Appeal No. 2006-1550
Application No. 10/044,401
Upon our review of Appellant’s specification, we fail to find any definition of the
term “formatting” that is different from the ordinary meaning. We find the ordinary
meaning of the term “formatting” is best found in the dictionary. We note that the
definition most suitable for “formatting” is “arranging” or “laying out.”3
We also note that Appellant’s specification indicates that formatting the data bit
length merely entails dividing or shifting (i.e. arranging) the data bits of the input port to
fit the width of the output port.
Now the question before us is what Yokoyama would have taught to one of
ordinary skill in the art? To answer this question, we find the following facts:
1. At page 16, paragraph 0021, Yokoyama states the following:
[0021] The crossbar switch 5 has 12 ports of 128 bits, and I/O (input and output)
boards (#1-#4) 4-1 to 4-4 with a data width of 128 bits are connected as they are
to the ports of 128 /5 bits, and processor boards 2-1 and 2-2 and memory boards
3-1 and 3-2 with a data width of 256 bits are respectively connected to two ports
of 128 bits.
2. At page 54, paragraph 0149, Yokoyama states the following:
[0149] C6 shows the case where a band of 128 bits can be secured when data of
256 bits are transferred to a 128-bit port, and C7 shows the case where a band
cannot be secured when data of 256 bits are transferred to a 128-bit port.
3. At page 65 paragraph 0185, Yokoyama states the following:
[0185] In the case where a band of 128 bits can be secured when data of 256 bits
are transferred to a 128-bit port (the case C6), the crossbar switch side address
control part 61-1 at the request side sends a transfer request to any of two address
lines. The crossbar switch side address control part 61-1 at the supply side detects
the transfer request of the address line (processing C6-1).
3 Webster’s II New Riverside University Dictionary, 1988, page 499. Copy provided to
Appellant.
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