Appeal No. 96-0312
Application No. 08/083,561
The disclosed invention relates to a communications
network, and to a method and system whereby all master
stations in the communications network receive and identify
signals sent by other stations in the network.
Claim 1 is illustrative of the claimed invention, and it
reads as follows:
1. A supervisory system for a communications network
having a plurality of stations communicating through a
communication medium, the system comprising:
plural of said stations being master stations that
operate at the same time to attempt to control a plurality of
other said stations by sending commands thereto;
response means at each of said stations for sending a
signal through the communication medium in response to a
command sent thereto and received from any of said master
stations, said signal identifying the command received; and
identification means at each of said master stations for
receiving said signal and identifying the command in the
signal so that each of said master stations is aware of
commands sent by every other one of said master stations.
The references relied on by the examiner are:
Marbaker et al. (Marbaker) 5,229,988 July 20,
1993
Comer, Internetworking with TCP/IP, Vol. 1, Prentice Hall,
1991, pages 73 through 87.
Claims 1 through 6 stand rejected under the second
paragraph of 35 U.S.C. § 112 as being indefinite for failing
2
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