Appeal 2007-1488
Application 10/809,072
1 STATEMENT OF THE CASE
2 Applicants appeal under 35 U.S.C. § 134(a) (2006) from a rejection of
3 claims 1-12, 15, 17-30, and 33-35, which are all the claims pending in the
4 subject application. (Appeal Brief received October 26, 2006.) We have
5 jurisdiction under 35 U.S.C. § 6(b) (2006).
6 Applicants state that they have invented “systems for producing high
7 performance single crystal investment cast components,” which “may allow
8 a production yield of at least 50% or greater to be achieved therefrom.”
9 (Specification 3, ¶[0007].) In the Background of the Invention, Applicants
10 describe investment casting, which is prior art, as follows (Specification,
11 ¶[0002]):
12 Investment casting has been used for many years to
13 create near-net shape components that require minimal further
14 machining after casting. Investment casting allows complex
15 parts with intricate internal passages to be created. Generally,
16 in the investment casting process, an injection molded wax
17 pattern of a part is produced. The wax pattern may contain
18 ceramic or refractory cores therein for creating the intricate
19 internal passages in the finished component. Once formed, the
20 wax pattern is encased in several layers of ceramic material to
21 form a ceramic shell mold of the part. The wax is then removed
22 from the ceramic shell mold via heating, and the ceramic shell
23 mold is then fired and sintered in an oven. Thereafter, molten
24 metal is poured into the ceramic shell mold, filling the cavities
25 therein created by the evacuated or “lost” wax. The molten
26 metal may then be selectively cooled to produce a final cast
27 component having a desired controlled grain structure.
28 Thereafter, the ceramic shell mold is removed, and the cast
29 component can be heat treated, if desired, to strengthen the
30 component and homogenize the metallurgical structure thereof.
31
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