Appeal No. 2001-0583
Application No. 09/039,348
of the request for rehearing, then the stepped-frequency signal, produced at the output
of either filter 110 or optional divider 112, is not the output of the frequency synthesis
circuit, since phase detector 116 becomes the last element in the frequency synthesis
circuit and the phase detector does not output the stepped-frequency signal. Rather,
the stepped-frequency signal is the top input to the phase detector 116.
While we agree with the notion that the stepped-up frequency of the redrawn
Gilmore figure is still the top input to the phase detector 116, the claim language of
interest recites “a frequency-synthesis circuit for generating a stepped-frequency signal
having a frequency varying in steps with a step size.” This does not require the “final
element” of the frequency-synthesis circuit generate the stepped-frequency, as
contended by appellants. The stepped-frequency signal is still generated by the
frequency-synthesis circuit of Gilmore. It is generated at the output of either filter 110
or optional divider 112. It is of no moment that the stepped-frequency signal is then
applied to a further element, such as phase detector 116.
Appellants next contend that the frequency-synthesis circuit of Gilmore does not
comprise means for varying the step size of the stepped frequency signal in
dependence on the adjustable integer frequency relationship, as claimed. As
appellants urge, nothing that takes place in the VCO, phase detector, or other elements
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