Appeal 2007-0481
Application 10/654,049
Given that Naboulsi’s “carbon-type” transducer is made of the same
basic material and works in the same way Appellant’s sensor works, we
believe Naboulsi discloses the same material as that claimed by Appellant
for the purposes of § 103. In the alternative, even if we accept Appellant’s
argument that Naboulsi teaches a different material from that claimed, we
conclude that it would have been obvious to use a sensor made of “carbon
fiber” rather than a “carbon-type” sensor, because (1) the modification of
Davis to use carbon fiber sensors rather than capacitive sensors would have
constituted the mere arrangement of old elements with each performing the
same function it had been known to perform, the combination yielding no
more than one would expect from such an arrangement (see KSR 127 S. Ct.
at 1739-40, 82 USPQ2d at 1395), (2) the use of carbon fiber sensors rather
than “carbon-type” would have been a predictable modification – carbon
fiber has known advantages such as strength and light weight, and a person
of ordinary skill in the art would recognize that it would improve similar
devices in the same way (see KSR 127 S. Ct. at 1740-41, 82 USPQ2d at
1396), and (3) Kim teaches that it is known to manufacture a transducer that
converts pressure to electrical energy using carbon fiber materials (Finding
of Fact No. 10).
Appellant argues that the Examiner used improper motivation to
combine references when stating that Davis provides motivation for using
other types of pressure sensors – “other forms of pressure sensitive switches
are known in the art that can perform the same function” (Answer 9: 1-2),
and that Naboulsi discloses pressure sensitive sensors can be made of carbon
(Answer 9: 10-11), because “the mere fact that references can be combined
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