Appeal No. 1998-0740
Application 08/627,838
sensor operable to clear the image data from the image sensor
responsive to an image clear signal;
an image memory coupled to the image sensor image area and
operable to receive the image data from the image sensor image
area and to store the image data responsive to an image transfer
signal, an exposure time associated with the image defined as the
time between the image clear signal and the image transfer signal;
an electronic iris controller circuit coupled to the image
sensor image area and the image memory and operable to create and
transmit the image clear signal and the image transfer signal, the
electronic iris controller circuit operable to alter the exposure
time in response to the image data by increments having variable
length having increasingly smaller duration as the exposure time
is decreased and having increasingly greater duration as the
exposure time is increased; and
an accordion clock signal having a constant number of
transitions for a given period of time and having variable periods
for at least some of the transitions, the increments having
variable length are derived from the accordion clock signal.
The references relied upon by the examiner as evidence of
obviousness are:
Ishizaki et al. (Ishizaki) 4,701,626 Oct. 20, 1987
Nagai et al. (Nagai) 4,742,395 May 03, 1988
Nakajima et al. (Nakajima) 5,157,502 Oct. 20, 1992
Claims 1-5, 7-10, 12-17 and 19 stand rejected under 35 U.S.C.
§ 103 as being unpatentable over Nakajima in view of Nagai.
Claims 6, 11 and 18 stand rejected under 35 U.S.C. § 103 as
being unpatentable over Nakajima in view of Nagai and Ishizaki.
The respective positions of the examiner and the appellant
with regard to the propriety of these rejections are set forth in
2
Page: Previous 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Next
Last modified: November 3, 2007