Appeal No. 2001-1418
Application 08/022,822
now recited in claims 39 and 51, notwithstanding the lack of
literal support in the specification for some of the language
employed in these claims.
Hence, the examiner’s concern that the appellant’s
specification fails to comply with the enablement and written
description requirements with respect to the subject matter
recited in claims independent 39 and 51 is unfounded.
Accordingly, we shall not sustain the standing 35 U.S.C. § 112,
first paragraph, rejection of claims 39 and 51, and dependent
claims 40, 41 and 52.
II. The 35 U.S.C. § 102(b) rejection
Gammons discloses a fluid circulation pad used to treat
muscle injury, surgical wounds and the like. In Gammons’ words,
FIG. 1 shows a patient treatment pad 1 which is
formed by a pair of flexible thermoplastic panels
sealed together about a peripheral seal 2 to define a
sealed internal chamber with an inlet port 3 connected
to an inlet tube 4. An outlet port 5 is sealed to an
outlet tube 6. Inlet tube 4 and outlet tube 6 have
connectors 7 and 8 connected to their respective ends.
A circulating pump (not shown) can join to connectors 7
and 8.
The fluid circulating pad is segregated into a
series of fields 9, 10, 11 and 12 by partitions such as
13 and 14. It is preferable to have the major fields
connected in series, such as in serpentine fashion as
shown in FIG. 1. Thus as liquid enters inlet tube 4,
it is forced to flow in a serpentine manner as shown by
dotted line 15. . . .
Within each partitioned field of the pad are a
series of intersecting passages with portions having
7
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