Appeal No. 97-3983
Application 08/506,851
into and down through the funnel to the drain tubing. As explained by Smith,
[t]he manual switch is actuated directly by hand, of course, and the automatic
switch is actuated indirectly by manual withdrawal of the funnel from its rest
position to an extended use position. Either way rinsewater is pumped to
the funnel. The supplied rinsewater flows into the space between the funnel
walls, exits through the ring of openings near the [top] edge of the inside wall,
and flows down through the funnel and out from its neck into, through, and out
the drain tube when the funnel is in use or is being rinsed preliminary to or
following use.
When the driver or a passenger wishes, he or she withdraws the
funnel from its rest position. Withdrawal of the funnel from contact with the
automatic switch triggers the switch to actuate the pump, whereupon water
flows from the openings near the rim down the exposed inside wall of the
funnel. Such water rinses away, down and out the drain tube, surplus liquid
(such as saliva), or even finely divided particulate matter (such as sand or
tobacco grains) fed into the funnel gradually enough so as not to block or
overflow it. When finished using the funnel, the user returns it to its rest
position, thereby switching off the [w]ater flow, unless continued flow is
required to clear the drain tube, in which event the manual switch can be
switched on for a suitable period [column 3, lines 32 through 57].
With regard to the standing 35 U.S.C. § 102(b) rejection of claims 13 and 17,
anticipation is established only when a single prior art reference discloses, expressly or
under principles of inherency, each and every element of a claimed invention. RCA Corp.
v. Applied Digital Data Sys., Inc., 730 F.2d 1440, 1444, 221 USPQ 385, 388
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