Appeal No. 1996-2481 Page 16
Application No. 07/828763
distinction between replacing a block at allocation, as
opposed to erasure is specious. In both cases, there is a
span of time between two actions on the block, erasure and
allocation, and it is moot and arbitrary which end of the span
is used.” (Id.)
We find that claim 20 does not define over Harari. The
claim specifies the following limitations:
A method of allocating a block in a block-
erasable, programmable, read-only memory for the
storage of data, the method comprising the steps of:
maintaining an erase count for each block, the
erase count indicating the number of times the block
has been erased;
selecting blocks with enough space to store the
data; and
identifying the selected block based on the
erase count for the storage of data to effect the
allocation of the block.
Giving the claim its broadest reasonable interpretation, it
recites selecting a block to store data because the block has
sufficient free space and based, in some way, on its erase
count.
Harari relates to EPROMs and EEPROMs. Col. 1, ll. 13-16.
The reference discloses an erasure algorithm that can be
applied to any prior art Flash EEPROM. Col. 8, ll. 53-55.
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