Appeal No. 2006-2255
Application No. 10/183,994
cursor control mechanism also includes global controller 22 comprising a screen
navigation ring 40 having a plurality of direction buttons 42. Id. at ll. 56-64.
In the rejection of claims 1-32 under 35 U.S.C. § 103 as being unpatentable over
Schein and APA, the examiner finds that Schein fails to disclose a tracking assembly for
detecting movement of the housing relative to a support surface. However, such
tracking assemblies were known in the prior art (e.g., APA). According to the rejection,
it would have been obvious to include the tracking assembly in the Schein apparatus in
view of APA and a teaching at column 7 of Schein.
In another embodiment, computer system 62 [Fig. 3] may be combined
with television system 60 to form a PCTV. In this embodiment, the computer will
usually include a processor that may be used solely to run the program guide
and associated software, or the processor may be configured to run other
applications, such as word processing, graphics, or the like. The computer will
usually be incorporated into the television set so that the television display can
be used as both a television screen and a computer monitor. Usually, the PCTV
will include a number of input devices, such as a keyboard, a mouse and a
remote control device, similar to the one described above. However, these input
devices may be combined into a single device that inputs commands with keys, a
trackball, pointing device, scrolling mechanism, voice activation or a combination
thereof.
Schein col. 7, ll. 12-26 (emphasis added).
Appellants, for their part, argue that the proposed combination would not have
been obvious because the addition of a prior art tracking assembly to the Schein device
would constitute redundancy. According to appellants, Schein already provides a
complete system for controlling movement of a cursor. (Brief at 6.)
-4-
Page: Previous 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Next
Last modified: November 3, 2007