Appeal No. 2000-0178
Application 08/686,630
processed surface thereof (col. 4, lines 3-10). While the
patentee mentions in column 15, lines 13-15, that such processing
can be useful with non-metals such as ceramics and polymers as
well as with metals, we observe that in column 13, lines 45-50,
it is specifically indicated that the target (11) “typically
comprises at least one metal, alloy, intermetallic compound, or
other metallic material” (emphasis added). The laser processing
disclosed in Epstein (‘957) appears to be identical to that
broadly set forth in appellants’ claims 11 through 13, 15 and 16
on appeal. See particularly, columns 16 and 17 of Epstein (‘957),
wherein the target surface to be processed (e.g., an
intermetallic target) is coated with an ablative layer (26) of,
for example, paint and then provided with a confining medium in
the form of flowing water forming a flowing fluid curtain over
the coated surface, and then subjected to the firing of a laser
beam on the coated surface with sufficient power to vaporize the
ablative layer and form a region in the intermetallic body having
compressive residual stresses imparted by the laser beam pulsing
such that the region extends into the intermetallic body from the
laser shock processed surface. The use of multiple laser pulses
to achieve a given level of residual stresses and the use of
overlapping pulses to permit treatment of larger surface areas is
12
Page: Previous 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 Next
Last modified: November 3, 2007