Ex parte Schurko et al.

Board of Patent Appeals and Interferences

Jul 14, 1998

08128051 (B.P.A.I. Jul. 14, 1998)

Application for patent filed September 28, 1993. According to1
appellants, the application is a continuation of Application 07/742,770, filed
August 9, 1991, now abandoned.
1
THIS OPINION WAS NOT WRITTEN FOR PUBLICATION
The opinion in support of the decision being entered today (1) was not written
for publication in a law journal and (2) is not binding precedent of the Board.
Paper No. 27
UNITED STATES PATENT AND TRADEMARK OFFICE
_____________
BEFORE THE BOARD OF PATENT APPEALS
AND INTERFERENCES
_____________
Ex parte ROBERT J. SCHURKO
and FRANK G. SPENNATI
_____________
Appeal No. 95-2637
Application 08/128,0511
______________
ON BRIEF
_______________
Before RONALD H. SMITH, KIMLIN and PAK, Administrative Patent
Judges.
RONALD H. SMITH, Administrative Patent Judge.
DECISION ON APPEAL
This is an appeal from the final rejection of claims 1-17,
all the pending claims in the application.
The subject matter relates to a method for controlling the
rolling temperature of the steel pieces by continuously modifying
conditions in the reheat furnace in a steel mill. Claim 4 is
Appeal No. 95-2637
Application 08/128,051
2
illustrative of the appealed claims and is included in the
appendix.
The reference relied on by the examiner is:
Veslocki et al. (Veslocki), ?Automatic Slab Heating Control at
Inland's 80-in. Hot Strip Mill?, AISE Year Book, 1986, pp 577-
584.
Claims 1-17 stand rejected under 35 USC § 103 as
unpatentable over Veslocki. We reverse. Since we are in
substantial agreement with appellants' position as set forth in
the brief, we adopt that position as our own.
The decision of the examiner is reversed.
REVERSE
)
RONALD H. SMITH )
Administrative Patent Judge )
)
)
) BOARD OF PATENT
EDWARD C. KIMLIN )
Administrative Patent Judge ) APPEALS AND
)
) INTERFERENCES
)
CHUNG K. PAK )
Administrative Patent Judge )
Appeal No. 95-2637
Application 08/128,051
3
Frederick B. Ziesenheim
WEBB, BURDEN, ZIESENHEIM & WEBB
700 Koppers Building
436 7th Avenue
Pittsburgh, PA 15219-1818
Appeal No. 95-2637
Application 08/128,051
4
APPENDIX
4. In a steel mill comprising a reheat furnace for
heating the steel pieces and a rolling mill for reducing the
steel pieces, a method of controlling the rolling temperature of
the steel pieces at a position in the rolling mill by
continuously, dynamically modifying conditions in the reheat
furnace comprising the steps of:
selecting from a mill practice table relating an
initial aim discharge temperature of the steel pieces from the
reheat furnace and an aim temperature of the steel pieces in the
rolling mill for specific grades, product shapes and sizes;
using a reheat furnace model for calculating a
calculated discharge temperature from the reheat furnace of a
steel piece based upon grade, size, tracking information and
measured temperatures in the reheat furnace, wherein said
calculation of a reheat furnace discharge temperature is repeated
for each steel piece leaving the reheat furnace;
modifying furnace conditions to drive said
calculated discharge temperature to said aim discharge
temperature;
measuring a temperature of the steel piece in the
rolling mill, wherein said measuring of the steel piece
temperature is repeated for each steel piece passing through the
rolling mill;
determining a ratio between said calculated
discharge temperature from the reheat furnace and said measured
rolling mill temperatures for steel pieces in the mill;
statistically filtering said ratios to remove
extreme values of said ratios based upon time in the rolling mill
to provide filtered ratios;
Appeal No. 95-2637
Application 08/128,051
5
generating a moving average of said filtered
ratios to provide a current filtered relationship between said
calculated discharge temperatures and said measured rolling mill
temperatures;
comparing said aim rolling mill temperatures with
said measured rolling mill temperatures of pieces in the mill to
establish error values;
statistically filtering said error values to
remove extreme values of said error values based upon time in the
mill to provide filtered error values;
generating a moving average of said filtered error
values;
determining a short-term bias to said aim
discharge temperatures as a function of said filtered error
values and said filtered ratios;
maintaining a historical table of short-term
biases;
generating long-term biases specifically related
to product types based upon said tables of short-term biases;
adjusting said aim discharge temperature by
summing said aim discharge temperature given by the mill practice
table, said long-term bias and said short-term bias; and
controlling conditions in the reheat furnace
according to the furnace model and said adjusted aim discharge
temperature to drive said calculated discharge temperature to
said adjusted aim discharge temperature.