Appeal No. 98-1252 Page 5
Application No. 08/642,184
The cap of Miles is of the two-part type wherein a second part
14 is pivotally mounted with respect to a first part 13, and
the second part 14 of the cap of Miles and the dental floss
dispenser 22 of Grussmark are both of a generally frusto-
conical configuration. The outermost surface of Grussmark's
cap 16 is provided with a recess or socket (defined by
peripheral wall 18) for receiving the "top wall 20" of the 2
dental floss dispenser 22, but the housing of this dispenser
has a cross-section that is octagonal in shape and has
vertically inclined sidewalls, resulting in the housing's top
wall 20 having a significantly larger footprint than the bottom
wall 25. It is true that Paulson mounts dental floss dispenser
"on" a cap 12 of a toothpaste container, and this cap has a
cylindrical side wall 14. In Paulson, however, the dental
floss dispenser has no separate housing that includes top,
bottom and side walls. Instead, a coil of dental floss is
2Throughout the claims the appellant has referred to the
top and bottom walls of the dental floss dispenser as though
they were in the orientation depicted in Figs. 1, 2, 4-7, 9
and 10 of the drawings (i.e., wherein the toothpaste container
is in an inverted position). Accordingly, we will refer to
the "top" and "bottom" walls of the prior art dental floss
dispensers as though they were in this same inverted
orientation.
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