Appeal No. 1999-2182 Page 5
Application No. 08/710,704
the very limited showing of the dispenser in ENGLASS does not support the examiner’s
conclusion that the dimple inhibits sideways movement of the pump tube. We also note
with interest the appellant’s explanation in his declaration that inward-oriented dimples are
formed into this type of container to insure that an outward-oriented dimple does not form
during the manufacturing process, which would adversely affect the ability of the container
to sit on flat surfaces, among other reasons, none of which are to restrain the sideways
movement of the pump tube.
Grothoff discloses a pump dispenser that includes an arrangement for refilling it.
The examiner has looked to Figure 12, which illustrates an embodiment of the invention in
which the bottom of the pump tube is disposed about an upstanding projection (608) that
would appear from the drawing to restrain its sideways movement, although that is not
explicitly stated. While the bottom of the pump tube and this upstanding projection have
laterally-directed surfaces that overlap one another, the projection is described as being
“connected to” the upper surface of the bottom of the container (column 9, lines 35-37), and
therefore it is not part of a closed, continuous base formed in one piece with the sidewall of
the container, as is required by claim 1. The purpose of this construction is to provide a
refill port in the bottom of the dispenser from which both the pump tube and the container
can be refilled though a valved passage in the center of the projection.
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