Appeal No. 96-0166
Application 08/083,419
"counter means" reads on the SRLs disclosed at column 6,
lines 31-36, of Powell (EA4) because the SRLs form a string of
registers like appellants' ring counter 54 and are loaded with
a predetermined test pattern (EA10). The examiner's
interpretation of Powell does not fit the claim language.
The SRLs in Powell do not perform any counting function.
Appellants' ring counter or circular shift register 54
performs a counting function because the predetermined test
pattern includes only one "1" in the shift register, which is
circulated through the register one step for each cycle
(count). The SRLs hold arbitrary test vectors, which are
unrelated to any counting function. That the SRLs may
resemble appellants' ring counter 54 does not make the SRLs a
counter. Furthermore, the output of the last SRL 40 is merely
digital data and is not a "test enable signal" as claimed.
The claimed "enable signal" is a signal which activates
"circuit means" to couple digital signals to a shared bus; the
"test enable signal" performs the same function in a test
mode. The enable signal in Powell is the input to multiplex
gate circuits 48, 50, which is produced by the address
decode/select circuit 52, not the output of SRL 40. Because
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