With Working Patents (Class 148/602)
  • Patent number: 8152937
    Abstract: Disclosed is a ferritic stainless steel sheet which has excellent corrosion resistance against sulfuric acid in the high-temperature environment and shows less surface roughness at a bent part which is bent at 90° or more. Specifically disclosed is a ferritic stainless steel sheet which has the following chemical composition: C: 0.02 mass % or less, Si: 0.05 to 0.8 mass %, Mn: 0.5 mass % or less, P: 0.04 mass % or less, S: 0.010 mass % or less, Al: 0.10 mass % or less, Cr: 20 to 24 mass % Cu: 0.3 to 0.8 mass %, Ni: 0.5 mass % or less, Nb: 0.20 to 0.55 mass %, and N: 0.02 mass % or less, with the remainder being Fe and unavoidable impurities; and which has such a structure that the maximum particle diameter of an S-containing precipitate is 5 ?m or smaller.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 18, 2008
    Date of Patent: April 10, 2012
    Assignee: JFE Steel Corporation
    Inventors: Tomohiro Ishii, Yoshimasa Funakawa, Takumi Ujiro, Masayuki Ohta
  • Publication number: 20120024434
    Abstract: The invention relates to a method of and a plant for making hot-rolled strips of cast metal, wherein the cast strip is subjected as a rough strip to at least a first step for momogenizing the grain structure in a protective gas and the cast strip is then subjected to at least a further heat-treatment step before it is rolled to reduce its thickness. After the thickness reduction the cast strip is subjected to a second step of homogenization or recrystallization of its grain structure before finally the strip is passed to a cutter and a finished rolled hot piece is severed from the following strip.
    Type: Application
    Filed: December 9, 2009
    Publication date: February 2, 2012
    Inventors: Rolf Franz, Karl-Heinz Spitzer, Hellfried Eichholz, Markus Schaeperkoetter
  • Publication number: 20120018056
    Abstract: A thick-walled high-strength hot rolled steel sheet having excellent hydrogen induced cracking resistance which is preferably used as a raw material for a high-strength welded steel pipe of X65 grade or more and a method of manufacturing the thick-walled high-strength hot rolled steel sheet are provided. The composition of the thick-walled high-strength hot rolled steel sheet contains by mass % 0.02 to 0.08% C, 0.50 to 1.85% Mn, 0.03 to 0.10% Nb, 0.001 to 0.05% Ti, 0.0005% or less B in such a manner that (Ti+Nb/2)/C<4 is satisfied or also contains one or two kinds or more of 0.010% or less Ca, 0.02% or less REM, and Fe and unavoidable impurities as a balance. The steel sheet has the structure formed of a bainitic ferrite phase or a bainite phase. Surface layer hardness is 230HV or less in terms of Vickers hardness.
    Type: Application
    Filed: January 29, 2010
    Publication date: January 26, 2012
    Applicant: JFE STEEL CORPORATION
    Inventors: Kinya Nakagawa, Chikara Kami
  • Publication number: 20120018062
    Abstract: A method of manufacturing a hot-rolled thin steel sheet includes: hot-rolling a steel base material having a composition containing, as mass %, C: 0.10 to 0.20%, Si: 0.01 to 1.0%, Mn: 0.5 to 2.0%, P: 0.03% or less, S: 0.01% or less, Al: 0.01 to 0.10%, N: 0.005% or less, Ti: 0.01 to 0.15%, B: 0.0005 to 0.0050%, the balance of Fe, and unavoidable impurities at a finishing temperature of finish rolling of 820 to 880° C. to produce a hot-rolled steel sheet with a thickness of less than 6 mm; cooling the hot-rolled steel sheet to a temperature range on a surface of the hot-rolled steel sheet to 550 to 650° C. at a surface cooling rate of 15 to 50° C. per second; and coiling the hot-rolled steel sheet at the temperature range.
    Type: Application
    Filed: October 3, 2011
    Publication date: January 26, 2012
    Applicant: JFE Steel Corporation
    Inventors: Nobuyuki Nakamura, Kazuhiro Seto
  • Publication number: 20120018059
    Abstract: A method of making hot rolled steel sheet having a dual phase microstructure with a martensite phase of less than 35% by volume and a ferrite phase of more than 50% by volume and a composition containing by percent weight: 0.01?C?0.2; 0.3?Mn?3; 0.2?Si?2; 0.2?Cr+Ni?2; 0.01?Al?0.10; Mo less than about 0.2%, 0.0005?Ca?0.01, with the balance iron and incidental ingredients. Hot rolled sheet for cold rolling, the silicon range may be from about 0.05% to about 2%, and the amount of molybdenum may be up to 0.5%. Also, the hot rolled steel sheet has a tensile strength of at least 500 megapascals, a hole expansion ratio more than about 50%, and a yield strength/tensile strength ratio less than 70%.
    Type: Application
    Filed: September 27, 2011
    Publication date: January 26, 2012
    Applicant: NUCOR CORPORATION
    Inventor: Weiping SUN
  • Publication number: 20120006451
    Abstract: The invention provides a carbon steel sheet including C: 0.20% to 0.45% by mass, Si: 0.05% to 0.8% by mass, Mn: 0.85% to 2.0% by mass, P: 0.001% to 0.04% by mass, S: 0.0001% to 0.006% by mass, Al: 0.01% to 0.1% by mass, Ti: 0.005% to 0.3% by mass, B: 0.0005% to 0.01% by mass and N: 0.001% to 0.01% by mass, in which a K value that can be obtained from 3C+Mn+0.5Si is greater than or equal to 2.0; surface hardness is less than or equal to 77 on the Rockwell B Scale; and the average content of N in a zone from the surface to a depth of 100 ?m is less than or equal to 100 ppm. This carbon steel sheet is configured to be carburized in a carburization atmosphere with a carbon potential of 0.6 or less.
    Type: Application
    Filed: March 3, 2010
    Publication date: January 12, 2012
    Applicant: NIPPON STEEL CORPORATION
    Inventors: Masayuki Abe, Kengo Takeda, Hisayoshi Yatoh
  • Publication number: 20110297281
    Abstract: A high-strength hot-rolled steel sheet containing C: 0.05 to 0.15%, Si: no more than 1.50% (excluding 0%), Mn: 0.5 to 2.5%, P: no more than 0.035% (excluding 0%), S: no more than 0.01% (including 0%), Al: 0.02 to 0.15%, and Ti: 0.05 to 0.2%, which is characterized in that its metallographic structure is composed of 60 to 95 vol % of bainite and solid solution-hardened or precipitation-hardened ferrite (or ferrite and martensite) and its fracture appearance transition temperature (vTrs) is no higher than 0° C. as obtained by impact tests.
    Type: Application
    Filed: August 16, 2011
    Publication date: December 8, 2011
    Applicant: Kabushiki Kaisha Kobe Seiko Sho (Kobe Steel, Ltd.)
    Inventors: Motoo SATOU, Tetsuo Soshiroda
  • Patent number: 8071018
    Abstract: A high carbon hot-rolled steel sheet which is a hot-rolled spheroidizing annealed material, including 0.2 to 0.7% C, 2% or less Si, 2% or less Mn, 0.03% or less P, 0.03% or less S, 0.08% or less Sol.Al., and 0.01% or less N, by mass, which contains carbide having a particle size of smaller than 0.5 ?m in a content of 15% or less by volume to the total amount of carbide, and the difference between the maximum hardness Hv max and the minimum hardness Hv min, ?Hv (=Hv max?Hv min), in the sheet thickness direction being 10 or smaller.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 22, 2010
    Date of Patent: December 6, 2011
    Assignee: JFE Steel Corporation
    Inventors: Nobusuke Kariya, Norio Kanamoto, Hidekazu Ookubo, Yoshiharu Kusumoto, Takeshi Fujita
  • Patent number: 8062438
    Abstract: Provided is a hot-rolled thin steel sheet having a thickness of less than 6 mm and having high strength showing a tensile strength of 440 MPa or more, excellent formability, and excellent strength and toughness after heat treatment and a method of manufacturing the same. A steel base material containing 0.10 to 0.20% of C, and Si, Mn, Al, P, S, and N adjusted to suitable amount ranges, and 0.01 to 0.15% of Ti and 0.0005 to 0.0050% of B is hot rolled so as to have a finishing temperature of finish rolling of 820 to 880° C.; after the completion of the rolling, the hot-rolled thin steel sheet is cooled to a surface temperature range of 550 to 650° C. at a surface cooling rate of 15 to 50° C./s; and the hot-rolled thin steel sheet is coiled at the temperature range.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 6, 2007
    Date of Patent: November 22, 2011
    Assignee: JFE Steel Corporation
    Inventors: Nobuyuki Nakamura, Kazuhiro Seto
  • Patent number: 8052808
    Abstract: Disclosed is a hot rolled steel sheet which contains C, Si, Mn, Al, Ti, N, and S. The C, Ti, N, and sulfur contents satisfy the following condition (1), and the Si and Mn contents satisfy the following condition (2): [C]?{[Ti]?(48/14)×[N]?(48/32)×[S]}/4?0.01??(1) 0.20?([Si]/[Mn])?0.85??(2) in which the symbol [X] represents the content (percent by mass) of the element X, and the steel sheet has a microstructure having an area percentage of bainitic ferrite of 90% or more, an area percentage of martensite of 5% or less, and an area percentage of bainite of 5% or less, based on the area of an observed field. This steel sheet excels in properties demanded in press working, such as shape freezing ability, hole-expandability, and bendability, even though it has a high tensile strength of 980 MPa or more.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 26, 2008
    Date of Patent: November 8, 2011
    Assignee: Kabushiki Kaisha Kobe Seiko Sho (Kobe Steel, Ltd.)
    Inventor: Kazuya Kimijima
  • Patent number: 8048238
    Abstract: Steel sheet having a composition of ingredients containing substantially, by mass %, C: 0.005 to 0.200%, Si: 2.50% or less, Mn: 0.10 to 3.00%, N: 0.0100% or less, Nb: 0.005 to 0.100%, and Ti: 0.002 to 0.150% and satisfying the relationship of Ti?48/14×N?0.0005, having a sum of the X-ray random intensity ratios of the {100}<001> orientation and the {110}<001> orientation of a ? sheet thickness part of 5 or less, having a sum of the maximum value of the X-ray random intensity ratios of the {110}<111> to {110}<112> orientation group and the X-ray random intensity ratios of the {211}<111> orientation of 5 or more, and having a high rolling direction Young's modulus measured by the static tension method and a method of production of the same are provided.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 7, 2007
    Date of Patent: November 1, 2011
    Assignee: Nippon Steel Corporation
    Inventors: Natsuko Sugiura, Naoki Maruyama, Manabu Takahashi, Yohji Nakamura, Koji Hanya
  • Patent number: 8048237
    Abstract: An ultra soft high carbon hot-rolled steel sheet has excellent workability. The steel sheet is a high carbon hot-rolled steel sheet containing 0.2 to 0.7% C, and has a structure in which mean grain size of ferrite is 20 ?m or larger, the volume percentage of ferrite grains having 10 ?m or smaller size is 20% or less, mean diameter of carbide is in a range from 0.10 ?m to smaller than 2.0 ?m, the percentage of carbide grains having 5 or more of aspect ratio is 15% or less, and the contact ratio of carbide is 20% or less.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 26, 2007
    Date of Patent: November 1, 2011
    Assignee: JFE Steel Corporation
    Inventors: Hideyuki Kimura, Takeshi Fujita, Nobuyuki Nakamura, Naoya Aoki, Masato Sasaki, Satoshi Ueoka, Shunji Iizuka
  • Patent number: 8038809
    Abstract: A high-strength hot-rolled steel sheet containing C: 0.05 to 0.15%, Si: no more than 1.50% (excluding 0%), Mn: 0.5 to 2.5%, P: no more than 0.035% (excluding 0%), S: no more than 0.01% (including 0%), Al: 0.02 to 0.15%, and Ti: 0.05 to 0.2%, which is characterized in that its metallographic structure is composed of 60 to 95 vol % of bainite and solid solution-hardened or precipitation-hardened ferrite (or ferrite and martensite) and its fracture appearance transition temperature (vTrs) is no higher than 0° C. as obtained by impact tests. (% in terms of % by weight).
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 22, 2006
    Date of Patent: October 18, 2011
    Assignee: Kobe Steel, Ltd.
    Inventors: Motoo Satou, Tetsuo Soshiroda
  • Patent number: 7955444
    Abstract: A high tensile steel sheet having 980 MPa or higher tensile strength with excellent elongation and stretch-flange formability, suitable for the press-forming of complex cross sectional shape such as automobile parts, is manufactured by adjusting the steel to consist essential of a ferrite single phase structure, to precipitate carbide containing Ti, Mo, and V, of smaller than 10 nm of average particle size, in dispersed state, and to have an average composition of the carbide containing Ti, Mo, and V satisfying [V/(Ti+Mo+V)?0.3 (atomic ratio].
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 3, 2006
    Date of Patent: June 7, 2011
    Assignee: JFE Steel Corporation
    Inventors: Tamako Ariga, Takeshi Yokota, Akio Kobayashi, Kazuhiro Seto
  • Patent number: 7938917
    Abstract: A method for controlling the cooling of a steel sheet characterized by controlling the end-of-cooling temperature in a cooling process from the Ae3 or above temperature of the steel sheet, during which; preliminarily obtaining enthalpies (H? and H?) of an austenite phase and ferrite phase respectively at some temperature, obtaining a gynamic enthalpy (Hsys) defined by formula (1) with an untransformed fraction (X?) of austenite in accordance with a target temperature pattern, predicting the temperature by using a gradient of this dynamic enthalpy with respect to temperature as a dynamic specific heat and controlling the cooling of the steel sheet: Hsys=H?(X?)+H?(1?X?).
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 8, 2005
    Date of Patent: May 10, 2011
    Assignee: Nippon Steel Corporation
    Inventors: Riki Okamoto, Noriyuki Hishinuma, Hidenori Miyata, Hirokazu Taniguchi
  • Publication number: 20110100516
    Abstract: Provided are a bake hardening steel having a crystalline grain size of ASTM No. 9 or more and a method for preparing the bake hardening steel by controlling the winding, rolling and cooling conditions. The bake hardening steel includes: C:0.0016˜0.0025%, Si:0.02% or less, P:0.01˜0.05%, S:0.01% or less, sol.Al:0.08˜0.12%, N:0.0025% or less, Ti:0.003% or less, Nb:0.003˜0.011%, Mo:0.01˜0.1%, B:0.0005˜0.0015% or less, balance Fe and other inevitable impurities, wherein % is weight %, and Mn and P satisfy the relation of ?30(° C.)?803P?24.4Mn?58.
    Type: Application
    Filed: June 9, 2009
    Publication date: May 5, 2011
    Applicant: POSCO
    Inventors: Seong-Ho Han, Il-Ryoung Sohn, Shin-Hwan Kang, Min-Ki Seun
  • Publication number: 20110076177
    Abstract: A steel sheet for cans that has a yield stress of at least 500 Mpa after coating and baking and a method for manufacturing the steel sheet for cans are provided. The steel sheet for cans contains, on the basis of mass percent, C: more than 0.02% but 0.10% or less, Si: 0.10% or less, Mn: 1.5% or less, P: 0.20% or less, S: 0.20% or less, Al: 0.10% or less, N: 0.0120% to 0.0250%, dissolved N being 0.0100% or more, and a remainder of Fe and incidental impurities. A high-strength material can be obtained by maintaining the absolute quantity of dissolved N at a certain value or more and performing hardening by quench aging and strain aging, for example, in a printing process, a film lamination process, or a drying and baking process performed before can manufacturing. In the manufacture, hot rolling is performed at a slab extraction temperature of 1200° C. or more and a finish rolling temperature of (Ar3 transformation temperature—30)° C. or more, and coiling is performed at 650° C. or less.
    Type: Application
    Filed: April 1, 2009
    Publication date: March 31, 2011
    Applicant: JFE STEEL CORPORATION
    Inventors: Makoto Aratani, Toshikatsu Kato, Katsuhito Kawamura, Takumi Tanaka, Katsumi Kojima, Kaku Sato, Shigeko Sujita, Masaki Koizumi
  • Patent number: 7909950
    Abstract: The present invention provides an ultra soft high carbon hot-rolled steel sheet. The ultra soft high carbon hot-rolled steel sheet contains 0.2% to 0.7% of C, 0.01% to 1.0% of Si, 0.1% to 1.0% of Mn, 0.03% or less of P, 0.035% or less of S, 0.08% or less of Al, 0.01% or less of N, and the balance being Fe and incidental impurities and further contains 0.0010% to 0.0050% of B and 0.05% to 0.30% of Cr in some cases. In the texture of the steel sheet, an average ferrite grain diameter is 20 ?m or more, a volume ratio of ferrite grains having a grain diameter of 10 ?m or more is 80% or more, and an average carbide grain diameter is in the range of 0.10 to less than 2.0 ?m. In addition, the steel sheet is manufactured by the steps, after rough rolling, performing finish rolling at a reduction ratio of 10% or more and at a finish temperature of (Ar3?20° C.) or more in a final pass, then performing first cooling within 2 seconds after the finish rolling to a cooling stop temperature of 600° C.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 19, 2006
    Date of Patent: March 22, 2011
    Assignee: JFE Steel Corporation
    Inventors: Hideyuki Kimura, Takeshi Fujita, Nobuyuki Nakamura, Satoshi Ueoka, Naoya Aoki, Kenichi Mitsuzuka
  • Publication number: 20110064968
    Abstract: There are provided steel sheets which have a tensile strength of 780-980 MPa and an elongation of 28% or higher and are free of edge cracks. The high-strength steel sheet includes, by wt %, 0.1-0.25% C, 1.0-1.9% Si, 1.5-2.5% Mn, 0.5-1.6% Al, 0.005-0.03% Ti, 5-30 ppm B, 0.01-0.03% Sb and a balance of Fe and inevitable impurities, and satisfying 1.75%?Si+Al?3.25%.
    Type: Application
    Filed: May 27, 2009
    Publication date: March 17, 2011
    Applicant: POSCO
    Inventors: Sung-Il Kim, Young-Hoon Jin, Jai-Hyun Kwak, Kwang-Geun Chin
  • Patent number: 7879163
    Abstract: A method for manufacturing a high carbon hot-rolled steel sheet. The method including the steps of hot-rolling, primary cooling, secondary cooling, coiling, acid-washing and annealing. The primary cooling step is to cool the hot-rolled steel sheet down to a cooling termination temperature of 450° C. to 600° C. at a cooling rate of higher than 120° C./sec. The secondary cooling step is to apply a secondary cooling to hold the primarily cooled hot-rolled steel sheet at a temperature of 450° C. to 650° C. until coiling.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 6, 2008
    Date of Patent: February 1, 2011
    Assignee: JFE Steel Corporation
    Inventors: Nobuyuki Nakamura, Takeshi Fujita, Yoshiro Tsuchiya, Shunji Ilzuka, Saiji Matsuoka
  • Patent number: 7879287
    Abstract: A hot-rolled steel sheet for high-strength ERW pipes contains about 0.02% to about 0.06% C; about 0.05% to about 0.50% Si; about 0.5% to about 1.5% Mn; about 0.010% or less P; about 0.0010% or less S; about 0.01% to about 0.10% Al; about 0.01% to about 0.10% Nb; about 0.001% to about 0.025% Ti; about 0.001% to about 0.005% Ca; about 0.003% or less 0; and about 0.005% or less N, and at least one element selected from the group consisting of about 0.01% to about 0.10% V; about 0.01% to about 0.50% Cu; about 0.01% to about 0.50% Ni; and about 0.01% to about 0.50% Mo on the basis of mass. The group of C, Si, Mn, Cu, Ni, Mo, and V and the group of Ca, 0, and S satisfy specific relationships, and the microstructure of the steel sheet is composed of about 95% by volume or more bainitic ferrite.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 3, 2005
    Date of Patent: February 1, 2011
    Assignee: JFE Steel Corporation
    Inventors: Takashi Kobayashi, Hiroshi Nakata, Chikara Kami, Toru Inazumi, Shuji Kawamura
  • Publication number: 20110017360
    Abstract: This hot-rolled steel sheet contains, in terms of mass%, C: 0.015% or more to less than 0.040%; Si: less than 0.05%; Mn: 0.9% or more to 1.8% or less; P: less than 0.02%; S: less than 0.01%; Al: less than 0.1%; N: less than 0.006%; and Ti: 0.05% or more to less than 0.11%, with the remainder being Fe and inevitable impurities, wherein Ti/C is in a range of 2.5 or more to less than 3.5, Nb, Zr, V, Cr, Mo, B and W are not included, a microstructure includes a mixed microstructure of polygonal ferrite and quasi-polygonal ferrite in a proportion of greater than 96%, a maximum tensile strength is 520 MPa or more and less than 720 MPa, an aging index AI is more than 15 MPa, a product of a hole expansion ratio (A) % and a total elongation (El) % is 2350 or more, and a fatigue limit is 200 MPa or more.
    Type: Application
    Filed: November 12, 2008
    Publication date: January 27, 2011
    Inventors: Naoki Yoshinaga, Masafumi Azuma, Yasuharu Sakuma, Naoki Maruyama
  • Publication number: 20100319819
    Abstract: A high-strength hot-rolled steel sheet has a tensile strength (TS) of 540 to 780 MPa, only small variations in strength, and excellent uniformity in strength using a general-purpose Ti-containing steel sheet, which is inexpensive. The high-strength hot-rolled steel sheet includes, on a mass percent basis, 0.05%-0.12% C, 0.5% or less Si, 0.8%-1.8% Mn, 0.030% or less P, 0.01% or less S, 0.005%-0.1% Al, 0.01% or less N, 0.030%-0.080% Ti, and the balance being Fe and incidental impurities. The microstructure have a volume fraction of polygonal ferrite of 70% or more, and the amount of Ti present in a precipitate having a size of less than 20 nm is 50% or more of the value of Ti* calculated using formula (1): Ti*=[Ti]?48/14×[N] (1) where [Ti] and [N] represent a Ti content (percent by mass) and a N content (percent by mass), respectively, of the steel sheet.
    Type: Application
    Filed: February 4, 2009
    Publication date: December 23, 2010
    Inventors: Shinjiro Kaneko, Kaneharu Okuda, Tetsuo Shimizu, Noriaki Moriyasu, Masahide Watabe
  • Publication number: 20100314010
    Abstract: A high-strength hot-rolled steel sheet has a tensile strength (TS) of 540 to 780 MPa, only small variations in strength, and excellent uniformity in strength using a general-purpose Ti-containing steel sheet, which is inexpensive. The high-strength hot-rolled steel sheet includes, on a mass percent basis, 0.05%-0.12% C, 0.5% or less Si, 0.8%-1.8% Mn, 0.030% or less P, 0.01% or less S, 0.005%-0.1% Al, 0.01% or less N, 0.030%-0.080% Ti, and the balance being Fe and incidental impurities. The microstructure have a bainitic ferrite fraction of 70% or more, and the amount of Ti present in a precipitate having a size of less than 20 nm is 50% or more of the value of Ti* calculated using formula (1): Ti*=[Ti]?48/14×[N] (1) where [Ti] and [N] represent a Ti content (percent by mass) and a N content (percent by mass), respectively, of the steel sheet.
    Type: Application
    Filed: February 4, 2009
    Publication date: December 16, 2010
    Applicant: JFE Steel Corporation
    Inventors: Shinjiro Kaneko, Kaneharu Okuda, Tetsuo Shimizu, Noriaki Moriyasu, Masahide Watabe
  • Patent number: 7846275
    Abstract: Disclosed is a hot rolled steel sheet in which it includes a steel having a chemical composition of 0.03 to 0.10% (the percent hereinafter representing % by mass) of C, 0.2 to 2.0% of Si, 0.5 to 2.5% of Mn, 0.02 to 0.10% of Al, 0.2 to 1.5% of Cr, 0.1 to 0.5% of Mo, and the residue of iron and inevitable contaminants, and in this steel sheet, at least 80% by area in longitudinal cross section has a martensitic structure. As a consequence, a high strength hot rolled steel sheet having a tensile strength of the level as high as 980 MPa or higher simultaneously with an excellent forming workability, and in particular, excellent stretch flangeability is provided at a relatively low cost.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 12, 2007
    Date of Patent: December 7, 2010
    Assignee: Kobe Steel, Ltd.
    Inventors: Kazuya Kimijima, Tetsuo Soshiroda
  • Publication number: 20100282376
    Abstract: An ultra soft high carbon hot-rolled steel sheet has excellent workability. The steel sheet is a high carbon hot-rolled steel sheet containing 0.2 to 0.7% C, and has a structure in which mean grain size of ferrite is 20 ?m or larger, the volume percentage of ferrite grains having 10 ?m or smaller size is 20% or less, mean diameter of carbide is in a range from 0.10 ?m to smaller than 2.0 ?m, the percentage of carbide grains having 5 or more of aspect ratio is 15% or less, and the contact ratio of carbide is 20% or less.
    Type: Application
    Filed: February 26, 2007
    Publication date: November 11, 2010
    Applicant: JFE STEEL CORPORATION, A CORPORATION OF JAPAN
    Inventors: Hideyuki Kimura, Takeshi Fujita, Nobuyuki Nakamura, Naoya Aoki, Masato Sasaki, Satoshi Ueoka, Shunji Iizuka
  • Patent number: 7828912
    Abstract: This invention provides a high-strength hot-rolled steel sheet having strength of at least 980 N/mm2 at a sheet thickness of from about 1.0 to about 6.0 mm and excellent in hole expandability, ductility and ability of phosphate coating, which steel sheet is directed to automotive suspension components that are subjected to pressing. The high-strength hot-rolled steel sheet contains, in terms of a mass %, C: 0.01 to 0.09%, Si: 0.05 to 1.5%, Mn: 0.5 to 3.2%, Al: 0.003 to 1.5%, P: 0.03% or below, S: 0.005% or below, Ti: 0.10 to 0.25%, Nb: 0.01 to 0.05% and the balance consisting of iron and unavoidable impurities; satisfies all of the following formulas <1> to <3>: 0.9?48/12×C/Ti<1.7??<1> 50,227×C?4,479×Mn>?9,860??<2> 811×C+135×Mn+602×Ti+794×Nb>465??<3>, and has strength of at least 980 N/mm2.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 26, 2003
    Date of Patent: November 9, 2010
    Assignee: Nippon Steel Corporation
    Inventors: Riki Okamoto, Hirokazu Taniguchi, Masashi Fukuda
  • Patent number: 7794552
    Abstract: A hot-rolled austenitic iron/carbon/manganese steel sheet, the strength of which is greater than 1200 MPa, the product P (strength (in MPa)×elongation at break (in %)) of which is greater than 65 000 MPa % and the nominal chemical composition of which comprises, the contents being expressed by weight: 0.85%?C?1.05%; 16%?Mn?19%; Si?2%; Al?0.050%; S?0.030%; P?0.050%; N?0.1%, and, optionally, one or more elements chosen from: Cr?1%; Mo?0.40%; Ni?1%; Cu?5%; Ti?0.50%; Nb?0.50%; V?0.50%, the rest of the composition consisting of iron and inevitable impurities resulting from the smelting, the recrystallized surface fraction of said steel being equal to 100%, the surface fraction of precipitated carbides of said steel being equal to 0% and the mean grain size of said steel being less than or equal to 10 microns.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 4, 2005
    Date of Patent: September 14, 2010
    Assignee: Arcelor France
    Inventors: Philippe Cugy, Nicolas Guelton, Colin Scott, Francois Stouvenot, Marie-Christine Theyssier
  • Publication number: 20100221573
    Abstract: The invention relates to a hot-rolled steel sheet having a tensile strength greater than 800 MPa and an elongation at break greater than 10%, the composition of which comprises, the contents being expressed by weight: 0.050%?C?0.090%, 1%?Mn?2%, 0.015%?Al?0.050%, 0.1%?Si?0.3%, 0.10%?Mo?0.40%, S?0.010%, P?0.025%, 0.003%?N?0.009%, 0.12%?V?0.22%, Ti?0.005%, Nb?0.020% and, optionally, Cr?0.45%, the balance of the composition consisting of iron and inevitable impurities resulting from the smelting, the microstructure of the sheet or the part comprising, as a surface fraction, at least 80% upper bainite, the possible complement consisting of lower bainite, martensite and residual austenite, the sum of the martensite and residual austenite contents being less than 5%.
    Type: Application
    Filed: July 9, 2008
    Publication date: September 2, 2010
    Applicant: ArcelorMittal France
    Inventors: Pascal Drillet, Damien Ormston
  • Publication number: 20100206439
    Abstract: A high strength hot rolled thick steel sheet has a tensile strength of 440 to 640 MPa, preferably 490 to 590 MPa, and an elongation of 20% or more; is excellent in uniformity in a sheet thickness direction and in strength and toughness after heat treatment; and is suitably used for structural components of automobiles, construction machines, and the like, and a method for manufacturing the hot rolled thick steel sheet. A steel material having a composition including C: 0.10 to 0.20%, Ti: 0.01 to 0.15%, B: 0.0010 to 0.0050%, and proper amounts of Si, Mn, Al, P, S, and N is hot-rolled at a finisher delivery temperature of 820 to 880° C. in finish rolling, is cooled at a cooling rate of 15 to 50° C./s until a temperature reaches a cooling stop temperature of 500 to 600° C., and is coiled.
    Type: Application
    Filed: June 6, 2008
    Publication date: August 19, 2010
    Applicant: JFE STEEL CORPORATION
    Inventors: Kazuhiro Seto, Nobuyuki Nakamura, Akio Kobayashi
  • Publication number: 20100139818
    Abstract: Disclosed is a ferritic stainless steel sheet which has excellent corrosion resistance against sulfuric acid in the high-temperature environment and shows less surface roughness at a bent part which is bent at 90° or more. Specifically disclosed is a ferritic stainless steel sheet which has the following chemical composition: C: 0.02 mass % or less, Si: 0.05 to 0.8 mass %, Mn: 0.5 mass % or less, P: 0.04 mass % or less, S: 0.010 mass % or less, Al: 0.10 mass % or less, Cr: 20 to 24 mass % Cu: 0.3 to 0.8 mass %, Ni: 0.5 mass % or less, Nb: 0.20 to 0.55 mass %, and N: 0.02 mass % or less, with the remainder being Fe and unavoidable impurities; and which has such a structure that the maximum particle diameter of an S-containing precipitate is 5 ?m or smaller.
    Type: Application
    Filed: June 18, 2008
    Publication date: June 10, 2010
    Applicant: JFE Steel Corporation
    Inventors: Tomohiro Ishii, Yoshimasa Funakawa, Takumi Ujiro, Masayuki Ohta
  • Patent number: 7699947
    Abstract: The invention relates to ultrahigh strength hot-rolled steel having a chemical composition consisting of, by weight: 0.05%?C?0.1% 0.7%?Mn?1.1% 0.5%?Cr?1.0% 0.05%?Si?0.3% 0.05%?Ti?0.1% Al?0.07% S?0.03% P?0.05% the remainder comprising iron and impurities resulting from the production thereof. Moreover, the inventive steel has a bainitic-martensitic structure which can contain up to 5% ferrite. The invention also relates to a method of producing bands of said steel.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 14, 2004
    Date of Patent: April 20, 2010
    Assignee: USINOR
    Inventors: Mireille Seux, Christophe Issartel, Fabienne Roumegoux
  • Patent number: 7682559
    Abstract: A Cr-bearing heat-resistant steel sheet with excellent workability comprising, in mass %, C of 0.001% to 0.010%, Si of 0.01% to 0.60%, Mn of 0.05% to 0.60%, P of 0.01% to 0.04%, S of 0.0005% to 0.0100%, Cr of 14% to 19%, N of 0.001% to 0.020%, Nb of 0.3% to 1.0%, Mo of 0.5% to 2.0% and, as required, one or more of Cu of 0.5% to 3.0%, W of 0.01% to 1.0% and Sn of 0.01% to 1.00%, and/or one or more of Ti of 0.01% to 0.20%, Al of 0.005% to 0.100%, Mg of 0.0002% to 0.0100%, and B of 0.0003% to 0.001%, with the remainder comprising iron and unavoidable impurities, and having an x-ray intensity ratio {111}/({100}+{211}) of 2 or greater in the central region of thickness.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 12, 2003
    Date of Patent: March 23, 2010
    Assignee: Nippon Steel Corporation
    Inventors: Junichi Hamada, Naoto Ono, Akihiko Takahashi, Tadashi Komori
  • Publication number: 20100059149
    Abstract: The present invention provides hot rolled steel plate for spiral pipe superior in low temperature toughness, thick in gauge, for example, having a plate thickness of 14 mm or more, and having a high strength of the API-X65 standard or more spiral pipe and a method of production of the same, that is, steel plate containing, by mass %, C: 0.01 to 0.1%, Si: 0.05 to 0.5%, Mn: 1 to 2%, P?0.03%, S?0.005%, O?0.003%, Al: 0.005 to 0.05%, N: 0.0015 to 0.006%, Nb: 0.005 to 0.08%, Ti: 0.005 to 0.02%, N?14/48×Ti>0%, Nb?93/14×(N?14/48×Ti>0.005%, Mo: 0.01% to less than 0.1%, Cr: 0.01 to 0.3%, and Cu: 0.01 to 0.3%, and having a balance of Fe and unavoidable impurities, characterized in that an elongation rate of a microstructure unit in a cross-section in the pipe circumferential direction after pipemaking is 2 or less.
    Type: Application
    Filed: March 4, 2008
    Publication date: March 11, 2010
    Inventors: Tatsuo Yokoi, Hiroshi Abe, Osamu Yoshida
  • Patent number: 7615126
    Abstract: High strength, hot rolled steel plate providing high level of bore expandability and high level of ductility. Also, method of manufacturing same. In first aspect, steel plate comprises steel having, by mass, C:0.01-0.15%; Si:0.30-2.00%; Mn:0.50-3.00%; P?0.03%; S?0.005%; Ti:0.01-0.50%; and/or Ni:0.01-0.05%, with balance Fe and unavoidable impurities. In this steel, ?80% of all grains have ratio of minor axis to major axis of ?0.1. This steel plate has steel structure comprising ?80% ferrite and balance bainite. In second aspect, steel plate has above composition, and ferrite-bainite duplex steel structure in which proportion of ferrite having grain diameter ?2 ?m is ?80%. In third aspect, steel plate has above composition. wherein contents of C, Si, Mn, Ti, and Nb satisfy requirement represented by formula: 115 ?(917?480[C %]+100[Si %]?100[Mn %])?(790×([Ti %]+[Nb %]/2)0.05)?235. This steel plate has steel structure comprising ?80% ferrite and balance bainite.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 7, 2001
    Date of Patent: November 10, 2009
    Assignee: Nippon Steel Corporation
    Inventors: Hiroyuki Okada, Toshimitsu Aso, Riki Okamoto
  • Patent number: 7608155
    Abstract: A galvanized steel sheet having (a) a dual phase microstructure with a martensite phase and a ferrite phase and (b) a composition containing by percent weight: carbon in a range from about 0.01% to about 0.18%; manganese in a range from about 0.2% to about 3%; silicon ? about 1.2%; aluminum in a range from about 0.01% to about 0.1%; one or both of chromium and nickel in a range from about 0.1% to about 3.5%; calcium in a range from about 0.0003% to about 0.01%; phosphorus ? about 0.01%; sulfur ? about 0.03%; nitrogen ? about 0.02%; molybdenum ? about 1%; copper ? about 0.8%; one or more of niobium, titanium, and vanadium ? about 1%; and boron ? about 0.006% by weight; and with the balance of the composition being iron and incidental ingredients. In one embodiment, the steel sheet is both galvanized and galvannealed.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 27, 2006
    Date of Patent: October 27, 2009
    Assignee: Nucor Corporation
    Inventor: Weiping Sun
  • Publication number: 20090260729
    Abstract: A high-carbon hot-rolled steel sheet with excellent width-direction homogeneity is provided. The steel sheet contains 0.2% to 0.7% carbon, 0.01% to 1.0% silicon, 0.1% to 1.0% manganese, 0.03% or less phosphorus, 0.035% or less sulfur, 0.08% or less aluminum, and 0.01% or less nitrogen, and the balance is iron and incidental impurities. The structure is such that the average ferrite grain size of edge parts of the steel sheet is less than 35 ?m, the average ferrite grain size of a part closer to the center of the steel sheet than the edge parts is less than 20 ?m, and the average carbide grain size is 0.10 ?m or more and less than 2.0 ?m. The steel sheet is produced by roughly rolling the steel, finish-rolling the steel at a finishing temperature of more than (Ar3+40° C.), cooling the steel at a cooling rate of more than 120° C./s within two seconds after the finish rolling to a cooling termination temperature of more than 550° C. and less than 650° C., coiling the steel at a temperature of 550° C.
    Type: Application
    Filed: August 6, 2007
    Publication date: October 22, 2009
    Inventors: Shunji Iizuka, Kazuhiro Seto, Akio Kobayashi, Kenichi MItsuzuka, Naoya Aoki, Hideyuki Kimura, Nobuyuki Nakamura
  • Publication number: 20090223609
    Abstract: The present invention provides a new high-strength and Si—Cr containing hot rolled steel plate provided with higher strength as well as excellent workability and a method for manufacturing the steel plate. The high-strength steel plate can be obtained by controlling the particle size of prior austenite to be 10 ?m or less, and properly selecting the coiling temperature. The steel plate obtained includes a retained austenite phase in a volume fraction of 5% to 20%; a martensite phase in a volume fraction equal to or less than 10%; and a bainite phase in the remaining volume fraction. The particle size of the retained austenite particle is 1 ?m or less and the retained austenite particles are dispersed uniformly.
    Type: Application
    Filed: April 7, 2008
    Publication date: September 10, 2009
    Applicant: NAKAYAMA STEEL WORKS, LTD.
    Inventors: Kazuaki Hakomori, Yuuji Kusumoto, Fuyuki Yoshida, Ichiro Chikushi, Takashi Ohtani, Ryurou Kurahashi, Masahiko Oda
  • Publication number: 20090205756
    Abstract: Provided is a hot-rolled thin steel sheet having a thickness of less than 6 mm and having high strength showing a tensile strength of 440 MPa or more, excellent formability, and excellent strength and toughness after heat treatment and a method of manufacturing the same. A steel base material containing 0.10 to 0.20% of C, and Si, Mn, Al, P, S, and N adjusted to suitable amount ranges, and 0.01 to 0. 15% of Ti and 0.0005 to 0.0050% of B is hot rolled so as to have a finishing temperature of finish rolling of 820 to 880° C.; after the completion of the rolling, the hot-rolled thin steel sheet is cooled to a surface temperature range of 550 to 650° C. at a surface cooling rate of 15 to 50° C./s; and the hot-rolled thin steel sheet is coiled at the temperature range.
    Type: Application
    Filed: July 6, 2007
    Publication date: August 20, 2009
    Inventors: Nobuyuki Nakamura, Kazuhiro Seto
  • Publication number: 20090202382
    Abstract: A high-ductility, high-strength and high Mn steel strip used for steel strips of automobiles requiring superior formability and high strength, a plated steel strip produced by using the same, and a manufacturing method thereof are disclosed. The high Mn steel strip comprises, by weight %, 0.2˜1.5% of C, 10˜25% of Mn, 0.01˜3.0% of Al, 0.005˜2.0% of Si, 0.03% or less of P, 0.03% or less of S, 0.040% or less of N, and the balance of Fe and other unavoidable impurities. The high-ductility, high-strength and high Mn steel strip, and the plated steel strip produced by using the same have superior surface properties and plating characteristics.
    Type: Application
    Filed: December 22, 2006
    Publication date: August 13, 2009
    Applicant: POSCO
    Inventors: Seong-Ju Kim, Kwang-Geun Chin, Hyun-Gyu Hwang, Sung-Kyu Kim, Il-Ryoung Sohn, Young-Kook Lee, Oh-Yeon Lee
  • Publication number: 20090173415
    Abstract: A steel sheet excellent in FB performance-and also excellent in fabrication performance after FB working and a manufacturing method of the same are provided. The steel sheet is a steel sheet having a composition containing from 0.1 to 0.5% of C, not more than 0.5% of Si and from 0.2 to 1.5% of Mn in terms of % by mass, with P and S being adjusted at proper ranges, and having a structure in which a ferrite has an average grain size of from 1 to 10 ?m, cementite has a spheroidization ratio of 80% or more, and of the cementite, an amount Sgb of ferrite intergranular cementite which is defined by the following expression (1): Sgb(%)={Son/(Son+Sin)}×100 (wherein Son represents a total occupied area of cementite present on the ferrite grain boundary of the cementite present per unit area; and Snin represents a total occupied area of cementite present in a ferrite grain of the cementite present per unit area) is 40% or more.
    Type: Application
    Filed: January 29, 2007
    Publication date: July 9, 2009
    Applicant: JFE STEEL CORPORATION
    Inventors: Kazuhiro Seto, Takeshi Yokota, Nobuyuki Nakamura, Nobusuke Kariya
  • Patent number: 7556701
    Abstract: A method for cooling a hot rolled steel strip including transferring a hot rolled steel strip while ejecting cooling water from a cooling means at a specified ejecting condition; pinching a top end of the hot rolled steel strip by a pinching roll, at the inlet of the cooling means and/or just behind the cooling means and/or at a position on the way of the cooling means; and releasing the hot rolled steel strip sequentially from a pinch roll arranged at an upstream side, concurrently with the arrival of a top end of the steel strip to a tension adding means arranged at a downstream side.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 1, 2006
    Date of Patent: July 7, 2009
    Assignee: JFE Steel Corporation
    Inventors: Akio Fujibayashi, Sadanori Imada, Yoshimichi Hino, Toru Minote, Yoichi Motoyashiki, Shozo Ikemune
  • Patent number: 7553380
    Abstract: Disclosed is a dual-phase steel sheet having low yield ratio, excellent in the balance for strength-elongation and for strength-stretch flange formability, and also excellent in bake hardening property containing (on the mass % basis). C: 0.01-0.20%, Si: 0.5% or less, Mn: 0.5-3%, sol.Al: 0.06% or less (inclusive 0%), P: 0.15% or less (exclusive 0%), and S: 0.02% or less (inclusive 0?), and in which the matrix phase contains tempered martensite; tempered martensite and ferrite; tempered bainite; or tempered bainite and ferrite, and the second phase comprises 1 to 30% of martensite at an area ratio based on the entire structure.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 3, 2006
    Date of Patent: June 30, 2009
    Assignee: Kobe Steel, Ltd.
    Inventors: Shushi Ikeda, Hiroshi Akamizu, Shunichi Hashimoto, Takahiro Kashima, Tatsuya Asai
  • Publication number: 20090126836
    Abstract: A high carbon hot-rolled steel sheet, as a hot-rolled spheroidizing annealed material, having both excellent stretch-flange formability and excellent homogeneity of hardness in the sheet thickness direction is provided by a manufacturing method having the steps of: hot-rolling a steel containing 0.2 to 0.7% C by mass at finishing temperatures of (Ar3 transformation point?20° C.) or above to prepare a hot-rolled sheet; cooling the hot-rolled sheet to temperatures of 650° C. or below at cooling rates from 60° C./s or larger to smaller than 120° C./s; coiling the hot-rolled sheet after cooling at coiling temperatures of 600° C. or below; and annealing the coiled hot-rolled sheet at annealing temperatures from 640° C. or larger to Ac1 transformation point or lower.
    Type: Application
    Filed: June 19, 2006
    Publication date: May 21, 2009
    Inventors: Nobusuke Kariya, Norio Kanamoto, Hidekazu Ookubo, Yoshiharu Kusumoto, Takeshi Fujita
  • Patent number: 7527700
    Abstract: The present invention relates to a high strength hot rolled steel sheet consisting of 0.04 to 0.15% C, 1.5% or less Si, 0.5 to 1.6% Mn, 0.04% or less P, 0.005% or less S, 0.04% or less Al, 0.03 to 0.15% Ti, 0.03 to 0.5% Mo, by mass, and balance of Fe and inevitable impurities, and having a microstructure consisting of ferrite containing precipitates, second phase of bainite and/or martensite, and other phase, wherein the percentage of the ferrite containing precipitates is 40 to 95%, and the percentage of the other phase is 5% or less. For example, the high strength hot rolled steel sheet having a thickness of 1.4 mm shows a tensile strength of 780 MPa or higher, an elongation of 22% or higher elongation, and a hole expansion ratio of 60% or higher, thus the steel sheet is suitable for reinforcing members automobile cabin and crash worthiness members of automobile.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 21, 2004
    Date of Patent: May 5, 2009
    Assignee: JFE Steel Corporation
    Inventors: Nobusuke Kariya, Shusaku Takagi, Tetsuo Shimizu, Tetsuya Mega, Kei Sakata, Hiroshi Takahashi
  • Patent number: 7507307
    Abstract: The present invention provides a method for manufacturing an ultra high strength cold-rolled steel sheet, comprising the step of continuously annealing a cold-rolled steel sheet consisting essentially of, in terms of weight percentages, 0.07 to 0.15% C, 0.7 to 2% Si, 1.8 to 3% Mn, 0.02% or less P, 0.01% or less S, 0.01 to 0.1% Sol. Al, 0.005% or less N, 0.0003 to 0.003% B, and the balance being Fe, in which such continuous annealing comprises the steps of: heating the cold-rolled steel sheet at from 800° C. to 870° C. for 10 seconds or more; slowly cooling the heated steel sheet down to from 650° C. to 750° C.; rapidly cooling the slowly cooled steel sheet down to 100° C. or less at a cooling speed of over 500° C./sec; reheating the rapidly cooled steel sheet at from 325° C. to 425° C. for from 5 minutes to 20 minutes; cooling the reheated steel sheet down to room temperature; and coiling the cooled steel sheet.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 6, 2003
    Date of Patent: March 24, 2009
    Assignee: JFE Steel Corporation
    Inventors: Kohei Hasegawa, Nobuyuki Nakamura, Toshiaki Urabe
  • Publication number: 20090071574
    Abstract: A steel sheet having (a) a dual phase microstructure with a martensite phase and a ferrite phase and (b) a composition containing by percent weight: 0.01?C?0.2; 0.3?Mn?3; 0.05?Si?2; 0.2?Cr+Ni?2; 0.01?Al?0.10; 0.0005?Ca?0.01, with the balance of the composition being iron and incidental ingredients. Also, the steel sheet is made by a batch annealing method, and has a tensile strength of at least approximately 400 megapascals and an n-value of at least approximately 0.175.
    Type: Application
    Filed: July 22, 2008
    Publication date: March 19, 2009
    Applicant: NUCOR CORPORATION
    Inventor: Weiping SUN
  • Publication number: 20090071575
    Abstract: A hot rolled steel sheet having a dual phase microstructure with a martensite phase of less than 35% by volume and a ferrite phase of more than 50% by volume and a composition containing by percent weight: 0.01?C?0.2; 0.3?Mn?3; 0.2?Si?2; 0.2?Cr+Ni?2; 0.01?Al?0.10; Mo less than about 0.2%, 0.0005?Ca?0.01, with the balance iron and incidental ingredients. Hot rolled sheet for cold rolling, the silicon range may be from about 0.05% to about 2%, and the amount of molybdenum may be up to 0.5%. Also, the hot rolled steel sheet has a tensile strength of at least 500 megapascals, a hole expansion ratio more than about 50%, and. a yield strength/tensile strength ratio less than 70%.
    Type: Application
    Filed: July 22, 2008
    Publication date: March 19, 2009
    Applicant: NUCOR CORPORATION
    Inventor: Weiping SUN
  • Publication number: 20090071578
    Abstract: A method for manufacturing a high carbon hot-rolled steel sheet. The method including the steps of hot-rolling, primary cooling, secondary cooling, coiling, acid-washing and annealing. The primary cooling step is to cool the hot-rolled steel sheet down to a cooling termination temperature of 450° C. to 600° C. at a cooling rate of higher than 120° C./sec. The secondary cooling step is to apply a secondary cooling to hold the primarily cooled hot-rolled steel sheet at a temperature of 450° C. to 650° C. until coiling.
    Type: Application
    Filed: November 6, 2008
    Publication date: March 19, 2009
    Applicant: JFE STEEL CORPORATION
    Inventors: Nobuyuki Nakamura, Takeshi Fujita, Yoshiro Tsuchiya, Shunji Ilzuka, Saiji Matsuoka
  • Patent number: 7503116
    Abstract: A continuous process for producing a shaped metal member from a feedstock comprising a flat web of metal includes a roll-forming station for shaping the web, a cutting station for cutting the shaped web into individual members, and a processing station for altering a physical characteristic of the metal comprising the members. The processing may include heat treating and/or shaping. The process may also be operable to carry out further operations such as marking, inspection, sorting and the like. Also disclosed is an apparatus for carrying out the process.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 18, 2005
    Date of Patent: March 17, 2009
    Assignee: Noble Advanced Technologies, Inc.
    Inventors: Tad Machrowicz, Frank McNulty, Jeff Bladow