Appeal No. 2002-0396
Application No. 08/331,280
skill in the art to end Pray’s inner tube at an intermediate
point to provide this benefit (answer, pages 4-5).
Sepetka discloses a microtube having an outer tube, three
inner tube sections which increase in flexibility from the
proximal end to the distal end, and a fourth section at the
distal end which has no inner tube and is the most flexible of
the four sections (col. 2, lines 21-23 and 57-65; col. 3,
lines 65-67; figure 2).
Pray’s outer tube comprises, as the proximal section, a
composite polyimide-encased stainless steel braid tube and, as
the distal section, a polyethylene tube having no stainless steel
braid (col. 3, lines 27-30 and 61-65; col. 5, lines 24-25 and
43). The composite polyimide-encased stainless steel braid tube
which comprises the proximal section provides enhanced
pushability (col. 3, lines 63). One of ordinary skill in the art
would not have been led by the applied prior art to remove the
inner polyimide layer at an intermediate point because doing so
would make the proximal section more flexible, thereby reducing
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