Appeal No. 98-0595
Application 08/461,806
slave disk drive. Note that in column 8, lines 7-10, of
Lewis, it is stated:
The M_D bit controls the driver 50
used to drive the signal MASTER REF. This
bit is programmed to “ZERO” in master disk
drive 10, and to “ONE” in a slave disk
drive 12.”
The five bits of the diagnostic and control register do
not constitute a spindle synchronization command for the
plurality of disk drives. The register is in the spindle
synchronizer 20 and thus is internal to each disk drive. Each
disk drive has its own diagnostic and control register. If
anything, the contents of the register merely reflect the end
result of the execution of a spindle synchronization command
if there ever was a spindle synchronization command for all of
the disk drives. As is indicated in the above-quoted text,
the M_D bit in the diagnostic and control register within the
spindle synchronizer 20 of each disk drive was previously
programmed. To the extent that such prior programming
constitutes a spindle synchronization command, the examiner
has not explained why programming through a common bus would
have been inherent. The examiner finds that “this use of a
bus in Lewis et al. is intrinsic to its operation” (Answer at
5
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