Appeal No. 2000-0913
Application No. 09/067,123
for example, it would be possible to provide that operation of
the lift truck is prevented until the pivoting arms 20, 22 are
in the restraining position” (page 5, lines 23-27).
Considering a configuration of Niebuhr’s restraining
device that includes automatically driven restraint arms and a
safety system that prevents operation of the lift truck until
the pivoting arms are in the restraining position, we view the
release buttons 44, 46 of the thus configured device as
collec-tively constituting an “operational control element”
within the broad meaning of that terminology. In this regard,
appellants’ specification indicates at page 3, lines 9-11,
that the operational control element may control movement of a
lifting device of the truck, and at page 5, lines 33-37, that
a variety of control elements may be mounted on the arm for
example a steering wheel and control knobs for controlling
operation of the vehicle or the lifting device attached
thereto. Thus, when the term “operational control element” of
claim 1 is read in light of appellants’ specification, it is
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