Appeal No. 1997-4292 Page 9
Application No. 08/515,344
constricted and expanded diameters of stent 100 typically fall
in the ranges of 1.0-3.5 mm and 3.5-10.0 mm, respectively.
The examiner's position with respect to claims 1 to 4 is
that Pinchasik discloses a stent with a plurality of
expandable cells with a folded bridge in at least one cell.
The examiner states that
Fig. 2C best shows the bridges which are considered by
the examiner to be the upper and lower side segments of
the diamonds in the middle of the stent. The examiner
notes that in Figs. 2A, 2B, the bridges are initially
arranged in a folded condition. A "cell", as interpreted
by the examiner, is best shown in Fig. 2C, but it would
be present in Figs. 2A and 2B also. A "cell" is
considered by the examiner to be two adjacent diamonds
and the elongated rectangular section on either side of
the intersection point of the two diamonds. Thus as seen
by the examiner, each "cell" contains two adjacent
bridges that are connected together at their middle. It
is an inherent function of the stent and bridges that if
the stent is expanded far enough, the bridges will
straighten out and form a continuous ring around the
middle of the stent.
The appellant argues (brief, p. 2) that Pinchasik lacks
the claimed "bridge" which initially starts in a folded
condition and which expands (i.e., lengthens) to form an arc
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