Appeal 2007-2127
Reexamination Control No. 90/006,621
3. The Morse code program translates ASCII characters input via a
keyboard into Morse code dots, dashes, and spaces (pages 265-268).
4. Code is entered into a buffer "by typing letters, numbers, or
punctuations [sic] marks from the Apple keyboard" (page 268), the program
reads the characters in the buffer, and "[t]he program outputs each character
in Morse code" (page 268).
5. "A 256-character buffer allows typing faster than the Morse code is
sent." (Page 268.)
6. "The backspace (←) key on the Apple allows characters to be deleted.
The cursor points to the location of the next character to be entered in the
character string." (Page 268.)
7. The parts of the program are described as follows (pages 268-69):
The program to transmit Morse code is divided into three parts:
• A set of subroutines including a timing loop, a send subroutine that
does the actual conversion of ASCII to Morse code, and a subroutine
to calculate the parameters for the code speed.
• An interrupt routine that scans the keyboard for a key depression. If
an alphanumeric character is entered then it is stored in the buffer. If
a control character is entered, the appropriate action is taken or the
character is ignored.
• A main program that calls the subroutines. It main function is to scan
the buffer to see if a character is to be sent. It will send characters
until the buffer is empty.
8. The interrupt routine is described as follows (page 275):
The principal function of the interrupt routine is to read the Apple
keyboard. Why use interrupts for this purpose? The main task of the
microcomputer is to send the Morse code characters. If the computer
must wait for a key to be pressed before sending a character, then you
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