Appeal No. 2006-2029
Application No. 10/351,104
point, we are confident that it would have been obvious for one
of ordinary skill in the art to include such a timing element in
the toothbrush of Salmon. Appellant’s specification, at page 1,
states that “there is a need for indicating an increment of time
in which a user is brushing their teeth.” To the extent that
such a need was known in the art, we find that Robinson evidences
the obviousness of employing the claimed timing element to
satisfy the need. In our view, both the problem and its solution
would have been readily apparent to one of ordinary skill in the
art. In re Ludwig, 353 F.2d 241, 243-44, 147 USPQ 420, 421 (CCPA
1965).
As a final point, we note that appellant bases no argument
upon objective evidence of nonobviousness, such as unexpected
results, which would serve to rebut the prima facie case of
obviousness established by the examiner.
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