Appeal No. 2000-1361 Page 6
Application No. 08/933,880
elements that receive a signal from the “analysis unit”
(comparator blocks). Since registers 570-630 output results, it
seems fair to call them output registers. We agree that the
“combinatorial block” reads at least on multiplier 500.
Before addressing the Examiner’s rejection based upon prior
art, it is essential that we understand the claimed subject
matter as well as the teachings of the prior art. As required by
our reviewing court, we will initially direct our attention to
Appellant’s claim 1 in order to determine its scope. “[T]he name
of the game is the claim.” In re Hiniker Co., 150 F.3d 1362,
1369, 47 USPQ2d 1523, 1529 (Fed. Cir. 1998). Claims will be
given their broadest reasonable interpretation consistent with
the specification, and limitations appearing in the specification
are not to be read into the claims. In re Etter, 756 F.2d 852,
858, 225 USPQ 1, 5 (Fed. Cir. 1985).
Appellant’s claim 1 requires that an analysis unit be
connected to the output of the input register and “analyze a
value of the output of the input register” and “send an enable
signal to the output register.” The claim further requires that
the enable signal be sent as soon as the analysis unit, based on
the “value of the output of the input register,” has determined
that “an output value of the combinatorial block is present” at
Page: Previous 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 Next
Last modified: November 3, 2007