Appeal No. 20005-1269
Application No.09/499,060
expected advantage of matched temperature response characteristics” for the reasons
stated at page 5 of the answer.
Moreover, the examiner asserts that since the modified circuit includes MOS
transistors and since Tanigawa discusses that resistor R is variable, “it is clear that
resistor R can be varied such that the circuit will have the claimed operation” (answer-
page 5).
For their part, appellants stress the claim language, “enabling a capacitance
charging current to be proportional to a square of a ratio of the second resistance and
the first resistance” of claim 9 and similar language in independent claims 15 and 36.
They contend that the applied references do not teach or suggest this limitation.
The examiner’s explanation for finding this limitation in the applied references is
set forth at pages 5-6 of the answer, as set forth below:
Since the modified circuit includes MOS transistors and since
Tanigawa discusses that resistor R is variable, it is clear that the resistor
R can be varied such that the circuit will have the claimed operation.
Examiner further contends that since transistor Q2 is modified to be a
diode-connected MOS transistor, such will operate as a diode. As is
well known, by having a diode voltage drop, such will have a gate-to-
source voltage substantially equal to the threshold voltage thereof.
This will provide that the VGST-Vth will be negligible (i.e., almost
zero). Thus, it would be true that Re x Ig2 >> VGT-Vth (as discussed
in line 6 of page 6 of specification) for elements 9, Q2 and R of Tanigawa.
As a result, the above modification will have the claimed operation of the
“capacitance charging current” being “proportional to a square of a ratio
of the second resistance (R) and the first resistance (resistance of 9)”.
When appellants point out that “it is not necessarily true that Re x Ig2 >>VGST4-
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