Appeal No. 1996-3507
Application 08/041,209
discussed, Ema and Matsumoto fail to disclose or suggest using
a substantially zero vehicle speed as the basis for selecting
higher damping coefficients. A fortiori, they fail to suggest
basing the selection on a combination of a substantially zero
vehicle speed and a vertical speed that remains below a
preselected threshold value for a preselected period of time.
Consequently, the rejection of claim 8 over Ema and Matsumoto
is reversed. For the same reasons, we are reversing the
rejection over these references of claim 2, which but for its
improper dependence on claim 1 would be similar in scope to
claim 8. The rejection of claims 3, 4, 6, and 7, which depend
on claim 2, is reversed because the rejection of claim 2 is
reversed.
The rejection of claims 10 and 12, which are properly
dependent on claim 1, is reversed because the rejection of
claim 1 has been reversed. Likewise, the rejection of claims
9, 11, and 13, which are properly dependent on claim 8, is
reversed because the rejection of that claim has been
reversed.
Claim 5, which depends on claim 1, specifies that each
shock absorber is controllable to provide a "softer damping
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