Appeal No. 1996-3113
Application 08/099,243
Looking at claim 18 we see:
continually monitoring substrate current, which
flows between said transistor and said substrate;
and (Emphasis added.)
The Examiner responds:
However, it can be seen that Tatsuya’s
leaked current to the substrate is continually
monitored/ generated as the potential across the
sensing resistor 26 and that potential is compared
with the forward voltage drops of the diode 28.
(Answer-page 3.)
In the Tatsuya reference, the “leaked current” to
the substrate is seen to be equivalent to the fourth
type of current described by Appellant.
(Supplemental Answer)
We agree with Appellants, Tatsuya’s collector current C2
is not the same as substrate current, nor is it equivalent
thereto. Since Tatsuya does not teach monitoring substrate
current, we will not sustain the rejection of claim 18, and
likewise claim 19 which is dependent therefrom.
In view of the foregoing, the decision of the Examiner
rejecting claims 18 and 19 under 35 U.S.C.
§ 102(b) is reversed.
REVERSED
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