Ex Parte Flick - Page 9

                Appeal 2007-1535                                                                                 
                Application 10/626,969                                                                           
                                                                                                                
                data bus 111 is confined within the housing 63 and hardly extends                                
                throughout the vehicle as claimed.                                                               
                       Nykerk fares no better in this regard.  As shown in Figure 4, the data                    
                bus 64 is part of the control module 57 of the self-contained alarm system 55                    
                (i.e., the “INVISIBEAM” system) (Nykerk, col. 9, ll. 59-63; col. 11, ll. 11-                     
                21; Fig. 4).  Significantly, the control module portion of the INVISIBEAM                        
                system can be positioned in a suitable out-of-the-way location such as under                     
                the dash or seat, or in the trunk area (Nykerk, col. 10, ll. 7-10).  Because the                 
                control module is relatively small to enable its placement in these confined                     
                locations, the extent of the data bus 64 confined within this control module                     
                in Nykerk is likewise limited.  In short, Nykerk’s data bus 64 -- like the data                  
                bus of Suman -- hardly extends throughout the vehicle as claimed.                                
                       We also disagree with the Examiner that merely interfacing the data                       
                bus to the wire harness 30 via interface 88 in Nykerk effectively extends the                    
                data bus throughout the vehicle as claimed.  The wire harness 30 is a distinct                   
                component from the data bus 64.  (See Nykerk, col. 11, ll. 53-62; Fig. 4).                       
                Although selected data signals can be amplified and buffered by interface 88                     
                and then presented to the wire harness for routing to various devices, the                       
                wire harness 30 is not a data bus as the term is understood by skilled artisans                  
                (i.e., a data bus that carries data and address information to multiple devices                  
                via the same set of wires).  Simply put, a wire harness connects various                         
                devices using dedicated, point-to-point wiring.  A data bus, however, does                       
                not require such dedicated wiring since each device can be separately                            





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