Appeal 2007-1478
Application 10/359,861
engine is running. Having the license plate lights connected to the headlight
circuit so that they are on with the engine (ignition on) was also known.
Fact 15. We find that mounting a lighted license plate assembly such as that
used on the rear of Toyota Land Cruisers on the front bumper of a vehicle
and connecting it to the vehicle’s lighting circuit (which is on when the
engine is running) is nothing more than a predictable use of prior art
elements according to their established functions. That is to say, one skilled
in the art would have appreciated that mounting the lighted license plate
assembly on the front of a vehicle would illuminate the front plate just as it
would the rear plate to solve a known problem, the known problem being
what Appellant characterizes as difficulty of seeing a front license plate in
the dark. Thus, we hold that the subject matter of claim 2 would have been
obvious in view of the lighted license plate assembly of the 2/1974 through
1984 Toyota Land Cruisers, the lighting circuit teachings of the Volvo
Owner’s Manual, and in view of the known problem of lighting front license
plates shown by Rice and Hemmert.
With respect to claim 3, the 2/1974 through 1984 Toyota Land
Cruisers included a lighted rear license plate assembly that is separate from
any frame that surrounds the license plate. Fact 12. The lights from this
assembly illuminate the plate by reflecting light off of the plate. Fact 13.
Further, it was known to illuminate front license plates of vehicles. Fact 8.
We find that mounting a lighted license plate assembly such as that used on
the rear of Toyota Land Cruisers on the front of a vehicle is nothing more
than a predictable use of prior art elements according to their established
functions. That is to say, mounting the lighted license plate assembly on the
12
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