Appeal No. 2002-0331
Application No. 09/382,735
The examiner is of the opinion that there is no support in
the original specification for the following claim 9 limitation;
“thereby maintaining the axle of the trailer-pulling unit, and
the axles of the trailer in parallel when the member is engaged.”
We fully appreciate the examiner’s point of view as clearly
expressed in the final rejection and the answer. However, a
consideration of the entirety of appellant’s original disclosure
indicates to us that there is descriptive support for the
limitation at issue in claim 9.
Clearly, appellant has disclosed in the specification (page
3), and depicted in the single drawing figure, an arrangement for
locking a trailer in a non-articulated position while allowing a
king-pin plate to continue pivoting. Appellant’s arrangement is
intended to overcome the problem that occurs when a rig backs up,
as discussed in the background of the invention section of the
specification (page 1). One or more powered locking members
engage one or more apertures (specification, pages 3 and 4). The
aperture is preferably oval shaped to allow for unimpeded
pivoting of the trailer attached to the king-pin plate while the
locking member is engaged within the aperture (specification,
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