Appeal No. 1998-3348 Page 12
Application No. 08/541,948
Here, neither Morita nor Boutaghou, alone or in
combination, would have suggested modeling, let alone
minimizing the difference between, a first mechanical
resonance frequency associated with the coupling of the
pitching mode mechanical resonance frequency of a no-load
spindle motor and the primary mechanical resonance frequency
of one disk to be loaded and a second mechanical resonance
frequency associated with the coupling of the pitching mode
mechanical resonance frequency of the no-load spindle motor
and the primary mechanical resonance frequency of plural disks
to be loaded. The portion of Morita on which the examiner
relies merely recognizes a relationship between the resonance
frequency of an HDD, the mass of the HDD, and the rigidity of
some of its components. Specifically, “to increase the
resonance frequency, it is necessary to reduce the mass m or
increase the hub rigidity k1, bearing rigidity k2 or bracket
rigidity k3.” Col. 2, ll. 13-15. The part of Boutaghou on
which he relies, in turn, merely mentions that variations in
certain parameters of a HDD cause variations in the resonant
frequency of its modes. Specifically, “[v]ariations in disk
thickness, disk diameters, disk alloy and clamping force all
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