Appeal No. 96-1425
Application No. 08/133,492
1. A device for controlling a stepper motor that drives
one or more camera elements, in which the rotation and
position of the rotor of the stepper motor is monitored to
determine when the next step of the stepper motor should be
stepped, said device characterized by:
a rotor positional indicator having equally spaced first
and second areas that are a whole number multiple of the
number of steps for one full revolution of the rotor of the
stepper motor;
means coupled to said indicator for detecting the
transitions between said first and second areas; and
means coupled to said detecting means for rotating the
rotor of the stepper motor relative to the position of the
rotor of the stepper motor so that the stepper motor has the
proper number of steps to cause the camera element to move to
the correct position.
The Examiner’s Answer cites the following prior art:
Erlichman 4,196,987 Apr. 8,
1980
Sakai et al. (Sakai) 4,812,727 Mar. 14, 1989
Ishimaru 5,057,859 Oct. 15, 1991
OPINION
Claims 1-13 stand rejected under 35 U.S.C. § 103 as
unpatentable over Ishimaru and Sakai. Claims 14-17 stand
rejected under 35 U.S.C. § 103 as unpatentable over Ishimaru
and Sakai as applied to claims 1-13, further in view of
Erlichman.
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