Appeal No. 2006-2534
Application No. 10/789,411
OPINION
In rejecting the claims, the Examiner refers to Figures 1 and 2 of Carlson and reads the
claimed stacked laminations on laminations 11 and the recited plate on washers 13 and 14, which
are attached to the end surfaces of the rotor core and allow an axial deflection of the laminations
in the area of the plate (answer, page 3). To show the plate extending to an area of the shaft, the
Examiner further relies on Figure 4 depicting washers 13 and 14 extending to an area of the shaft
since they are shown to bite into the shaft at region 18 (id.).
Appellants argue that the washers in Carlson are not attached to the end surface of the
rotor core and instead, are placed against the fiber discs 12 which are not a part of the rotor core
(brief, pages 4 and 5). To further distinguish the claims over Carlson, Appellants point out that
the claimed plate can be sized to extend shy of the outer shaft surface and does not necessary
need to be sized to bear upon the shaft as the washers of Carlson do (brief, paragraph bridging
pages 4-5).
The Examiner responds by stating that Carlson (col. 2, lines 14-16) describes the rotor
core as having a core thereon comprising a series of laminations 11 located between fiber discs
12, which clearly makes the fiber discs a part of the core (answer, page 4). The Examiner further
argues that independent claim 1 recites the rotor core as being formed of a plurality of stacked
laminations and does not exclude other elements, which are not laminations, from being
considered as part of the core (id.). The Examiner also asserts that washers 13 and 14 further
3
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