Appeal No. 1999-0635 5
Application No. 08/688,825
flexible material means for spanning a lower
portion of the otherwise unobstructed opening of
said door to provide a visual barrier deterring
egress of pets or small children while leaving an
upper portion of the opening unobstructed, said
flexible material means yielding downwardly in
response to weight of a child or pet attempting to
climb the flexible material means;
a reel attached to a proximal end of said
flexible material means for storing said flexible
material means and paying out said flexible material
means as the door is opened, said reel adapted for
attachment to one of said door frame and said door
on a side thereof proximate to the door opening;
rewinding means associated with said reel for
maintaining tension in said flexible material means
during opening of the door, for facilitating said
yielding downwardly in response to weight of said
flexible material means, and for automatically
rewinding said flexible material means onto said
reel as the door is closed; and
attachment means connected to a distal end of
said flexible material means and adapted for
connection to at least one attachment point on the
other of the door frame and the door, proximate to
the door opening, for permitting manual attachment
of said distal end to, and removal of said distal
end from, said attachment point [emphasis added].
Where words in the preamble of a claim are essential to
point out the invention defined in the claim, those words do
constitute a limitation which must be accorded weight in
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