Appeal No. 96-1391
Application 08/170,503
bladder itself is not packaged within
another element. This distinction has
practical importance, for example, when
combined with the teaching of using a
sterile packaging surface in contact with
the body tissue. The present invention
provides separate elements such that the
sterile surface can be constructed, cleaned
and/or replaced independently of the air
bladder.
The examiner does not appear to have responded to this
argument.
Looking first at claim 3, it is recited that “said
inflatable means is disposed within said packaging element.”
This limitation is not found in Sconce, since the one wall 14
of the inflatable means constitutes part of the “packaging
element,” rather than the inflatable means being within a
packaging element. We find nothing in the combination of
Sconce and Byrd which would suggest this claimed construction,
and therefore will not sustain the rejection of claim 3.
Claim 2, on the other hand, recites only that “said
inflatable means, first means, and self contained means are
included at least in part within a packaging element”
(emphasis added). This limitation is met by Sconce, in that
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