Appeal No. 1999-2625
Application 08/763,929
patient’s upper and lower posterior teeth and the rib fits
snugly over the front surfaces of the upper or lower front
teeth. The inclination of the rib provides clearance between
the upper and lower teeth to accommodate the insertion and
positioning of endotracheal tubes or the like.
Anticipation is established only when a single prior art
reference discloses, expressly or under principles of
inherency, each and every element of a claimed invention. RCA
Corp. v. Applied Digital Data Sys., Inc., 730 F.2d 1440, 1444,
221 USPQ 385, 388 (Fed. Cir. 1984). The examiner’s
determination that both Ross and Poterack disclose each and
every element of the invention recited in independent claim 1
(see pages 4 and 5 in the answer) is not well taken.
Claim 1 requires the dental appliance recited therein to
comprise, inter alia, a pair of pads each having a base and a
labial wall extending downward from the base with the base and
wall together forming a channel to receive the posterior teeth
of the lower jaw, and a band having posterior ends connecting
the pads and extending forwardly and downwardly along the
lower jaw anterior teeth. Ross does not meet the claim
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