Appeal No. 2004-1304
Application 08/730,625
sustain the examiner’s above-noted rejection of claims 2 through
5, 7 and 8 under 35 U.S.C. § 103(a), but not that of claim 6.
With regard to the examiner’s rejection of claims 25
and 26 under 35 U.S.C. § 103(a) as being unpatentable over “Soft
Bite Utensils” in view of the “Too Hot” package and Heinmets as
applied to claim 1 above, and further in view of Biolik, we share
appellants’ view as set forth on pages 37-38 of the brief. While
it is true that Biolik discloses a temperature measuring spoon
having a temperature measuring device incorporated therein, and
discloses that the spoon itself “may be constructed of metal and
covered with a layer of plastic” (col. 3, lines 61-63), absent
hindsight, we see no basis in such broad teaching for modifying
the spoon or utensil disclosed in “Soft Bite Utensils” as
modified by the “Too Hot” package and Heinmets in the particular
manner urged by the examiner so as to result in an area on the
handle of the utensil that is color coded to match the color of
the soft plastic material on the feeding end for comparison
purposes (claim 25), or to result in an arrangement wherein said
area on the handle is thermochromic, so that a caregiver can test
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