Appeal No. 2000-0068
Application 08/858,116
raised. The lifting frame is maintained in close proximity to or
in light contact with the underside of the heated glass sheet.
When the vacuum platen reaches its uppermost position the lifting
frame continues to move upwardly to bring the shaping rails 124
"into close proximity to the curved shaping surfaces of the
shaping blocks 120" (column 12, lines 11 through 16). Preferably,
vacuum is drawn through the shaping blocks 120 to maintain the
adjacent portions of the heated glass sheet in contact with the
shaping blocks as the lifting frame 126 is lowered to its
retracted position (column 12, lines 16 through 20). Thereafter,
the vacuum is released in the flat vacuum platen 40 and in the
shaping blocks 120 and the glass sheet is dropped onto the
shaping mold 128 to further shape the flat central portion and
wherein the relatively deep bend in the side portions of the
glass sheet is retained or further deepened (column 12, lines 24
through 31). The examiner relies on McMaster and Kuster as
evidence that "quenching rings" were well known in the art of
glass shaping for transporting a shaped sheet of glass from the
shaping station to a quenching station.
We consider appellants' argument that Seymour is directed to
a different process than claimed is founded on too narrow a
reading of both claim 10 and Seymour's disclosure. Claim 10
merely requires that a "suction mold" is lowered toward the
heated sheet of glass so that the shaping surface of the "suction
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