Appeal No. 2003-1473
Application No. 09/336,649
connects or isolates two buses when closed or opened.2 However,
the switches of IBM TDB merely connect and disconnect buses in
order to isolate devices connected to each initiator or connect
all the devices to one initiator in case of failure of the other
initiator.
We also note that the Examiner, for the first time in page 8
of the answer, characterizes the SCSI duplex-ready logic 42 of
Pascarella as the claimed “repeater” and reasons that element 42
repeats all the signals of the first bus and uses switches 50
(Figures 13 and 14) for reproducing the signal. Although
Appellant chose not to file a reply brief in order to address
this point, it is imperative that we clarify whether the
Examiner’s position supports a prima facie case of obviousness.
Pascarella, in col. 2, lines 24-34, discloses:
To enable a SCSI simplex mode, the bus switches are closed
and the set or sets of terminators are selectively disabled
and/or enabled. A primary SCSI bus and a secondary SCSI bus
thereby form a single electrical bus.
If a primary SCSI cable and a secondary SCSI cable are
present, the duplex-ready logic controller enables a SCSI
duplex mode. To enable a SCSI duplex mode, the bus switches
are opened and the terminators are selectively enabled
and/or disabled. The primary SCSI bus and secondary SCSI bus
thereby are electrically separate busses.
[Emphasis added.]
2 To show a repeater in rejecting the claims, the Examiner should have
probably considered the three references (specification, page 3, lines 8-10)
cited by Appellant as examples of bus repeaters.
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