Appeal No. 1997-0287
Application 08/263,034
Appellants' arguments regarding Andres have been
discussed in connection with the rejection over Andres and the
two Swearingen patents and are not persuasive.
Appellants argue that Miura's arrangement where both
magnetic thrust bearings and fluid thrust bearings are
employed to regulate the axial disposition of the compressor
shaft is "in direct contradiction to Andres et al." (Br11).
This argument is not commensurate in scope with the claims
which do not preclude a fluid thrust backup bearing system.
Miura teaches that it was known to have an active magnetic
thrust bearing system in combination with a fluid thrust
balancing system.
Appellants further argue with respect to Miura that
(Br11-12): "No other thrust loading rotary devices are
understood to be associated with the shaft. In terms of the
present invention, it is a system without something to balance
but the balancing system itself." Miura discloses that the
compressor alone creates a thrust imbalance, so Appellants'
argument that there is nothing to balance in Miura is without
merit. One of ordinary skill in the art would have recognized
that turbo machinery, such as Andres, having other turbo
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