Appeal 2006-2882
Application 10/433,729
INTRODUCTION
Appellants invented a method for producing a steel hot strip having a
manganese content of more than 12 and up to 30 weight percent comprising
the following steps: (1) forming a roughed strip by casting a melt in a
double-roller casting machine, and (2) immediately after casting and without
reheating the roughed strip, hot-rolling the roughed strip in a single hot roll
pass through the a roll stand to the final thickness of the strip (Specification
1-2). By hot rolling immediately after casting, Appellants avoid reheating
the roughed strip that is required by conventional methods (Specification 3).
Claim 12 is illustrative:
12. A method for producing a steel hot strip with TWIP and TRIP
characteristics from a steel which comprises more than 12 weight % and up
to 30 weight % of manganese, comprising
casting a melt in a double-roller casting machine so as to form
a roughed strip at close to the final dimensions of said hot strip, said roughed
strip having a thickness of up to 6 mm,
immediately after said casting step and without reheating said
roughed strip, continuously processing said roughed strip by being hot rolled
in a roll stand in a single hot roll pass to the final thickness of the hot strip.
The Examiner relies on the following prior art references as evidence
of unpatentability:
Suzuki (as translated) JP 57-025950 Aug. 27, 1983
Guelton US 6,358,338 B1 Mar. 19, 2002
The rejections as presented by the Examiner are as follows:
1. Claims 12-14 and 18-25 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. § 102(e) as
unpatentable over Guelton.
2. Claims 15-17 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. § 103(a) as unpatentable
over Guelton in view of Suzuki.
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