Appeal No. 2004-0415
Application No. 09/764,743
indicated supra, Trimble teaches that the claimed brake mechanism
and releasing means should be employed in a manner that would not
alter the operation of a shopping cart. As also found by the
examiner (pages 4 and 5):
Trimble teaches actuation lever (12 on Figure 1)
mounted near a handle in mechanical communication (14) with
the spring urged brake mechanism and actuation guide means
(Figured 3 and 6) that avoids obstruction or access to the
nesting access area (Figure 1 and lines 18-21 of column 6).
Thus, from our perspective, one of ordinary skill in the art
armed with such knowledge would have been led to place the brake
cable described in Trimble at a location that would not interfere
with the operation of the rear nesting opening of the admittedly
old shopping cart as taught by Trimble.
With respect to claim 3 on appeal, the examiner acknowledges
that Trimble illustrates what appears to be a rigid bar, rather
than a cable, as a means for connecting its actuation means and
brake mechanism in Figure 1. To remedy this deficiency, the
examiner further relies on the disclosure of Nolting. The
examiner finds (Answer, page 5), and the appellants do not
dispute (Brief, pages 6-9), that:
Nolting Jr. teaches a shopping cart braking mechanism
where the actuation means is mechanically connected to the
brake mechanism by a cable (54). Utilizing a flexible cable
for a mechanical communication between a brake actuation
means and a wheel brake mechanism is advantageous over a
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