Appeal No. 97-4151
Application 08/379,181
enlightenment as to the broadest reasonable meaning of the
term "removable compartment", we find that on page 10,
appellant discloses that the two removable compartments 408
and 410 "may be constructed to have planar peripheral sides or
may be constructed to have more curvilinear design such as
juice pitchers or maple syrup containers" (lines 8 to 11). In
view of this disclosure, it is evident that the term
"removable compartment" in appellant's claims encompasses
containers of items to be dispensed therefrom (such as juice
or maple syrup), and thus would include the containers of the
"various packages or bottled items" 37 disclosed by Phibbs,
from which washing powder, bleach, fabric softener or starch
would be dispensed. Phibbs therefore meets the "removable
compartment" limitation of the claims.
With regard to the examiner's combination of Phibbs and
Trombly, we agree with the examiner that the proposed
modification of Phibbs in view of Trombly would have been
obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art. While Trombly's
primary purpose for using a double-walled container may be for
insulation, the reference also discloses that such
10
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