Appeal No. 98-0393
Application No. 08/450,271
This is an appeal from the final rejection of claims 9-20
and 22. Claims 1-8 and 21, the other claims remaining in the
present application, have been allowed by the examiner. Claim
9 is illustrative:
9. A method of discharging a molten metal from a
receptacle having a discharge nozzle comprising:
opening said discharge nozzle;
inserting a tapered, uniform refractory body not a
regular tetrahedron, with a specific gravity less than the
specific gravity of the molten metal, at the level of molten
metal before said level of molten metal reaches a critical
level in the receptacle, and
maintaining the body in an upright orientation in which
said body generally conforms with vortex shape at least along
a submerged portion of the body by geometrically proportioning
the uniform refractory material of the body by shaping other
than as a regular tetrahedron so that the center of gravity is
below the center of buoyant support.
In the rejection of the appealed claims, the examiner
relies upon the following reference:
Koffron 4,601,415 July 22, 1986
Appellant's claimed invention is directed to a method of
discharging a molten metal through a nozzle of a receptacle
wherein a tapered refractory body having non-regular
tetrahedron shape is inserted at the level of the molten metal
before it reaches a critical level in the receptacle. The
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