Appeal No. 97-2421
Application 08/202,411
Dictionary (G.&C. Merriam Co. 1977), and does not have to be a shaft but can a point about which
the lever bends. In addition, a "lever" is also defined as "a bar used for prying or dislodging
something," id. (definition 1a), and the L-shaped piece 7a, 8a in Kitagawa is manifestly a lever under
this broader definition.
We disagree with the examiner's finding that head lifter 7a (part of the lever) fixed to support
stand 11 via plate spring 10a is a "lever pivoting around a support shaft." The spring 10a does not
"pivot" under the definition of "pivot" as "to turn on or as if on a pivot" because "turn" requires
movement around an axis or a center, i.e., rotation not bending. The claim requires "pivoting around
a support shaft" which requires rotation around the support shaft, not bending. The "lever pivoting
around a support shaft" is not in means-plus-function format and so there is no question about the
structure in Kitagawa anticipating because it is an equivalent. Because we find that Kitagawa does
not disclose a "lever pivoting around a support shaft," we reverse the rejection of claims 22 and 24.
Claim 25
Claim 25 depends on claim 19, which depends on claim 18, which depends on claim 17. The
examiner adds Kitagawa to Carteau for the teaching of an L-shaped lever. Because claim 25
incorporates the limitations of claim 17, and because the rejection of claim 17 has been reversed, the
rejection of claim 25 is reversed. Further, Kitagawa does not disclose an "L-shaped lever that pivots
around a support shaft," as recited in claim 25, for the reasons discussed with respect to claim 22 and
the examiner has not provided any reasons why it would have been obvious to modify Kitagawa for
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