Appeal No. 2005-0614 Application No. 09/171,735 strip through the first deformation stage to form a continuous intermediate strip without subjecting the continuous intermediate strip to any cutting to form an intermediate coil. Further details of this appealed subject matter are set forth in representative independent claim 6 which reads as follows:1 6. A process for producing hot-rolled steel strip from a continuously cast precursor strip, comprising the steps of: receiving, at a first deformation stage having at least one roll stand, the continuous precursor strip of a complete casting sequence directly from a continuous casting plant in which the continuous precursor strip is produced; rolling the continuous precursor strip through the first deformation stage to form a continuous intermediate strip; coiling the continuous intermediate strip without subjecting said continuous intermediate strip to any cutting to form an intermediate coil having an intermediate coil weight comprising at least 40 tons; uncoiling the continuous intermediate strip from the intermediate coil to supply a second deformation stage having at least one roll stand; rolling the continuous intermediate strip through the second deformation stage to form a finished strip; producing a plurality of finished coils from the finished strip by coiling the finished strip and severing the finished strip 1 As pointed out by the Examiner on page 2 of the answer (and not disputed by the Appellants), the claim 6 reproduction which appears in the appendix of the brief is inaccurate. Rather than elucidate this inaccuracy, suffice it to say that our assessment of the rejection before us is based upon the actual wording of this claim. 2Page: Previous 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 NextLast modified: November 3, 2007