Appeal No. 2002-1117
Application No. 09/569,607
With regard to the graft connector of Figure 23 in Berg
'416, we note from the description thereof at column 8, lines 35-
41, that patentee describes the connector as a "stand-alone"
connector wherein the wire connectors (34) are attached to a ring
structure (104) which is attached to the outside surface of a
natural graft (106) by sutures (108). The connector and
associated graft of Figure 23 is apparently intended to be
installed in a suitable body conduit in the manner shown in
Figures 10a-10c of Berg. Contrary to the examiner's position, we
do not see that the connector of Figure 23 would be capable of
being disposed within the inside of a tubular graft conduit and
still function in the manner envisioned by Berg '416. In that
regard, we agree with appellants' comments on pages 9-10 of the
brief and pages 9-10 of the reply brief.
Simply stated, the examiner has provided no reasoning to
support a conclusion that the connector of Berg '416 (Fig. 23) is
structurally configured to be capable of functioning in the
manner required in the claims before us on appeal, particularly
claim 1. Even if the connector of Figure 23 may be capable of
being positioned inside the natural graft (106), the examiner has
not established that at least one set of the wire connectors (34)
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