Appeal No. 1997-3712
Application 08/474,340
lines 38-49). Glick teaches that an inner envelope6
traditionally used to hold tubing fluid is not needed a dry
suture is packaged (col. 16, lines 15-18), but indicates that
if a single envelope is used to package the suture, it is to
be a moistureproof envelope (col. 15, lines 6-8 and 49-51;
col. 16, lines 5-7). Glick’s moistureproof envelope is a
sealed laminate which is not disclosed as being strippable
(abstract; col. 7, lines 41-53; col. 9, lines 4-24).
Miller discloses a “package for sutures in which an inner
suture retainer is intimately connected to the sealed outer
envelope so that when the outer envelope is opened, the suture
end in the inner retainer is exposed for immediate pick-up”
(abstract). “The pulling force exerted when the envelope is
opened may occur both in envelopes which are opened by tearing
and in envelopes which are opened by stripping” (col. 1,
lines 54-57). The sealed outer envelope preferably is made of
6 As discussed regarding the rejection over Granowitz in
view of appellants’ admitted prior art, the materials
disclosed by Buccino are a polyethylene or polyvinyl film as
the inner layer and, as the outer layer a film of a polyester
or other film forming polymer such as polymers of polyhydric
alcohols and polycarboxylic acids (col. 1, lines 49-51 and
col. 1, line 63 - col. 2, line 11).
8
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