Appeal 2007-1170
Application 10/971,698
A container for vaporizing a solid material to form a layer on a
surface of a structure in a chamber, comprising:
a housing * * * a cover * * *
including a plurality of apertures * * *; and
a baffle without openings disposed between the cover
and the solid material to prevent a direct line of sight
between the solid material and the plurality of apertures,
the baffle being spaced from the cover to control a
flow of vaporized material into a region between
the baffle and the cover to promote uniformity of
the vapor efflux from the plurality of apertures,
wherein a ratio of the interior volume of the housing to a
volume of the region between the baffle and the cover is at least
approximately 20:1.
(Emphasis added.)
The Examiner found, and Freeman does not dispute, that Freeman 013
discloses the structures and elements, generally disposed with respect to one
another as required by the claims, but for the volume-ratio requirement and
the accompanying discussion of the flow of the vaporized material. The
Examiner found further that the position of the baffle was recognized to be a
result-effective variable, and that the invention would have been an
optimization within the ordinary skill of the art, and therefore obvious.
Freeman's argument that the references provide no teachings or
guidance as to the ratio of volumes recited in the appealed claims is not
supported by the references themselves. Freeman 013 states that "lateral
device dimensions can be in a range of 50–500 millimeter[s]," but does not
disclose the length of the baffle, the interior length of the container, the
interior width of the container, or the interior depth of the container.
However, Freeman 013 discloses that length of the aperture (or the total
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