Patents by Inventor Yuichi Futamura

Yuichi Futamura has filed for patents to protect the following inventions. This listing includes patent applications that are pending as well as patents that have already been granted by the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO).

  • Publication number: 20160355920
    Abstract: Provided are: a high-strength steel sheet which is improved in both elongation and local formability and thus exhibits excellent workability; and a manufacturing method thereof. The high-strength steel sheet contains C, Si, Mn, Al, P and S with the remainder including iron and unavoidable impurities, and has a metal structure which includes polygonal ferrite, bainite, tempered martensite, and retained austenite. In the metal structure, (1) the bainite has a composite microstructure including both a high-temperature-formed bainite having an average distance between adjacent regions of retained austenite and/or carbide of 1 ?m or more and a low-temperature-formed bainite having an average distance between adjacent regions of retained austenite and/or carbide of less than 1 ?m each identified upon observation with a scanning electron microscope; and (2) the retained austenite is present in a volume percentage of 5% or more of the entire metal structure as determined by a saturation magnetization measurement.
    Type: Application
    Filed: August 18, 2016
    Publication date: December 8, 2016
    Applicant: KABUSHIKI KAISHA KOBE SEIKO SHO (Kobe Steel, Ltd.)
    Inventors: Yuichi FUTAMURA, Michiharu NAKAYA, Takayuki KIMURA
  • Publication number: 20160237520
    Abstract: A high-strength steel sheet of the present invention is a steel sheet satisfying a predetermined component composition. A metal structure of the steel sheet is composed of polygonal ferrite, high-temperature region generated bainite, low-temperature region generated bainite and retained austenite each having a predetermined area percent, and a distribution using each average IQ of predetermined crystal grains determined by electron backscatter diffraction satisfies Equations (1) and (2) below. According to the present invention, a high-strength steel sheet having excellent formability and low-temperature toughness can be realized even at a tensile strength of 590 MPa or more. (IQave?IQmin)/(IQmax?IQmin)?0.40??(1) (?IQ)/(IQmax?IQmin)?0.
    Type: Application
    Filed: September 25, 2014
    Publication date: August 18, 2016
    Applicant: KABUSHIKI KAISHA KOBE SEIKO SHO (Kobe Steel, Ltd.)
    Inventors: Tadao MURATA, Koji KASUYA, Sae MIZUTA, Yuichi FUTAMURA
  • Publication number: 20160208359
    Abstract: A high-strength steel sheet of the present invention is a steel sheet satisfying a predetermined component composition. A metal structure of the steel sheet is composed of polygonal ferrite, high-temperature region generated bainite, low-temperature region generated bainite and retained austenite each having a predetermined area percent, and a distribution using each average IQ of predetermined crystal grains determined by electron backscatter diffraction satisfies Equations (1) and (2) below. According to the present invention, a high-strength steel sheet having excellent ductility and low-temperature toughness can be realized even at a tensile strength of 780 MPa or more. (IQave?IQmin)/(IQmax?IQmin)?0.40??(1) (?IQ)/(IQmax?IQmin)?0.
    Type: Application
    Filed: September 25, 2014
    Publication date: July 21, 2016
    Applicant: KABUSHIKI KAISHA KOBE SEIKO SHO(KOBE STEEL, LTD.)
    Inventors: Koji KASUYA, Tadao MURATA, Sae MIZUTA, Yuichi FUTAMURA
  • Publication number: 20150101712
    Abstract: Provided is a method that enables manufacture, with good productivity, of a high-strength cold-rolled steel with improved elongation (EL), stretch-flangeability (?), bendability (R), and balance of these properties (TS×EL×?/1000), outstanding composite workability as evaluated by Erichsen test, and a tensile strength of at least 980 MPa. A steel material satisfying a prescribed constituent composition is held and soaked for at least fifty seconds at a temperature at or above the Ac3 point, after which the steel material is cooled at an average cooling rate of at least 15° C./sec to a discretionary temperature (T) that satisfies expression (1) below, held for 5-180 seconds in a temperature range that satisfies expression (1) below, then heated to a temperature region that satisfies expression (2) below, held for at least 50 seconds in this temperature region, and then cooled. 300° C.?T1 (° C.)<400° C. ??(1) 400° C.?T2 (° C.)<540° C.
    Type: Application
    Filed: February 28, 2013
    Publication date: April 16, 2015
    Applicant: KABUSHIKI KAISHA KOBE SEIKO SHO (KOBE STEEL, LTD.)
    Inventors: Yuichi Futamura, Michiharu Nakaya
  • Publication number: 20150086808
    Abstract: A high-strength cold-rolled steel sheet has a specific chemical composition and has a steel microstructure meeting conditions: a total content of bainitic ferrite (BF) and tempered martensite (TM) is 65% (in area percent, hereinafter the same for steel microstructure) or more; a fresh martensite (M) content is 3% to 18%; a retained austenite content is 5% or more; and a polygonal ferrite (F) content is 5% or less. The steel sheet has a specific average KAM<1.00° of 0.50° or more and has a tensile strength of 980 MPa or more. The high-strength cold-rolled steel sheet excels in formability and shape fixability.
    Type: Application
    Filed: March 6, 2013
    Publication date: March 26, 2015
    Applicant: KABUSHIKI KAISHA KOBE SEIKO SHO (Kobe Steel, Ltd.)
    Inventors: Kouji Kasuya, Yuichi Futamura, Yukihiro Utsumi
  • Publication number: 20140044988
    Abstract: Provided are: a high-strength steel sheet which is improved in both elongation and local formability and thus exhibits excellent workability; and a manufacturing method thereof. The high-strength steel sheet contains C, Si, Mn, Al, P and S with the remainder including iron and unavoidable impurities, and has a metal structure which includes polygonal ferrite, bainite, tempered martensite, and retained austenite. In the metal structure, (1) the bainite has a composite microstructure including both a high-temperature-formed bainite having an average distance between adjacent regions of retained austenite and/or carbide of 1 ?m or more and a low-temperature-formed bainite having an average distance between adjacent regions of retained austenite and/or carbide of less than 1 ?m each identified upon observation with a scanning electron microscope; and (2) the retained austenite is present in a volume percentage of 5% or more of the entire metal structure as determined by a saturation magnetization measurement.
    Type: Application
    Filed: March 21, 2012
    Publication date: February 13, 2014
    Applicant: Kabushiki Kaisha Kobe Seiko Sho (Kobe Steel Ltd.)
    Inventors: Yuichi Futamura, Michiharu Nakaya, Takayuki Kimura
  • Patent number: 8480819
    Abstract: In a cold-rolled steel sheet in relation with the present invention, metallurgical structure of the steel sheet is made a mixture structure including bainite, residual austenite and tempered martensite, particularly, when the metallurgical structure is observed with a scanning electron microscope, bainite is constituted of composite structure of high temperature range forming bainite with 1 ?m or above average distance between neighboring residual austenite and/or carbide and low temperature range forming bainite with below 1 ?m average distance between neighboring residual austenite and/or carbide, and when the area ratio of the high temperature range forming bainite with respect to total metallurgical structure is made a and the total area ratio of the low temperature range forming bainite and the tempered martensite with respect to the total metallurgical structure is made b, a: 20-80%, b: 20-80%, and a+b: 70% or above are satisfied.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 3, 2011
    Date of Patent: July 9, 2013
    Assignee: Kobe Steel, Ltd.
    Inventor: Yuichi Futamura
  • Patent number: 8460800
    Abstract: Disclosed is a cold-rolled steel sheet having a specific steel composition and having a composite steel structure including a ferrite structure and a martensite-containing second phase. In a surface region of the steel sheet from the surface to a depth one-tenth the gage, the number density of n-ary groups of inclusions determined by specific n-th determinations is 120 or less per 100 cm2 of a rolling plane, in which the distance in steel sheet rolling direction between outermost surfaces of two outermost particles of the group of inclusions is 80 ?m or more. Also disclosed is a cold-rolled steel sheet having a specific steel composition and having a steel structure of a martensite single-phase structure. In the surface region, the number density of groups of inclusions, in which the distance between the outermost surfaces is 100 ?m or more, is 120 or less per 100 cm2 of a rolling plane.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 18, 2010
    Date of Patent: June 11, 2013
    Assignee: Kobe Steel, Ltd.
    Inventors: Tetsuji Hoshika, Sae Mizuta, Yuichi Futamura, Masaaki Miura, Yukihiro Utsumi, Hiroaki Matsumoto, Hiroki Ohta
  • Patent number: 8449988
    Abstract: A cold-rolled steel sheet has a chemical composition of C: 0.12% to 0.3%, Si: 0.5% or less, Mn: less than 1.5%, Al: 0.15% or less, N: 0.01% or less, P: 0.02% or less, and S: 0.01% or less, with the remainder including iron and inevitable impurities and has a martensite single-phase structure as its steel microstructure. In a surface region of the steel sheet from the surface to a depth one-tenth the gauge, the number density of n-ary groups of inclusions determined by specific n-th determinations is 120 or less per 100 cm2 of a rolling plane, where the distance in steel sheet rolling direction between outermost surfaces of two outermost particles of the group of inclusions is 100 ?m or more. The steel sheet is a high-strength cold-rolled steel sheet which has a sufficiently minimized rate of bending fracture starting from inclusions and thereby has excellent bending workability.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 3, 2011
    Date of Patent: May 28, 2013
    Assignee: Kobe Steel, Ltd.
    Inventors: Atsuhiro Shiraki, Sae Hamamoto, Yukihiro Utsumi, Tetsuji Hoshika, Yuichi Futamura
  • Patent number: 8388771
    Abstract: A high strength steel sheet contains, in percent by mass, 0.03 to 0.2% of C, 0.5 to 2.5% of Si, 1 to 3.0% of Mn, 0.01 to 0.5% of Cr, 0.01 to 0.5% of Mo, 0.02 to 0.15% of Al, 0.15% or less of Ti, 0.15% or less of No, and 0.15% or less of V; wherein the remainder includes Fe and inevitable impurities, and the content of Si satisfies the following formula (1), ??4.1?[Si]??2.4??(1), provided, ?=6.9×([C]+[Mn]/6+[Cr]/5+[Mo]/4+[Ti]/15+[Nb]/17+[V]/14)1/2 is given, wherein [ ] shows the quantity (mass percent) of each element contained in the steel sheet. The high strength steel sheet is improved in formability (particularly, elongation), and excellent in balance between strength and elongation.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 6, 2011
    Date of Patent: March 5, 2013
    Assignee: Kobe Steel, Ltd.
    Inventors: Yuichi Futamura, Katsuhiro Yamamoto, Masaaki Miura
  • Patent number: 8349471
    Abstract: A high-strength cold-rolled steel sheet with improved TS-EL balance, springback value, workability and shape freezing properties having: a steel content including 0.10-0.20 mass % C, 0.5-2.5 mass % Si, 0.5-2.25 mass % Mn, and 0.01-0.10 mass % Al; a structure comprising (A) a mother phase structure of ferrite and (B) a second phase structure of retained austenite optionally including martensite; and satisfying the following expressions (1) and (2): (Vf×V?×C?×dis)/dia?300??(1), dis?1.0 ?m??(2); where Vf (%) is the volume fraction of the ferrite, V? (%) is the volume fraction of the retained austenite, C? (mass %) is the carbon content in the retained austenite, dis (?m) is the shortest distance between the second phase structures, and dia (?m) is the average grain size of the second phase structures.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 5, 2010
    Date of Patent: January 8, 2013
    Assignee: Kobe Steel, Ltd.
    Inventors: Michitaka Tsunezawa, Yuichi Futamura, Masaaki Miura
  • Publication number: 20120312433
    Abstract: The invention relates to a steel sheet having a tensile strength of 1180 MPa or more, which excels in workability and cold brittleness resistance. The high-strength steel sheet contains 0.10% to 0.30% of C, 1.40% to 3.0% of Si, 0.5% to 3.0% of Mn, 0.1% or less of P, 0.05% or less of S, 0.005% to 0.20% of Al, 0.01% or less of N, 0.01% or less of O, as well as Fe and inevitable impurities. The steel sheet has: (i) a ferrite volume fraction of 5% to 35% and a bainitic ferrite and/or tempered martensite volume fraction of 60% or more; (ii) a MA constituent volume fraction of 6% or less (excluding 0%); and (iii) a retained austenite volume fraction of 5% or more.
    Type: Application
    Filed: June 5, 2012
    Publication date: December 13, 2012
    Applicant: Kabushiki Kaisha Kobe Seiko Sho (Kobe Steel, Ltd.)
    Inventors: Sae MIZUTA, Yuichi FUTAMURA, Yukihiro Utsumi
  • Patent number: 8133330
    Abstract: A high-strength hot-dip galvanized steel sheet excellent in workability according to the present invention: contains C, Si, Mn and other elements; has a dual phase structure containing ferrite and martensite as the metallographic structure; and, in the ferrite structure, satisfies the expression 0.2?(Lb/La)?1.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 1, 2009
    Date of Patent: March 13, 2012
    Assignee: Kobe Steel, Ltd.
    Inventors: Yuichi Futamura, Masaaki Miura
  • Publication number: 20110318605
    Abstract: A high strength steel sheet contains, in percent by mass, 0.03 to 0.2% of C, 0.5 to 2.5% of Si, 1 to 3.0% of Mn, 0.01 to 0.5% of Cr, 0.01 to 0.5% of Mo, 0.02 to 0.15% of Al, 0.15% or less of Ti, 0.15% or less of No, and 0.15% or less of V; wherein the remainder includes Fe and inevitable impurities, and the content of Si satisfies the following formula (1), ?-4.1[Si]?-2.4??(1), provided, ?=6.9×([C]+[Mn]/6+[Cr]/5+[Mo]/4+[Ti]/15+[Nb]/17+[V]/14)1/2 is given, wherein [ ] shows the quantity (mass percent) of each element contained in the steel sheet. The high strength steel sheet is improved in formability (particularly, elongation), and excellent in balance between strength and elongation.
    Type: Application
    Filed: September 6, 2011
    Publication date: December 29, 2011
    Applicant: Kabushiki Kaisha Kobe Seiko Sho (Kobe Steel, Ltd.)
    Inventors: Yuichi FUTAMURA, Katsuhiro Yamamoto, Masaaki Miura
  • Publication number: 20110287280
    Abstract: A cold-rolled steel sheet has a chemical composition of C: 0.12% to 0.3%, Si: 0.5% or less, Mn: less than 1.5%, Al: 0.15% or less, N: 0.01% or less, P: 0.02% or less, and S: 0.01% or less, with the remainder including iron and inevitable impurities and has a martensite single-phase structure as its steel microstructure. In a surface region of the steel sheet from the surface to a depth one-tenth the gauge, the number density of n-ary groups of inclusions determined by specific n-th determinations is 120 or less per 100 cm2 of a rolling plane, where the distance in steel sheet rolling direction between outermost surfaces of two outermost particles of the group of inclusions is 100 ?m or more. The steel sheet is a high-strength cold-rolled steel sheet which has a sufficiently minimized rate of bending fracture starting from inclusions and thereby has excellent bending workability.
    Type: Application
    Filed: May 3, 2011
    Publication date: November 24, 2011
    Applicant: Kabushiki Kaisha Kobe Seiko Sho (Kobe Steel, Ltd.)
    Inventors: Atsuhiro SHIRAKI, Sae Hamamoto, Yukihiro Utsumi, Tetsuji Hoshika, Yuichi Futamura
  • Patent number: 8025982
    Abstract: Disclosed is a high-strength hot dip galvannealed steel sheet having high powdering resistance produced by employing such a constitution that a Fe—Zn alloy plated layer is provided on at least one side of a basis steel sheet and a region in which Al (atomic %)/Zn (atomic %)?0.10 is present in a thickness of 300 ? or more from the surface of the plated layer along the depth direction of the plated layer. Also disclosed is a hot dip galvannealed steel sheet whose formability is greatly improved by optionally specifying chemical composition and structure of the basis steel sheet.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 1, 2006
    Date of Patent: September 27, 2011
    Assignee: Kobe Steel, Ltd.
    Inventors: Yuichi Futamura, Michitaka Tsunezawa, Masaaki Miura, Hiroshi Irie, Takatoshi Yoshida, Masafumi Shimizu
  • Publication number: 20110186189
    Abstract: In a cold-rolled steel sheet in relation with the present invention, metallurgical structure of the steel sheet is made a mixture structure including bainite, residual austenite and tempered martensite, particularly, when the metallurgical structure is observed with a scanning electron microscope, bainite is constituted of composite structure of high temperature range forming bainite with 1 ?m or above average distance between neighboring residual austenite and/or carbide and low temperature range forming bainite with below 1 ?m average distance between neighboring residual austenite and/or carbide, and when the area ratio of the high temperature range forming bainite with respect to total metallurgical structure is made a and the total area ratio of the low temperature range forming bainite and the tempered martensite with respect to the total metallurgical structure is made b, a: 20-80%, b: 20-80%, and a+b: 70% or above are satisfied.
    Type: Application
    Filed: January 3, 2011
    Publication date: August 4, 2011
    Applicant: Kabushiki Kaisha Kobe Seiko Sho (Kobe Steel, Ltd.)
    Inventor: Yuichi FUTAMURA
  • Publication number: 20100247958
    Abstract: A high-strength cold-rolled steel sheet according to the present invention: satisfies the requirement of a prescribed chemical composition; has a structure comprising a mother phase structure of ferrite and a second phase structure of retained austenite and martensite (the martensite may not be included); and satisfies the following expressions (1) and (2) when the volume fraction of the ferrite in the whole structure is represented by Vf (%), the volume fraction of the retained austenite in the whole structure is represented by V? (%), the carbon content in the retained austenite is represented by C? (mass %), the shortest distance between the second phase structures is represented by dis (?m), and the average grain size of the second phase structures is represented by dia (?m), (Vf×V?×C?×dis)/dia?300??(1), dis?1.0 ?m??(2).
    Type: Application
    Filed: March 5, 2010
    Publication date: September 30, 2010
    Applicant: Kabushiki Kaisha Kobe Seiko Sho (Kobe Steel, Ltd.)
    Inventors: Michitaka TSUNEZAWA, Yuichi Futamura, Masaaki Miura
  • Publication number: 20100247957
    Abstract: Disclosed is a cold-rolled steel sheet having a specific steel composition and having a composite steel structure including a ferrite structure and a martensite-containing second phase. In a surface region of the steel sheet from the surface to a depth one-tenth the gage, the number density of n-ary groups of inclusions determined by specific n-th determinations is 120 or less per 100 cm2 of a rolling plane, in which the distance in steel sheet rolling direction between outermost surfaces of two outermost particles of the group of inclusions is 80 ?m or more. Also disclosed is a cold-rolled steel sheet having a specific steel composition and having a steel structure of a martensite single-phase structure. In the surface region, the number density of groups of inclusions, in which the distance between the outermost surfaces is 100 ?m or more, is 120 or less per 100 cm2 of a rolling plane.
    Type: Application
    Filed: February 18, 2010
    Publication date: September 30, 2010
    Applicant: Kabushiki Kaisha Kobe Seiko Sho (Kobe Steel Ltd)
    Inventors: Tetsuji HOSHIKA, Sae Mizuta, Yuichi Futamura, Masaaki Miura, Yukihiro Utsumi, Hiroaki Matsumoto, Hiroki Ohta
  • Publication number: 20100108200
    Abstract: A high-strength hot-dip galvanized steel sheet excellent in workability according to the present invention: contains C, Si, Mn and other elements; has a dual phase structure containing ferrite and martensite as the metallographic structure; and, in the ferrite structure, satisfies the expression 0.2?(Lb/La)?1.
    Type: Application
    Filed: October 1, 2009
    Publication date: May 6, 2010
    Applicant: Kabushiki Kaisha Kobe Seiko Sho (Kobe Steel Ltd)
    Inventors: Yuichi FUTAMURA, Masaaki Miura