Opinion ID: 676015
Heading Depth: 4
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: The two-piece fan

Text: 22 The structure and construction of the two-piece fan differs from the one-piece fan in only one respect; in the two-piece fan, a first piece of magnetizable material is inserted and affixed to the rotor cup and a second piece of magnetizable material is inserted into the cup and affixed adjacent to the first piece. The two pieces are then magnetized. The only issue, therefore, is whether the '028 patent claims, properly construed, cover such two piece construction. The only disputed claim terms are formed on a single piece (claim 1) and integral (all claims). 23 Upon review of the language of the claims, the specification, the prosecution history, and the testimony of the experts, the district court determined that integral or single piece means a single piece when the magnetic material becomes a functioning magnet. Matsushita asserts that the district court's interpretation of the claims was fatally flawed because it misconstrued the claims to include process limitations. It is well settled that this court reviews judgments not opinions. Atlantic Thermoplastic Co. v. Faytex Corp., 5 F.3d 1477, 1480, 28 USPQ2d 1343, 1345 (Fed.Cir.1993). Thus, we will not disturb the district court's grant of summary judgment unless it was based on harmful error. We conclude as a matter of law that the district court arrived at the correct result in construing the terms single piece and integral. The two-piece fan includes two pieces of magnetizable material which are affixed together in the rotor cup and then magnetized in the same manner as the one-piece fan. Because Matsushita affixes the two pieces of magnetizable material and then magnetizes them, the two-piece fan includes an integral annular field and commutation magnet (claims 1 and 9) formed on a single piece of magnetized material (claim 1). The two-piece fan thus literally infringes at least claims 1 and 9 of the '028 patent. The district court's grant of summary judgment of infringement is affirmed.