Appeal No. 1999-1126 Page 5
Application No. 08/722,486
further argue, "neither Sasaki nor Nogle provide any teaching
or suggestion whatsoever regarding the claimed differential
current sensing amplifier ...." (Id. at 6.) The examiner
responds, "[i]t also would have been obvious to use any other
types of amplifiers as amplifier of Taguchi, Sasaki or Nogle
in order to detect voltage or current on the bit lines."
(Examiner's Answer at 5.)
Claims 4, 5, 12, and 13 specify in pertinent part the
following limitations: "at least one two stage differential
current sensing amplifier ...." Accordingly, the limitations
require a differential current sensing amplifier.
The examiner fails to show a teaching of the limitations
in Taguchi, Sasaki, or Nogle. Although Taguchi discloses a
sense amplifier (SA), the SA is not a differential current
sensing amplifier. To the contrary, the SA amplifies a
voltage difference between bit lines. Specifically, the
"sense amplifier SA amplifies a voltage difference of bit
lines BL1 and BL1X of the cell array CAR1 or a voltage
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