Appeal No. 2002-1556
Application 09/409,583
Claims 6, 9, 11 and 13 through 16 stand rejected under 35
U.S.C. § 103(a) as being unpatentable over Nell.
Attention is directed to the appellants’ main and reply
briefs (Paper Nos. 15 and 17) and to the examiner’s final
rejection and answer (Paper Nos. 10 and 16) for the respective
positions of the appellants and the examiner regarding the merits
of these rejections.
DISCUSSION
I. Grouping of claims
As a result of the appellants’ statement that “all of the
finally-rejected claims are being treated as a single group”
(reply brief, page 2) and the focus of the arguments advanced in
the briefs solely on independent claims 1 and 18, dependent
claims 2 through 7, 9, 11 and 13 through 17 shall stand or fall
with parent claim 1 and dependent claims 19 and 20 shall stand or
fall with parent claim 18.
II. The merits
Nell discloses a road vehicle brake system which functions,
when the driver depresses a brake pedal, to perform targeted
braking with moderate vehicle deceleration or full braking with
maximum vehicle deceleration (see column 4, lines 28 through 40).
The brake system also allows the driver, after the vehicle is
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