Appeal No. 97-1119
Application 08/285,219
sails which would not substantially increase the surface area of
the platform as "small sails", appellants then state on page 24,
lines 2 to 12 (emphasis added);
In the context of our invention, "small" moveable vanes
or "sails" refers to the relationship between the
area(s) of the vane(s) or sail(s) and the total area of
the orbital platform. The total area available for
photon momentum transfer is the exterior of the
platform and the area(s) of the vane(s) or sail(s). In
the present invention, the addition of the surface area
of the vane(s) or sail(s) does not appreciably increase
the amount of area available for capturing photon
momentum. Rather, the addition of the surface area of
the vane(s) or sail(s) is useful in channeling the
photon momentum transfer in such a manner as to produce
a non-zero vector component in the desired direction.
We do not regard the above-quoted disclosure as sufficient
to provide a standard for measuring whether a solar sail would
substantially increase the platform's surface area. One could
not experiment to determine the limits of the claims (cf. Seattle
Box, 731 F.2d at 826, 221 USPQ at 574) because the disclosure
that the small sails do not "appreciably increase" the amount of
area available is no more definite than the "substantially
increase" language of claim 16. Nor do we find in the
specification any numerical examples from which the bounds of
"substantially increase" might be inferred (cf. In re Mattison,
id.). Accordingly, claim 16, and claims 17 to 22 dependent
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