Appeal No. 2000-0852 Page 5
Application No. 09/061,314
Consequently, it lacks two of the features recited in claim 1. The first is that the release
handle comprise a lever arm attachable at one end to the brake release post and an
extension arm hingedly attached to the other end of the lever arm. The second is that the
hinged attachment be such that the extension arm is capable of “automatically” pivoting
about the hinged attachment in a direction opposite the operating direction to cause the
extension arm to “hang downwardly.”
Hanahan is directed to a hand starting crank for motor vehicles. The problem to
which the Hanahan invention is directed is alleviating the danger of the user being struck
by the hand crank if the motor backfires as it is being cranked to start. The patent
discloses a two-piece crank comprising a lever arm (16) to the free end of which is
attached an extension arm (17). A spring (21) biases the extension arm into an
overlapping relationship with the lever arm. A handle (27) protrudes perpendicularly from
the free end of the extension arm, and it is this which presents the danger to the user.
When the handle is rotated by the user to start the motor, the lever arm and the extension
arm are moved into longitudinal alignment (Figures 2 and 5). However, if the handle is
released by the user, as would be the case when a backfire occurs, the spring causes the
two components to assume an overlapping relationship with the handle moving to the
center of rotation, where the danger of it striking the user is eliminated.
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