Appeal 2006-3416
Application 10/884,751
it would be interpreted by one of ordinary skill in the art.” In re Am. Acad. of Sci.
Tech. Ctr., 367 F.3d 1359, 1364, 70 USPQ2d 1827, 1830 (Fed. Cir. 2004).
ANALYSIS
Claim Interpretation
We first construe the meaning of the claimed “flange” based on its ordinary
and customary meaning and taking into account the description in the Specification
and how one of ordinary skill in the art would interpret the term. The customary
and ordinary meaning of “flange” is “[a] protruding rim, edge, rib, or collar, as on
a wheel or a pipe shaft, used to strengthen an object, hold it in place, or attach it to
another object” (Finding of Fact 1). The customary and ordinary meaning of
“protrude,” as an intransitive verb, is “[t]o jut out; project” (Finding of Fact 2). As
such, we interpret the claimed flange to mean a portion of the anastomosis device
that juts out from the central region, as in a protruding rim, edge, rib, or collar, and
is used to attach the device to another object. This definition is consistent with the
use of the term flange in Appellants’ Specification, which consistently describes
the flange as extending radially outwardly from the central connecting portion of
the device (Finding of Fact 3).
Rejection of Claims 3, 11-14, 17, 20 and 21 under 35 U.S.C. § 102(e)
The Examiner found that Furst’s graft includes two flanges (Answer 4-5).
The Examiner, however, failed to provide us with any interpretation of the term
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