Appeal No. 96-2270
Application 08/073,108
22-25 and 31-40. Claims 18-21 and 26, the only other claims2
present in the application,
have been indicated as being allowable subject to the
requirement that they be rewritten to include all the subject
matter of the claims from which they depend. We reverse.
The appellants’ invention pertains to a medical suction
system and to a method for handling medical waste. Independent
claims 14 and 35 are further illustrative of the appealed subject
matter and read as follows:
14. A medical suction system comprising:
a suction canister for holding fluid drained from a
patient, said suction canister including a suction port
for communication with a vacuum source and a patient
port for communication with a patient, and
a cleaning station for removably supporting said
suction canister and for automatically draining and
cleaning said suction canister after said suction port
is disconnected from the vacuum source and said patient
port is disconnected from the patient.
35. A method for handling medical waste, said method
comprising the steps:
(a) collecting fluid from a patient in a stand-alone
suction canister having an interior, a suction port for
communication with a vacuum source, and a patient port
2Claims 25 and 31 have been amended subsequent to final
rejection by an amendment filed on March 20, 1995 (Paper No. 13).
Although the examiner has stated on page 1 of the answer that
this amendment has been entered, we observe that no clerical
entry thereof has in fact been made.
2
Page: Previous 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Next
Last modified: November 3, 2007