Appeal 2007-0782
Application 10/683,453
1 Textilfarben GmbH & Co. Deutschland KG v. C.H. Patrick, Co., 464 F.3d
2 1356, 1360-61, 80 USPQ2d 1641, 1645 (Fed. Cir. 2006). The mere fact that
3 all the claimed elements or steps appear in the prior art is not per se
4 sufficient to establish that it would have been obvious to combine those
5 elements. United States v. Adams, id; Smith Indus. Med. Sys., Inc. v. Vital
6 Signs, Inc., 183 F.3d 1347, 1356, 51 USPQ2d 1415, 1420 (Fed. Cir. 1999).
7 The Supreme Court, in KSR Int’l v. Teleflex Inc., 127 S.Ct. 1727, 2007 WL
8 1237837, 82 USPQ2d 1385 (2007) stated that “[t]houghout this Court’s
9 engagement with the question of obviousness, our cases have set forth an
10 expansive and flexible approach ….” KSR Int’l, 2007 WL 1237837 at 12,
11 82 USPQ2d at 1395. The Court emphasized that “the principles laid down
12 in Graham reaffirmed the ‘functional approach’ of Hotchkiss, 11 How.
13 248.” KSR Int’l, 2007 WL 1237837 at 12, 82 USPQ2d at 1395 (citing
14 Graham v. John Deere Co., 383 U.S. 1, 12, 148 USPQ 459, 464 (1966)
15 (emphasis added)).
16
17
18 ANALYSIS
19 From facts 8, 9, and 13, we find that in Takao, when lateral
20 acceleration is detected, which exceeds a prescribed value, the towed vehicle
21 is put into a braked state, and that a damping force for the towed vehicle is
22 generated. Since the braking of the towed vehicle occurs as a result of a
23 rollover condition being determined, we find that in response to a rollover
24 condition being detected, the towed vehicle is braked, and there is no
25 provision in Takao for determining the coefficient of friction when the
26 lateral acceleration beyond a prescribed value is detected. As a result, we
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