Appeal No. 2002-1590 Page 8
Application No. 09/511,516
mechanism of Hjerpe is “operable to allow for relative movement
between said first and second rod members upon experiencing a
predetermined deceleration,” as required in appellants’ claim 9.
On the basis of the foregoing, we will not sustain the
examiner’s rejection of independent claim 9 under 35 U.S.C. §
102(a) based on Hjerpe, or the like rejection of claims 10
through 12 which depend from claim 9.
Independent claim 17 defines a brake pedal assembly for an
automotive vehicle, wherein the assembly includes
a control mechanism including an inertial mass
responsive to deceleration for maintaining said push rod in
a non-collapsed state during normal vehicle operation, said
control mechanism being deployed upon experiencing a
predetermined vehicle deceleration to allow the first rod
member to move relative to the second rod member to a
collapsed state to reduce force transferred to the pedal
during a vehicle collision.
As explained in our treatment of claim 9 above, given the
unknown variables involved in the pedal system of Hjerpe, it is
totally speculative on the examiner’s part to assert (answer,
page 8) that the control mechanism of Hjerpe is deployed or
actuated upon experiencing a predetermined vehicle deceleration
to allow the first and second rod members to move relative to one
another to a collapsed state. Given the lack of any such
disclosure in Hjerpe, we note that this must of necessity be
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