Appeal No. 1997-0333
Application 08/521,162
Representative independent claim 1 is reproduced below:
1. A fault tolerant multi-drop communications system, comprising:
a plurality of communication nodes;
a parallel redundant path communicating with the nodes;
a main control system for the communication nodes;
means for disenabling, isolating, and sacrificing a node having a short circuit without redundancy
or repair while maintaining communications between the main control system and the remaining nodes;
and
means for raising a voltage to the nodes higher than normal such that the raised voltage blows a
fuse of a node having a partial short.
The following reference is relied on by the examiner:
Hayes, John P. (Hayes), Computer Architecture and Organization (McGraw-Hill, second edition,
1988).
Claims 1 to 23 stand rejected under 35 U.S.C. § 103. As evidence of obviousness, the
examiner relies upon Hayes alone. We note that in the Answer the examiner has improperly referred to
numerous prior Office actions (e.g., the final rejection in the instant application paper number 30), the
final rejection in the parent application (paper number 20), and the final rejection in the grandparent
application (paper number 6), which in turn improperly refer to other prior Office actions (e.g., paper
number 30 refers to paper number 27 which refers to paper number 20, and paper number 6 refers to
paper number 4). See MPEP § 1208 (Sixth Edition, Revision 1, September 1995) ("An examiner’s
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