Appeal No. 1999-0953
Application No. 08/576,618
Claim 1, the sole independent claim on appeal, calls for
a dispensing cover for a product dispenser, comprising
a relatively thick dome portion with an external top
surface and an internal underside surface, a
depending skirt portion co-joined with the dome [2]
portion about a peripheral edge thereof, . . . and
a weakened relatively thin area formed in the cover
about said peripheral edge acting as a peripheral
hinge to permit the dome portion to flex into
contact with the product when a force is exerted
against said external top surface . . . and to
return to its original unflexed position out of
contact with the product when the force is removed .
. . . [Emphasis added.]
Murphy, the examiner’s primary reference, pertains to an
applicator for creams and viscous liquids (translation, page
1). The applicator includes a dispensing cap 24 that
corresponds generally to the claimed dispensing cover. Murphy
describes cap 24 as follows:
As shown more particularly in Fig. 2, the cap 24
has an outer section 27, which is relatively
thick[,] and an inner section 28 which is thin. At
the center of the inner section there is provided an
orifice 29. The cap 24 is made of a material which
is strong and resilient so that if the inner section
28 is pressed it will bend inwardly toward the
container 10, but when released will resume its
original shape. [Page 4; emphasis added.]
2We consider the term “co-joined” to mean that the
depending skirt portion and the dome portion are joined.
3
Page: Previous 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Next
Last modified: November 3, 2007