Appeal No. 1999-0712 Page 2
Application No. 08/748,669
BACKGROUND
The appellants' invention relates generally to balloon expandable stents and, in
particular, to a flexible stent having a waveform pattern formed from a sheet of biocompatible
material and into a cylindrical surface or tubular shape (specification, page 1). Further
understanding of the invention can be derived from a reading of exemplary claims 41 and 42,
which are reproduced in the opinion section of this decision.
The prior art references of record relied upon by the examiner in rejecting the appealed
claims are:
Wolff 5,104,404 Apr. 14, 1992
Samson 5,370,691 Dec. 6, 1994
(filed Jan. 26, 1993)
Schatz 364,787 Apr. 25, 1990
(European patent application)
The following rejections stand before us for review.
1. Claims 41, 42, 46-48, 50-53, 55 and 58-61 stand rejected under 35 U.S.C. § 103 as
being unpatentable over Schatz in view of Wolff.
2. Claims 43-45, 54, 56 and 57 stand rejected under 35 U.S.C. § 103 as being
unpatentable over Schatz in view of Wolff, as applied to claims 41, 42, 46-48, 50-53, 55 and
58-61 above, and further in view of Samson.
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