Appeal No. 2000-2029
Application 09/012,530
the dilator per se and not to a combination of the dilator with a
guide wire and a needle.
As for the recitation in claim 6 that the dilator includes a
tip which is “configured to limit insertion of the needle,” we
agree with the examiner that the dilator of Toye includes a tip
structure that is so configured. In reaching this conclusion we
have compared Figures 2, 4 and 5 of Toye with appellant’s Figures
4 and 5, noting that the dilator tips seen in the present
application and in the Toye patent are substantially identical to
one another. Each has a distal substantially cylindrical portion
(28 of Toye and 40 in the present application) which transitions
into an increasing diameter tapered portion (26 of Toye and 38 of
appellant’s application) and then again transitions into a larger
diameter cylindrical portion. In describing the “transition
stop” (36) of the present application appellant indicates
(specification, page 5) that the dilator tip is “configured such
that the dilator tip 32 temporarily stops insertion of the
dilator 14 into an incision or puncture site.” More
specifically, on page 6 of the specification, appellant describes
the operation of this aspect of the cannula assembly in the
following language
5
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Last modified: November 3, 2007