Appeal No. 97-0938
Application 08/292,502
The invention relates to a device which is adapted to be
mounted on a conventional eye drop squeeze bottle to facilitate
the administration of medication to a patient’s eye. Claim 15 is
illustrative and reads as follows:
15. An eye drop dispensing device for a squeeze bottle
dispenser for administering fluid eye medication in drop dosages
to an eye of a patient, said device comprising:
a cylindrical, dome-shaped collar, said collar including an
opening extending along a collar axis, said opening adapted to
receive a dispenser nozzle of the dispenser;
attachment means to secure said collar to the dispenser; and
a positioning means for assisting in an eversion of a lower
eyelid to form a bowed configuration suitable to receive drops of
the medication deposited from the outlet opening when the
patients’ head is in an erect orientation to provide a
corresponding horizontal primary gaze position to a patient’s eye
selected to receive medication, the dispensed eye drop dropping
vertically from the outlet opening to contact the bowed
configuration of the eyelid before any contact with the eye, said
positioning means extending away from said collar and including
an outer end such that an axial displacement measured along said
collar axis, between an edge of said outer end of said
positioning means adjacent the outlet opening when the dispenser
is attached to said device, and the outlet opening, is less than
about 10 mm.2
2The term “the outlet opening” as it appears in claim 15
lacks a proper antecedent basis, an informality which is
deserving of correction in the event of further prosecution
before the examiner. Given the underlying disclosure, we
understand this term to refer to the outlet opening on the nozzle
of the bole dispenser.
-2-
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Last modified: November 3, 2007