Appeal No. 2000-1763 Page 10
Application No. 09/227,037
Merely by way of example, U.S. Patent No. 5,167,623 , issued December 1, 1992 to3
Cianci et al., discloses a multi-lumen catheter (tubular device) comprising an outer tube 18 and
an inner tube 20 made of a softer material than that of the outer tube 18 (abstract and column 3,
lines 5-13). A lumen 24 is defined between the inner wall 26 of the outer tube 18 and the
outer wall 28 of the inner tube 20 and extends throughout the entire length of the tube 18.
Additional lumens 30, 32 are defined by the inner tube 20 (column 3, lines 14-24). While the
Cianci patent does not disclose the details of forming the tubes 18 and 20 so as to form the
multi-lumen catheter, other than to mention that the lumens 30, 32 may be formed by extrusion,
the steps of forming the tube 20 from a first soft material and the tube 18 from a less soft
second material (as broadly recited in claim 15) must inherently be included in the method of
forming. While the inner tube 20 is not disclosed as forming a seal around a nipple for sealing
against fluid leakage, the relatively soft inner tube 20 appears to us to be capable of forming
such a seal around a nipple of appropriate size, material and surface characteristics. Thus, this
application is remanded to the examiner for consideration, on the record, of the patentability of
the appellant's claims (particularly claim 15) over the Cianci patent (either alone or in
combination with other prior art references) or other prior art references.
3This patent was cited by the appellant in Paper No. 4 during prosecution of the application for patent.
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