<So.. is Talbot's VCO clearly and unmistakebly a Ring Oscillator..??>

Judge Ward didn’t think so.I’ll bet our brief makes ample reference to Judge Ward’s analysis of the exact same question.

<c. “ring oscillator”

The next term is “ring oscillator.” The plaintiffs contend that this term means “an oscillator having a multiple, odd number of inversions arranged in a loop.” The defendants propose “an [oscillator] having an odd number of inverting logic stages connected in a loop.” The main dispute is whether a ring oscillator is required to have multiple inverters or whether it can have just one. The plaintiffs argue that a single inverter would not be appropriate because it could not maintain an oscillating output. The defendants, on the other hand, rely on extrinsic evidence to support their proposed construction. Specifically, the defendants cite to a semiconductor textbook depicting a ring oscillator with only one inverter. The plaintiffs have the better argument. The extrinsic evidence cited by the defendants also supports the plaintiffs’ construction. It states that timers are built as “chains of inverters,” not just one inverter. Defendants’ Claim Construction Brief, Ex. U, MEAD & CONWAY, INTRODUCTION TO VLSI SYSTEMS (1980), at 234. Accordingly, the Court adopts the plaintiffs’ proposed construction. >

Opty