Opinion ID: 4647051
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: A process for the fracture separation of a part

Text: having a cylindrical bore passing therethrough into a first portion and a second portion, the cylindrical bore having a central axis, the part having two op- posed sides proximate to the intersection of a predetermined fracture plane passing through the cylindrical bore and the part, the process including the steps of: Case: 20-1094 Document: 54 Page: 4 Filed: 12/28/2020 4 FATIGUE FRACTURE TECHNOLOGY v. NAVISTAR, INC. a) optionally applying at least one pre-stressing force to at least one of the first portion, the second portion and said sides of said part, said at least one pre-stressing force selected from the group compr[]ising: i) a longitudinal pre-stressing force applied to one of the first portion and the second portion relative to the other of the portion and the second portion, said longitudinal pre-stressing force being applied in a direc- tion substantially perpendicular to said predetermined fracture plane, and ii) a lateral pre-stressing force applied to each of the opposed sides of the part, each of said lateral pre-stressing forces being ap- plied along substantially straight line that is substantially parallel to the predeter- mined fracture plane and substantially perpendicular to the central axis, where at any time instant, each of the lateral pre- stressing forces being substantially equal in magnitude and acting opposite in direc- tion to one another; b) applying at least one fatigue force to at least one of the first portion and the second portion, said at least one fatigue force being selected from the group comprising: i) a longitudinal cyclic force applied to one of the first portion and the second portion relative to the other of the first portion and the second portion, said longitudinal cyclic force being applied in a direction substan- tially perpendicular to said predetermined fracture plane, and Case: 20-1094 Document: 54 Page: 5 Filed: 12/28/2020 FATIGUE FRACTURE TECHNOLOGY v. NAVISTAR, INC. 5 ii) a lateral cyclic force applied to each of the opposed sides of the part, each of the said lateral cyclic forces being applied along a substantially straight line that is substantially parallel to the predetermined fracture plane and substantially perpendic- ular to the central axis, where at any time instant, each of said lateral cyclic forces be- ing substantially equal in magnitude and acting opposite in direction to one another; c) applying at least one dynamic force to one of the first portion and the second portion relative to the other of the first portion and the second portion, said at least one dynamic force being applied in a direction substantially perpendicular to said predetermined fracture plane, said dynamic force being applied to fracture the part into the first portion and the second portion so as to separate the first portion from the second portion substantially along said predetermined plane. Id., col. 6, line 61, through col. 7, line 45. Claims 7, 9, and 10 depend on claim 1 and therefore incorporate all of claim 1’s limitations. FFT has not made any argument on appeal that distinguishes the dependent claims from claim 1.