Appeal No. 96-2094
Application 08/282,783
mechanism requires a lower force to be applied by the operator
during the normal operating range of the throttle lever to
thereby prevent undue fatigue to the operator, even at the
expense of a much greater force being required at high
throttle openings corresponding to high speed operation which
is typically encountered for only relatively short
intermittent periods of time. To this end, in a first stage
of operation of Bourret’s device corresponding to normal
cruising speeds, the throttle lever 26 pivots about a first
pivot axis 31 wherein the mechanical advantage of the manual
actuating force is relatively high, thereby requiring less
input force by the operator, whereas in a second stage of
operation corresponding to high speed operation, the throttle
lever pivots about a second pivot axis 30 wherein the
mechanical advantage of the manual actuating force is much
smaller, thus requiring a higher input force by the operator.
Based on the dissimilarity of purpose and operation of
the applied references, it is not apparent to us why one of
ordinary skill in the art would turn to Bourret’s two-stage
throttle control lever in the first instance for guidance in
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