Appeal No. 98-0606
Application 08/553,603
application.
Appellants’ invention pertains to a toothbrush comprising
a brush section having bores into which bristles are secured
by anchoring members made of a material that exhibits
oligodynamic action. As explained in appellants’
specification (page 2),
[o]ligodynamic action is generally understood to be
the action of very small quantities of metal ions,
especially a growth-inhibiting or destructive action
of heavy metal traces on microorganisms, with the
oligodynamic action of the metals diminishing in the
following order: Cadmium - silver - brass - copper -
mercury. Cadmium has the highest, mercury the
lowest oligodynamic action.
Claim 1 is illustrative of the appealed subject matter
and reads as follows:
1. A toothbrush comprising:
a brush section including a bristle carrier and bristles
fixedly secured to the bristle carrier, and a separate member
fixedly securing the bristles to the bristle carrier, said
separate member being made of material with oligodynamic
action.
The references of record relied upon by the examiner in
support of rejections under 35 U.S.C. § 102(b) and 35 U.S.C.
§ 103 are:
-2-
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