Appeal No. 2002-1807 Page 6
Application No. 09/247,419
portion has no rear panel. In this regard, containment of articles in the rear of the
movable portion of the basket is provided by a back panel of the fixed portion, which
comprises a plurality of vertical wires 11 attached to the frame and extending below the
lower edge of the side panels of the fixed basket. As the movable portion of the basket
moves downward under the weight of the articles placed therein, the fixed wires
function as a back panel for both the fixed and movable portions of the basket.
Moreover, as downward movement occurs, the side and front panels of the fixed upper
portion augment the side panels of the movable lower portion to increase the capacity
of the basket, which is the principal objective of the Nicholl invention (column 1, lines
29-37).
It is our opinion that the examiner’s interpretation of the Nicholl reference is
improper in view of the description of the invention provided in the patent as well as
what would be understood from the patent by one of ordinary skill in the art. This being
the case, Nicholl does not disclose or teach a shopping cart in which the “entire basket”
moves in relation to the frame when a load is placed in the basket, and therefore does
not anticipate the subject matter recited in claim 1. The Section 102 rejection of claim
1, as well as the like rejection of dependent claims 5 and 18-21, is not sustained.
The Rejections Under Section 103
The first of these rejections is that claims 22 and 23 would have been obvious to
one of ordinary skill in the art in view of the combined teachings of Nicholl and Hummer,
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