Appeal No. 1998-1786 Page 7
Application No. 08/486,150
to the needle 12 to maintain sterility of the needle until
use. An end cap 15 may be fitted upon the distal end of the
capillary tube, and the entire assembly may be supplied in
sterile condition within a suitable wrapper (not shown).
White teaches (column 3, lines 52-65) that the
adapter-handle 11 is formed from a relatively soft resilient
elastomer and is composed of integral body and tip sections
11a and 11b, respectively. A bore 21 extends through the
adapter with that portion 21a of the bore within body section
11a tapering gradually inwardly for receiving and frictionally
retaining one end of microcapillary tube 13. The gradual
taper of bore portion 21a and the resiliency of the material
from which the adapter is formed not only insure that a tight
frictional seal will be formed between the end of the
capillary tube and the adapter but also permits the adapter to
form such engagement with standard capillary tubes of
different diameters and capacities.
White further teaches (column 4, lines 15-21) that
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