Appeal No. 2004-1304
Application 08/730,625
except that the soft plastic material coated on the metal
substrate at the feeding end of such utensils is not indicated as
changing color when it contacts hot food. To account for this
difference, the examiner points to the “Too Hot” package for
Color-Changing Safety Spoons noting the disclosure thereon that
the spoons include an ergonomically molded handle and a food
holding portion of “Soft Plastic for Teeth and Gums” and the
further indication thereon that the safety spoons will change
color (e.g., blue to hot pink) indicating that the food contained
therein is too hot (e.g., 105º F or above) to be safely consumed
by an infant or small child. From the combined teachings of the
applied prior art, the examiner concludes that it would have been
obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time of
appellants’ invention to modify the “Soft Bite Utensils” by
formulating the soft plastic material of the feeding end thereof
with a thermochromic additive to facilitate a color change when
the utensil (e.g., a spoon) contacts hot food in order to warn a
user or caregiver that the food is too hot to safely consume, as
is taught by the “Too Hot” package. The examiner has further
determined that Heinmets discloses that it is well known in the
art to coat a metal spoon with a thermochromic plastic layer that
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