Appeal No. 95-0020
Application No. 08/052,213
The examiner applies Figure 2 of Bianchi against instant
claim 42 as follows:
The output transistor being activated is identified as
transistor NS. Voltage on output terminal 50 is said to be
compared to an internal node voltage (at the output of inverter
44) during activation of output transistor NS with the comparison
effected by NOR gate 46, the result of such comparison either
enabling or disabling transistor NL. The examiner then points to
column 6, line 38, to column 7, line 8 of Bianchi for a teaching
of modulating the rate of voltage transition at the output
terminal in response to the comparison of the output terminal to
the internal node voltage.
Appellant takes the position that Bianchi does not teach any
“modulating” but that if it did, it certainly does not teach
“modulating the rate of a voltage transition” and, even if one
considered that Bianchi did teach such, Bianchi clearly does not
teach this modulation step “in response to the comparison of the
output terminal to the internal node voltage” as set forth in
claim 42.
We agree with the examiner that claim 42 sets forth rather
broad language. We also agree with the examiner that the term,
“modulating,” per se, is broad enough to cover an on/off
situation as in Bianchi where transistor NL is disabled if a
current condition exceeds some value.
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