Appeal No. 96-0969
Application 08/200,420
controlling the flow of liquid from a bottle. The device
includes a cage mounted in the spout of a bottle, with a
floating element, buoyant in the liquid in the bottle, loosely
received and confined within the cage. The floating element
is capable of obstructing the flow of liquid from the bottle
when the bottle is in a roughly horizontal position (see Fig.
4), but floats free of the spout passage when the bottle is
oriented away from the horizontal position (see, for example,
Fig. 5). As explained on page 2 of the brief, “the device
prevents spilling of liquid from the bottle when the bottle is
tipped from a ‘spout up’ position to a ‘spout down’ position.
This is typically the motion employed when changing water
bottles in a water bottle cooler.” Claim 1, a copy of which
is found in an appendix to appellant’s brief, is illustrative
of the appealed subject matter.
The single reference of record relied upon by the
examiner in support of a rejection under 35 U.S.C. § 102(b)
is:
DeQuillfeldt 355,642 Jan. 4, 1887
Claims 1 to 6 stand rejected under 35 U.S.C. § 102(b) as
being anticipated by DeQuillfeldt.
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