Appeal No. 2002-1352
Application 09/051,975
Independent claims 9 and 18 on appeal define appellants’
method of manufacturing a two-piece wheel as including, inter
alia, the step of joining an alloy material center part to an
alloy material rim part “by at least one circumferential weld
seam” (claim 1) or by “preparing at least two circumferential
weld joints . . . [wherein] at least a portion of the first weld
joint and at least a portion of the second weld joint are
non-parallel” (claim 18). Both of the independent claims go on
to indicate that the weld or welds are formed by “friction stir
welding” of the center part to the rim part.
In the examiner’s view, Stach ‘415 teaches a method like
that set forth in the claims on appeal, except that Stach ‘415
does not mention friction stir welding. More particularly, Stach
‘415 teaches a method of manufacturing a two-piece wheel
including an alloy material center part (3) and an alloy material
rim part (2), wherein the two parts are joined together by at
least one circumferential weld seam (S1, S2, S3) formed by “a
welding process; such as a fusion welding, a laser welding or an
electron beam welding . . .” (Col. 3, lines 10-12). In column 2,
lines 3-8, Stach ‘415 notes that the shell parts (2, 3)
4
Page: Previous 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 Next
Last modified: November 3, 2007