Appeal 2007-0950
Application 11/099,264
nanoparticles while leaving the microspheres unmelted” is exemplified (id.
col. 8, l. 66, to col. 9, l. 9, and Example 8). Strutt discloses “conventional
powders used in thermal spray coating” can include powder agglomerates
with particle sizes 5 to 25 microns with minimum size of the constituent
particles in the range of 1 to 0.5 microns, and in contrast, nanostructured
constituent particles range from 1 to 100 nanometers (id. col. 3, ll. 17-27).
Strutt also discloses a method in which nanostructured coatings are
formed from nanoparticles prepared in situ using metalorganic aerosol
feedstocks generated ultrasonically (Strutt col. 4, ll. 12-16 ). Strutt
illustrates in Fig. 5, aerosol 84 of liquid metalorganic precursor 80 is formed
by ultrasonic nozzle 82 and thus sprayed into plasma flame 86 at the exit
nozzle of a plasma gun, yielding nanoparticles 90 (id. col. 9, ll. 11-27).
We find Peterson would have disclosed to one of ordinary skill in this
art that in conventional plasma spray deposit processes, a gas-fluidized
particle stream is injected into the plasma effluent (Peterson col. 1,
ll. 23-46). Peterson discloses a method of applying a plasma spray coating
in which a spray deposit coating can be formed in a conventional system by
injecting a gas-fluidized stream of fine particles 22 through conduit 16 into
plasma effluent 14 in which conduit 16 can be configured with respect to
plasma generator 10 in at least the two ways illustrated in Fig. 1. First,
conduit 16 is positioned through anode 11 into the channel leading to exit
orifice 19 at a point after plasma formation via arch 15 in chamber 20. And,
second, conduit 16 is mounted on the outer surface of anode 11 below exit
orifice 19. See id., col. 3, ll. 3-11, and col. 3, l. 65, to col. 4, l. 21.
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