Appeal No. 98-0353
Application 08/561,463
20 in the foam to form teeth 26 having cutting edges 21.
According to col. 2, lines 63 to 66 of the patent:
The circumferentially located cutting edges 21 and
heels 30 of the teeth 26 contact the internal
cylindrical walls of the cavity 32 [in the item of
dishware being cleaned] to provide sponge contact
cleansing action.
Jacobsen discloses a sponge for washing windows. Along one or
two corner edges there is a hard edge to serve as a squeegee.
The examiner takes the position that (answer, page 5):
It would have been obvious to one skilled in the art
to modify the blade member in Clift by using a
foamed rubber as a cleaning member as disclosed in
Shumway to achieve the benefits of sponge rubber.
Also (id., page 6):
It would have been obvious to one skilled in the art
to modify the cutting edge in Clift as modified
above by providing a solid edge to create a squeegee
effect for use in cleaning as suggested by Jacobsen
as such would enhance the cleaning abilities of the
Clift apparatus.
After fully considering the record in light of the
arguments presented in appellant's brief and the examiner's
answer, we conclude that this rejection is not well taken.
The utensil disclosed by Clift is a dish scraper, and although
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