Appeal No. 1996-3324
Application No. 08/132,969
With respect to independent claim 1, the Examiner
(Answer, page 5) attempts to read the various limitations on
the Data Converter Reference Manual making particular
reference to Figure 16 on page 2-727. In response, Appellant
(Brief, pages 10-14) asserts that, despite the reference’s
designation of various circuit elements as DAC1, DAC2, and
DAC3, only one D/A converter is disclosed in Figure 16 of the
Reference Manual. In any case, Appellant further contends
that the digital inputs to the circuit elements DAC1, DAC2,
DAC3 are not independent as recited in claim 1.
Initially, we do not agree with Appellant’s contention
that only a single D/A converter exists in the Reference
Manual’s Figure 16. While it may be true that the circuit of
Figure 16, as a whole, performs a single D/A conversion
operation, it is quite clear to us that multiple D/A converter
circuit elements are involved in this operation. We do agree
with Appellants, however, that the digital control inputs to
each of the DAC1, DAC2, and DAC3 elements are not independent
of each other as claimed. From the description of Figure 16
of the Reference Manual, it is apparent to us that the inputs
to elements DAC1 and DAC2 are segmented portions of the input
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