Appeal No. 1997-3015
Application No. 08/441,794
Claim 36, the sole independent claim, is representative
and reads as follows:3
36. A specimen containment assembly, comprising:
a lid;
a plate defining a plurality of individual sample
containment chambers, said chambers each having an open end
and a closed end, said closed ends and said plate being formed
of a substantially fluid impermeable material;
a fluid impermeable gasket interposed between said lid
and said plate;
said lid defining a plurality of openings in register
with said open ends of said chambers to provide access to said
chambers; and
a clamp for clamping said lid, plate and gasket together
such that said gasket is compressed between said lid and
plate;
said lid, plate, and gasket cooperating to hermetically
seal said individual sample containment chambers.
Appellant urges that "Hermetic" is defined as "made
airtight by fusion or sealing" ... and, with respect to the
primary reference, "the Fernwood device could not hermetically
seal a sample in containment wells" (brief, page 6). It is
asserted that "[t]he key to Applicant's invention is that
samples can be fully (hermetically) sealed within the
chambers, but can still be 'accessed' through the holes in the
lid. Access may be via a self-sealing gasket or visual access
through a membrane, for example a fluid impermeable membrane.
3 The claimed embodiment is described in appellant's specification at page 13
lines 26-30, however, it is not shown in the drawings.
4
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