Appeal No. 1996-3078
Application 08/184,417
The subject matter on appeal is directed to the field of direct access storage devices, and
specifically to a data processing system and method for supporting user designation of physical file
formats for files (see specification, page 1). As indicated in the specification (page 3), examples of
physical formats for data to be stored pertain to physical location and arrangement of data such as in
spiral and concentric tracks (see Figures 9B, 9C, and 9D). In general, appellants’ invention recited in
the independent claims on appeal (apparatus claim 1 and method claim 14) seeks provide a data
processing system and method which stores files in accordance with a determined physical format type
(i.e., spiral or concentric) and does so in response to user designation of the file type from a plurality of
available physical format types. As further discussed, infra, we find that appellants’ admitted prior art in
the specification fails to teach or suggest at least this feature as it is recited in claims 1 to 29 on appeal.
Representative system claim 1 is reproduced below:
1. A data processing system, comprising:
a direct access storage device;
means for generating data files;
a user interface allowing user designation of the file type upon generation of a data file;
means responsive to user designation of the file type for a file for determining a physical format
type for the file from a plurality of available physical format types; and
means for storing the file on the direct access storage device as at least a first record
conforming with the determined physical format type.
2
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