Appeal No. 1999-0706 Page 2
Application No. 1999-0706
BACKGROUND
The appellants' invention relates to a tongue cleaner having a shank portion (16), an
edge portion (22) for scraping the tongue and a support portion (20) which supports the edge
portion. The support portion is skewed relative to the shank portion to slope downwardly,
following the downward slope of the posterior portion of the tongue, for effective engagement
of the edge with the posterior portion of the tongue without the user having to uncomfortably
tilt the shank toward the roof of the mouth (specification, page 2). In another aspect of the
invention, the edge portion of the tongue cleaner is contoured to have a relatively deep central
portion (38), in order to effectively reach into a depression of the tongue (specification, page
4). A copy of the claims on appeal appears in the appendix to the appellants' brief.
The prior art references of record relied upon by the examiner in rejecting the appealed
claims are:
Potti Des. 221,036 Jun. 29, 1971
Robinson 3,635,222 Jan. 18, 1972
Yen-Hui 5,005,246 Apr. 9, 1991
The following rejection is before us for review.
Claims 1-21 stand rejected under 35 U.S.C. § 103 as being unpatentable over Potti in
view of Robinson and Yen-Hui.
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