Appeal No. 1996-3089
Application No. 08/006,860
nodes (in the branch node tables)!(Bold emphasis
added.)
However, as we pointed out supra, there is no reason
to presume the links (i.e., pointers) of Ferguson’s substrings
(i.e., leaf nodes) were lost when placed in a tree structure.
These links , in substrings now treated as leaf nodes, still
point to a subsequent substring (i.e., leaf node). These
links are inherently “additional pointers” as recited in
Appellants’ claim 1. Therefore, just as with Appellants’
invention, Ferguson’s sorted substrings would allow a
sequential search of substrings (i.e., leaf nodes) without
searching other nodes.
Thus, the Examiner has shown how Ferguson meets the
argued limitations of claim 1, last paragraph:
wherein said leaf nodes of said tree
comprise additional pointers, said additional
pointers pointing from one of said leaf nodes
to another one of said leaf nodes, so that a
sequential search of leaf nodes may be
performed without
searching nodes other than leaf nodes.
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