Appeal 2007-2127
Reexamination Control No. 90/006,621
1991). Patent Owner interprets "processing" to include only operations
performed on data after it is stored in the memory and before it is output.
Patent Owner seeks to distinguish the claimed invention over De Jong
by arguing that the interrupt routine in De Jong is not a processing thread
because it does not process data after it has been input (Br. 47-48). We
disagree. First, "processing" encompasses any operations performed by the
processor, including the input and output of data to and from the memory.
Nothing in the definition requires that processing occurs only on data after it
is put in the memory. The interrupt routine in De Jong performs processing
to read data from the keyboard and store it in the buffer. Second, even if the
term "processing" is interpreted to be limited to operating on data in the
buffer, the "delete" function in the interrupt routine in De Jong operates in
response to the "backspace" key to delete the last character in the buffer
(Findings 6 and 16). Thus, the interrupt routine "processes" data stored in
the buffer. That the character data is only stored temporarily in the buffer
and disappears after the character is sent does not preclude the interrupt
service routine from "processing" data while it is in the buffer.
If "multithreading" in the '604 patent claims was interpreted to read on
the disclosed embodiment, rather than being given its ordinary meaning in
the art, then De Jong would anticipate many claims. However, rather than
create more work for our reviewing court by a "backup" rejection relying on
an alternative claim interpretation, we rely on our claim interpretation and
conclude that De Jong is not a "multithreading" system for the same reasons
discussed in the priority determination: (1) the interrupt service routine is not
interruptible and its context is not stored, so it is not a thread, and there are
not multiple threads; (2) even if the interrupt service routine was
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