Appeal No. 2005-0156
Application No. 09/816,348
requires “a reinforcing portion provided in the vicinity of an
end portion of the stator, wherein the reinforcing portion
includes a ring portion and a cylinder portion extending from an
outer peripheral edge of the ring portion.” Claim 11 requires
a reinforcing portion provided in the vicinity of an
end portion of the stator, wherein the reinforcing
portion includes bent portions that are formed by end
portions of the case body that are bent toward an
inside thereof, intermittently around an inner
circumferential surface thereof, wherein said bent
portions have a U-shape, and the stator is fixed at a
portion of the inner circumferential surface of the
case body which corresponds to a base portion of the
U-shape.
The examiner’s determination (see pages 4, 6 and 7 in the
answer) that Moribayashi’s holder plate 45 meets the reinforcing
portion limitations in claim 1 is well founded. The holder plate
45, which is in the vicinity of an end portion of Moribayashi’s
stator (magnets 42), includes a ring portion in the form of its
annular base which is perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of
the yoke 41 and a cylinder portion in the form of its bent spring
portions 45a, spacers 45b and tabs containing holes 45c which
extend from the outer peripheral edge of the ring portion. The
appellants’ argument that elements 45a, 45b and 45c fail to
respond to the recitation of the cylinder portion because “the
cylinder portion of the present invention is clearly continuous”
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