Appeal No. 1997-2294 Page 7
Application No. 08/284,183
The examiner errs in determining the content of the prior
art. Although he refers to McClure’s memory cells 30, the
memory cells 30 are part of a column in a sub-array 12 of an
n
IC
memory 1. Col. 8, ll. 10-13 (referring to Fig. 4). Figure 2
of the reference shows that McClure’s sense/write circuits 13,
i.e., the reference’s sense amplifiers (SA0-SA7), are separate
from the sub-array 12 . Because McClure’s memory cells 30 are
n
not part of the reference’s sense amplifiers 13, the examiner
fails to show a teaching of the claimed “sense amplifier
arrangement for an integrated circuit memory comprising: a
latch circuit ....” The absence of this showing negates
anticipation. Therefore, we reverse the rejection of claims
8, 9, 14-21, 29, 30, 32, 33, and 50 under 35 U.S.C. § 102(e).
Next, we address the novelty of claims 22-28.
Novelty of Claims 22-28
Regarding claims 22-28, the examiner makes the following
assertion.
McClure shows all the limitations of the claimed
sense amplifier arrangement in Figs. 1-10
(especially figs. 4-5), comprising a latch circuit
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