Appeal No. 97-0210
Application No. 08/157,050
instead relies on an interpretation of the claims that is both
contrary to the normal meanings of the terms therein and also
contrary to the specification to conclude that the stepwise
adjustment in each of the references meets the claim
limitation of continuous adjustment. We disagree with the
examiner's reasoning, and thus address the specifics of the
two references below.
Viandon is directed to an electric cooling fan for a
thermal engine, the fan being controlled by an asynchronous
motor. Viandon teaches (page 6) that "to obtain the range of
lower speeds, all of the terminals [of the three-phase
electric motor] are connected to the network in the
appropriate order, in order to utilize the six poles of the
motor." However, Viandon shows in Figure 2 a three-phase
alternator and an invertor for changing the connections to
power three poles (for high speeds) or six poles (for low
speeds). Viandon clearly shows a stepwise adjustment of the
speed of the fan. Nowhere does Viandon disclose or illustrate
a regulator for controlling the voltage of the motor to
continuously adjust the speed of the fan. Accordingly, we
cannot sustain the rejection of claim 11 over Viandon.
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