Appeal No. 2004-2060
Application No. 09/891,271
a mounting plate (28) on which an accelerator pedal
(110), a brake pedal (78), and a clutch pedal (79) are
swivellably disposed, wherein the clutch is swivellably
held in an insert (82), which forms a pre-assembled
construction unit. The construction unit is fastened
between projecting legs (24) and (26) of the mounting
plate and is optionally removable (final rejection,
page 2).
Like appellants (brief, pages 4-6), it is our opinion, after
having reviewed the Counts patent, that no preassembled
constructional unit including the clutch pedal, which
constructional unit can be fastened between projecting legs of a
mounting plate and is constructed to be optionally removable
therefrom when the vehicle includes an automatic transmission, is
taught or suggested in Counts. Counts expressly notes that the
brake and clutch levers (12) and (14) seen in Figure 1 "depend
downwardly below the dashboard 16 in a conventional manner" (col.
2, lines 43-44) and that the hand operated control assembly (22)
for facilitating operation of the clutch, brake and accelerator
pedals of the vehicle by a paraplegic driver having little or no
use of his lower limbs is intended to be added onto the vehicle
and supported from the undersurface of the dashboard (16) by
supports (24, 26) and operatively connected to the control pedals
of the vehicle so that the control pedals can be operated by the
right hand of a paraplegic driver (col. 1, lines 35-40). A
44
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