Appeal No. 97-2421
Application 08/202,411
Claims 22 and 24
The limitation at issue in claim 22 is the following: "said raising and lowering means including
a lever having an L-shape, one portion of which extends and remains substantially parallel to the
rotating disc-shaped recording medium, the lever pivoting around a support shaft so as to raise and
lower the suspension, wherein the support shaft supports the lever." Appellants state that Kitagawa
discloses L-shaped head lift arms 8a and 8b which are pushed apart by turning a cam 12 to raise and
lower the heads 3a and 3b. Appellants argue that "[t]he lift arms 8a and 8b of Kitagawa are not lever
arms and they do not pivot around a support shaft, as claimed herein" (Brief, page 11). Appellants
rely on the definitions of "lever" and "pivot" (Brief, page 12).
The examiner responds that (Examiner's Answer, page 6):
[A]rms (8a,8b) are directly connected to shaft (11) via springs (10a,10b). Since these arms
are fixed at one end, the end connected to shaft (11), any movement due to cam (12) must
cause these arms to "pivot" around this connection. Contrary to appellant [sic] statement;
arms (8a,8b), better described as arms (7a,7b), are "rigid" and due [sic] apply forces as
required by the definition of a lever and also pivot about shaft (11) as discussed above.
We agree with the examiner that head lifters 7a and 7b together with the attached head lift
arms 8a and 8b are L-shaped levers consistent with the definition of "lever." Appellants' define
"lever" as "a rigid bar used to exert a pressure or sustain a weight at one point of its length by the
application of a force at a second and turning at a third on a fulcrum" from Webster's New Collegiate
Dictionary (G.&C. Merriam Co. 1981). Piece 7a and 8a exerts a pressure on suspension 4a by
application of force from cam 12 on shoulder 9a and turns about where the spring 10a fastens to
support stand 11. A "fulcrum" is "the support about which a lever turns," Webster's New Collegiate
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