Appeal No. 1998-3072 Page 4
Application No. 08/769,610
Claim 1, which is representative for our purposes,
follows:
1. A high-efficiency low-power integrated and
unitary fan motor and control assembly suitable for
use in refrigeration systems comprising an
electronically commutated DC motor, a control and
power circuit, and a substrate carrying a plurality
of electronic components and interconnections of
such circuit;
said electronically commutated motor including a
stator core, a permanent magnet rotor, and at least
one winding inductively coupled with said stator
core;
a Hall sensor mounted on said substrate and
forming part of said circuit, and positioned in
magnetic coupling relationship with said permanent
magnet rotor to sense rotation of said rotor;
said circuit including at least one DC power supply,
and switching means to provide power to said at least one
winding during a cycle of applied power defined by
signals from said Hall device; and
said control circuit determining periods of
reduced magnetic coupling between the rotor and
stator during the cycle of applied power and
inhibiting the supply of power to said at least one
winding during the determined periods of reduced
magnetic coupling, thereby to decrease the total
amount of power supplied to the at least one winding
and to increase the efficiency of the motor and
control.
The references relied on in rejecting the claims follow:
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