Appeal No. 2001-0290 Page 4
Application No. 09/084,871
one-piece heavy duty forging (column 1, lines 49-52).
According to Mitchell, the unitary forged construction of
Mitchell’s steering knuckle assembly “not only provides for a
rugged and reliable connection, but also reduces the costs of
additional components as well as machining and the enlarged
connecting bosses which require additional steel for their
fabrication” (column 3, line 66, to column 4, line 3).
Mitchell’s one-piece forged knuckle assembly is provided with
openings 39, 40 for attachment to the brake disk but lacks
hydraulic brake caliper brackets formed as a pair of rails
projecting from said flanged body defining a c-shaped member
for directly engaging a brake caliper, as recited in claim 1.
Afanador discloses a knuckle assembly comprising a one-
piece base casting including the upper knuckle, brake rails,
steering arm and bosses and an integral spindle and lower
knuckle 14 formed as a hot forging for assembly with the base
casting. A spindle opening is machined in the base casting to
receive the spindle of the integral forged spindle and lower
knuckle. As illustrated in Figures 1 and 4, Afanador’s brake
rails are formed as a pair of caliper rails projecting from a
flanged body of the base casting defining a c-shaped member.
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Last modified: November 3, 2007