Appeal No. 2001-2363
Application 09/073,022
Brony includes a throughbore extending from an outer surface of
the stopper/link body to the interior of the container or vial,
the plug or valve member (72) of Brony does not extend into the
bore from a position sealing said outer surface of said stopper
as required in claim 30 on appeal. The plug or valve member (72)
of Brony is contained entirely within the stopper/link body and,
as we said above, does not extend “into said bore from a position
sealing said outer surface of said stopper” (emphasis added), as
required in appellant’s claim 30. It appears the examiner has
misconstrued the bottom surface of the stopper or link body (18
or 58) in Brony as being the recited “said outer surface of said
stopper,” which it is not. Accordingly, the examiner’s rejection
of claim 30 under 35 U.S.C. § 102(b) as being anticipated by
Brony will likewise not be sustained.1
1 Given the breadth of the subject matter defined in claims
21 through 30 before us on appeal, the examiner may wish to
consider a search in Class 222, “Dispensing.” In that regard, we
note that the claims on appeal do not require a medicine in the
container, or a syringe as the means for moving the plug into and
along the throughbore of the stopper, or that the plug must be
entirely contained within the throughbore and slidably moved
along and through the bore to allow dispensing of a material from
the container. Thus, the claims may be readable on dispensing a
fluid from a container by dabbing or spraying, wherein a movable
plug member is used to open a port and allow dispensing of a
material and then subsequently acts to close and reseal the
container when not in use.
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