Appeal 2007-2807
Reexamination 90/006,511
Patent 5,156,811
Another type of valve that has been described for use in
apparatus for aspirating body fluids from the site of a body
wound and in other types of apparatus, for example, a pipette, is
disclosed in U.S. Patent No. 3,982,538.
The above-quoted text does not support the patentee’s assertion. The
distinction is between an apparatus for aspirating body fluids from the site of
a body wound and a pipette, not between aspiration devices and a pipette.
That is also consistent with the dictionary meaning of “aspirate,” according
to Merriam-Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary (10th ed. 1999): draw by
suction. It is not subject to dispute and the patentee does not dispute that a
pipette does operate by aspiration. A pipette is an aspiration device, as was
correctly determined by the Examiner. (Answer 11:21).
The patentee has not shown error in the Examiner’s finding that Ferri
teaches using its plug in a pipette. Note in particular the following
paragraph (Ferri 6:6-10):
Accordingly, the present invention is directed to the
provision of improved valve and/or filtering means which can
be adapted for use in various types of applications, including
particularly, aspirating systems of the type described above.
And assuming that a pipette does not operate by aspiration, it is still a prior
art application described earlier in the Field of Invention section of Ferri’s
disclosure, and the above-quoted paragraph suggests using the plug in all
earlier described applications.
All of the claims require a suction device for applying suction to a
pipette. The pipette referred to in Ferri and illustrated in Sharpe (U.S. Patent
3,982,538) has a mouth piece 11 (Sharpe 4:5-17; Figs. 7-8). A user provides
the necessary suction by drawing in air through the mouth. The patentee
13
Page: Previous 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 Next
Last modified: September 9, 2013