Appeal No. 1998-1937
Application No. 08/518,509
6-26. Each hinge and slide mechanism also includes springs 44
to facilitate the opening of the door. Carson states that
springs 44 “may be attached between door 12
and cabinet 10, or door 12 and first plate 30, to perform the
necessary door assist function” (column 3, lines 39-41).
Carson’s door mechanism further includes lid stays 50,
respectively mounted to an inner lateral wall surface of the
cabinet and the door, to slow the movement of the door. To
this end, each lid stay includes an arm 56, a base end of
which is secured to a viscous damper mechanism (see,
generally, column 3, lines 51-64), and an extended end that is
pivotally connected to the door.
Given the above, it is apparent that Carson fails to meet
the requirement of claim 3 calling for “a pair of stay holding
tension springs, each spring being connected between a point
upwardly and forwardly displaced from the base end of a stay
on a corresponding one of the inner lateral wall surfaces of
the cabinet and a point in a middle portion of the stay.” The
examiner’s reliance on Holmes to cure this deficiency is not
well founded.
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