Appeal No. 2003-2036 Page 6
Application No. 09/961,198
axially and proximally from body 212 to the proximal end of outer member 202. Arms
216 are circumferentially spaced around the periphery of outer member 202 by a pair of
keyhole-shaped slots 218 which are separated by 180 degrees. Each slot 218 has a
relatively narrow neck 219 that extends axially from the proximal end of outer member
and terminates in an enlarged aperture 220 adjacent to the junction between body 212
and arms 216. DiPoto teaches (column 9, lines 38-40) that "[e]nlarged apertures 220
help ensure that arms 216 are sufficiently flexible at body 212 to expand radially." In
use, with outer and inner members 202, 204 assembled as shown in Figure 9B, suture
anchor 200 is inserted into a bone hole. Inner member 204 is then threaded into outer
member 202 so that conical head 208 engages arms 216 and urges arms 216 to
expand radially outwardly into the bone. The enlarged apertures 220 of slots 218 both
facilitate the expansion of arms 216 and help ensure that arms 216 flex at the locations
of apertures 218 rather than more proximally.
In the rejection under 35 U.S.C. § 103 before us in this appeal (final rejection, pp.
2-3) , the examiner (1) ascertained1 that Torrie disclosed the claimed invention "except
for the slit having a wider opening at a proximal end[2];" and (2) determined that it would
1 After the scope and content of the prior art are determined, the differences between the prior art
and the claims at issue are to be ascertained. Graham v. John Deere Co., 383 U.S. 1, 17-18, 148 USPQ
459, 467 (1966).
2 Independent claims 1 and 5 recite that "the proximal end of the slit opening into an aperture
wider than the slit whereby to reduce stress on the body at the slit proximal end."
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