Appeal No. 1997-1416
Application 08/277,386
subtracting step involves values based on the claimed
borrowing conditions does not render the method indefinite.
The artisan would have recognized that the claimed subtracting
step operates on the original values or the decreased values
of the most significant bits depending on whether or not the
claimed conditions have been satisfied. Thus, we find nothing
indefinite about the step of subtracting as recited in claim
17. The examiner’s assertion that the smaller value must be
subtracted from the larger value appears contrary to the
disclosed invention. The subtractor 24 is described as being
an absolute value subtractor which performs the subtraction by
performing an exclusive-OR operation on each of the bits of
the most significant byte of each word. Thus, the invention
as disclosed performs the subtraction without regard to which
of the two values is the larger. In other words, the
“condition” required by the examiner that the claim be limited
to the smaller value being subtracted from the larger value is
without support in the description of the invention.
With respect to claim 18, we agree with the examiner.
Claim 18 recites that a translated first least significant
byte is subtracted from a translated second least significant
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