Appeal No. 98-1032
Application 08/620,658
permeating the lather dispensing body portion onto said
scrubbing surface.” Independent claims 1 and 10 contain
similar limitations, with claim 1 adding that the body portion
is “shaped as a piggy bank . . . configuration.”
Considering Monnet, the examiner’s primary reference, we
find that the Figures 3-4 embodiment thereof comprises a
lather dispenser and scrubbing implement having a hollow body
portion 2 made of water impervious material (translation, page
5, lines 3-4) and a lather dispensing body portion 1 made of
water absorbent material (translation, page 5, lines 1-3),
with the body portion having a lowermost opening (defined by
the inner peripheral edge of flange 4) and an upper opening 7a
for receiving soap chips (translation, page 3, lines 4-9)
closable by sliding plates 11a, 11b. We further find that the
opening 7a is an elongated opening in that it is longer than
it is wide. In this regard, the length of the opening 7a is
seen in Figure 3 to be the distance between the edges of the
opening, whereas the width of the opening 7a can be reasonably
inferred to be no greater than the vertical dimension of the4
4In approaching the question of obviousness, it is
proper to take into account not only the specific teachings of
-4-
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