Appeal No. 95-0423
Application 07/696,859
controlling flow of fluid through the shunt means. The
specification then goes on to disclose structures, i.e.,
inflatable member 52 in the form of a porous balloon carried
by the shunt (see, for example, page 17, lines 2-5) and porous
plug 40 inserted into the aperture of the shunt (page 15, line
30 through page 16, line 8) for controlling the rate of flow.
In that we do not find any such hollow balloon member or plug
or equivalents thereof disclosed in or suggested by Ritch, we
conclude that the examiner has not made out a prima facie case
of anticipation of claims 1, 20 and 32 based on Ritch.
We shall sustain the rejection of claims 16, 28 and 29 as
being anticipated by Ritch, since appellant concedes on pages
10-11 that these claims would be properly subject to rejection
under 35 U.S.C. § 102(e) by Ritch if Ritch is available as a
reference.
We shall not sustain the rejection of claims 17-19, 25,
27 and 31 as being unpatentable over Ritch.
Each of these claims, in one form or another, calls for a
tapered portion on the shunt that increases in radial extent
from one end of the shunt to the other. In addition, claim 25
calls for the tapered portion to be angled relative to the
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