Appeal No. 2001-0882 Page 2
Application No. 08/950,965
1. A particulate materials consolidation system
comprising:
a particulate material die for receiving a particulate
material to be consolidated;
a first punch and a second punch which cooperate with
said particulate material die to compress the particulate
material;
a power source coupled to said first and second punches
to energize said particulate material to a predetermined
energy level for a duration of at least .1 second at a
current of less than about 10KA/cm2 when said particulate
material is being consolidated; and
feedback control coupled to said punches and said power
source for monitoring a characteristic of said particulate
material when it is being consolidated and generating a
feedback signal in response thereto;
said power source adjusting said predetermined energy
level in response to said feedback signal while said
particulate material is being consolidated such that said
particulate material achieves at least 95 percent of its
maximum theoretical density.
The prior art references of record relied upon by the
examiner in rejecting the appealed claims are:
Inoue (Inoue ‘029) 3,508,029 Apr. 21, 1970
Inoue (Inoue ‘805) 3,873,805 Mar. 25, 1975
Knoss et al. (Knoss) 5,529,746 Jun. 25, 1996
Claims 1, 2 and 15-17 stand rejected under 35 U.S.C. § 103
as being unpatentable over Inoue ‘029 in view of Inoue ‘805.
Claims 8-14 stand rejected under 35 U.S.C. § 103 as being
unpatentable over Inoue ‘029 in view of Inoue ‘805 and Knoss.
Page: Previous 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Next
Last modified: November 3, 2007