Appeal No. 96-3744 Page 9
Application No. 08/173,764
it, and can be closed only upon the application of current
thereto. As a result, in the event of electrical failure of
the system wherein no current is produced by the control
circuit 86, the inlet valves 90-94 will be closed while the
outlet valves 110-114 will be open. This results in all
hydraulic rams 24-28 losing oil so that their pistons move
down to the lowest possible elevation. This facilitates the
exit of passengers in case of failure, by lowering the frame
to a level orientation and at the lowest elevation. If such a
system were not utilized and failure occurred while the
vehicle was tilted or raised, there could be danger not only
in attempting to remove passengers from an elevated and tilted
floor, but also there could be danger to workmen helping in
the removal of passengers if the frame suddenly descended.
With respect to independent claims 1 and 16, the examiner
determined (answer, pp. 4-5) that Trumbull '256 does not
specifically teach the functions of the "fail-safe means"
recited in claim 1 or the "causing" step recited in claim 16.
The examiner then concluded that these limitations are merely
desired functions and that the control circuit 86 of Trumbull
Page: Previous 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 Next
Last modified: November 3, 2007