Appeal No. 1999-1047 Page 6
Application No. 08/238,598
At the outset, we voice our agreement with the examiner that the appellants have
utilized the term “plate” in a manner which is so broad as to fairly allow it to include the
cylindrical sleeve disclosed by Kessler. This is based in the fact that the entire structure
shown in Figure 3 has been labeled “the gas distribution plate” (emphasis added)
throughout the specification (see, for example, page 6, lines 1 and 2). This element is not
a “plate” in the sense of the applicable common definition of the term (a smooth, flat piece
3
of material), but is a complex, three-dimensional structure that includes, as illustrated in
Figure 3, horizontal substantially flat walls connected by a vertical cylindrical wall. In view of
this use of the term “plate” by the appellants, it is our view that the cylindrical gas ejecting
panel 9 of Awaya, and the cylindrical base 34 and cover 44 of Kessler, also can be
interpreted as being “plates” in evaluating the issue of the obviousness of the subject
matter recited in the appellants’ representative claim 3.
Awaya discloses a deposition apparatus in which gases flow from a holder through
a gas distribution plate (gas ejecting chamber 9) on their way to being deposited upon a
substrate. Control of the temperature of the gas distribution plate is provided by means of
a plurality of annular passages 14 formed in the outer wall thereof, through which fluid flows
from a heat exchanger (Figure 10). The manner in which the passages are formed is not
disclosed, but it could be surmised from the representation in the drawings that they are
3See, for example, Webster’s New Collegiate Dictionary, 1973, page 880.
Page: Previous 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 Next
Last modified: November 3, 2007