made by the examiner in the arguments regarding claim 1, they do address it in
their arguments to claim 6 and we will respond here. The appellants argue that the
trend analysis in Finkelstein is performed by the computer routines in trendpft 534,
which only refer to the medical test data physically measured by the medical equipment
in Finkelstein, and not to subjective data like that in Finkelstein’s symptom diary. [See
Brief at p. 9] We note that Finkelstein explicitly asks the user whether the user is ready
for the measurements in col. 23-24, and the scores from the test are based on answers
entered by the user to the questions.
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