Appeal No. 1998-3055
Application No. 08/631,591
burner gas exit port height were known to be a result effective
variable, the examiner has not established that one of ordinary
skill in the art would have optimized it for the reason it was
optimized by the appellants, or would have optimized it for any
other reason which would have resulted in a height within the
range recited in the appellants’ claim 1. Alternatively, the
examiner has not established that burner gas exit port heights
of about 18 to about 36 inches above the glass surface were
conventional in the art. The appellants point out in the
background of the invention section of their specification (page
3) that placing low momentum oxy-fuel flames at least 12 inches
above a glass bath surface reduces volatilization of alkali
species from the glass surface. The examiner, however, has not
explored on the record whether this information was known in the
art at the time of the appellants’ invention, and has not relied
upon it, if it is prior art.
Regardless, the appellants’ claim 1 also requires that the
intersection of the walls and the crown of the furnace is
between about 5.5 feet and 9 feet above the glass surface. The
examiner similarly has not identified any basis for optimization
which would have resulted in a height within this range or,
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