Appeal No. 1999-2777
Application No. 08/985,835
subject matter embraced by claims 9 through 11 and 13 through
16 on appeal are reasonably clear and definite, and fulfill
the requirements of 35 U.S.C. § 112, second paragraph. More
particularly, we interpret the language in claims 9 through 11
and 13 through 16 relating to the size and shape of the spongy
covering and the funnel shaped receiving end in light of
appellant's specification and drawings, and conclude that one
skilled in this art would have understood that the requirement
in independent claim 13 that the funnel shaped receiving end
be "dimensioned for immediate surrounding engagement with the
urethra of the penis" means that the funnel shaped receiving
end (44) is of a size to completely encompass the exit opening
of the urethra of a given male patient and to engage an area
of the penis immediately adjacent to the opening of the
urethra, as seen in Figure 4 of appellant's drawings.
As for the requirement in independent claim 9 that the
spongy covering attached to the funnel shaped end is "shaped
so as to conform to the area immediately surrounding the
urethra," we consider that the skilled artisan would have
understood from appellant's disclosure that this means that
5
Page: Previous 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 Next
Last modified: November 3, 2007