Appeal No. 96-4107
Application No. 08/368,262
Common to all of the claims is the requirement that the
connector have a spiked end to mate with the outlet of a
compressible bag of sterile solution and a nozzle end of such
size and shape as to friction fit inside the hub of an IV
catheter. It immediately strikes us that if “connector” is
given its broadest interpretation, that is, any device that
connects one object to another, all of the subject matter of
some of the claims, and significant portions of others, reads
on a conventional IV tubing set, which has on one end the
required spike and on the other end the required nozzle.
However, it is clear from the appellant’s disclosure that this
is not what is intended; the appellant actually intends that
“connector” have a much more limited scope, which does not
read on conventional IV tubing sets. This conclusion is
supported in the specification. Early on, appellant
acknowledges that conventional IV tubing sets and catheters
have been used with compressible bags of fluids to irrigate
wounds. He then explains that this arrangement suffered from
several disadvantages, including not allowing the user to
easily provide sufficient force to the stream of irrigation
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