Appeal No. 98-0393
Application No. 08/450,271
in order that its orientation conform with the vortex shape.
Paragraph 11 of the declaration of August 30, 1996 states:
Body shaping to conform with the shape of the vortex
as taught by my previous U.S. Patent No. 4,601,415
would inherently provide a center of gravity below a
center of buoyant support only in a limited range of
specific gravity for the regular tetrahedron shape
of the preferred embodiment in U.S. Patent No.
4,601,415.
However, the flaw in appellant's position is that the claims
presently on appeal do not preclude the weighted refractory
body of the reference. Hence, appellant's argument and
declaration evidence are not commensurate with the subject
matter within the scope of the appealed claims. Regarding
appellant's argument that the claimed relationship between
center of gravity and center of buoyant support is not
described in the reference, we adhere to the reasoning
articulated by the Board in the grandparent application, i.e.,
since the inhibitors of both appellant and Koffron have a
specific gravity which buoyantly supports the inhibitor at the
interface of the molten metal and slag layers, it follows that
the center of gravity of the reference inhibitor is below its
center of buoyancy in order to achieve the claimed feature
that the "body generally conforms with the shape of the vortex
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