Appeal No. 1997-2774
Application No. 08/080,471
NAND gates 37 and 39, and counter 41 in the specification as
corresponding to the claimed means of claims 9 and 43. These
elements are the same as those for which we found above no
equivalent in Tanaka. Further, nothing in Tanaka indicates
that only a portion of the signal is converted, with the rest
of the signal not being used, as is required by all three
claims. Consequently, we reverse the rejection of claims 9,
43, and 44.
Claim 2 includes a "means for saving power, said power
saving means supplying power to the scene converting means
only ... until the sequence of digital samples representative
of a portion of a single image of the scene has been
obtained." Although the scene converting means must be turned
off eventually, Tanaka, as pointed out by appellant (Brief,
page 49), does not indicate how or when his devices are turned
off once they are turned on. The examiner asserts (Final
Rejection, page 7) that it would have been obvious to apply
power only during the conversion of the signal from analog to
digital, "since power during any other time would not be
necessary thereby conserving power." The examiner then
contends (Answer, page 11) that Tanaka "contains equivalent
10
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