Appeal 2007-2837
Application 10/924,498
of rejection in this appeal essentially for the reasons stated in the Answer, as
well as those reasons set forth below.2
OPINION
We determine the following factual findings from the record in this
appeal:
(1) Liu discloses a casting mold comprising a sacrificial pattern using
a porous powder article made by a rapid prototyping process to
produce a cast article, where molten metal is cast through a sprue
into the mold (Abstract; ¶¶ [0002], [0007], [0011], [0014], and
[0045]);
(2) Liu discloses that “rapid prototyping” refers to a class of
technologies that construct physical models on a layer-by-layer
basis to produce a three – dimensional article made of powder
bonded by a polymer binder from Computer-Aided Design (CAD)
data in relatively short time periods (¶¶ [0007], [0008], and [0033]
through [0039]);
(3) Liu discloses a method of producing “molds” by making a porous
powder article by employing rapid prototyping, making a “casting
mold” by using the porous powder article, optionally with a
ceramic coating, surrounded by casting sand in a casting flask, and
poring molten metal into the mold (¶¶ [0011], [0013], and [0014]);
and
2 Appellants only present arguments reasonably specific to claim 1 on appeal
(e.g., Br. 6). Therefore, we limit our consideration to claim 1 in this appeal.
4
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