Patents Examined by Chrisman D. Carroll
  • Patent number: 6277499
    Abstract: A method is taught for protecting copper and copper-based composites from high temperature oxidation, by the application thereto of a cobalt-based alloy diffusion barrier and a copper-aluminum alloy protective outer layer.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 23, 1992
    Date of Patent: August 21, 2001
    Assignee: United Technologies Corporation
    Inventors: Russell A. Beers, Abdus S. Khan, Allan A. Noetzel
  • Patent number: 5933703
    Abstract: A process for the preparation of a fiber reinforced metal matrix composite comprising fibers embedded in a metal in which the process comprises forming a body with a layer of aligned fibers between at least two layers of metal foil and densifying said layers wherein the layer of aligned fibers comprises metal particles interposed between individual fibers, the metal particles being compatible with the metal foil. A preform for a fiber reinforced metal matrix composite is also claimed which comprises a resin and a layer of aligned fibers, the layer having metal particles interposed between adjacent fibers and the layer and particles being bonded together with the resin.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 18, 1997
    Date of Patent: August 3, 1999
    Assignee: The Secretary of State for Defence in Her Britannic Majesty's Government of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland
    Inventor: James Garfield Robertson
  • Patent number: 5912429
    Abstract: Thermoelectric material for high temperature use made of a sintered body of a relative density of at least 75% consisting mainly of cobalt antimony compounds having an elemental ratio Sb/(Co+additives)=x of 2.7<x<3 is produced by a method of firing a shaped body of powders consisting mainly of cobalt and antimony in a non-oxidizing atmosphere under an environmental pressure, wherein the shaped body before the firing is constituted from crystal phases composed of a cubic crystal system compound CoSb.sub.3 (A phase), a monoclinic crystal system compound CoSb.sub.2 (B phase) and a hexagonal crystal system compound CoSb (C phase), and constitutional ratio of these crystal phases is (I.sub.B +I.sub.C)/(I.sub.A +I.sub.B +I.sub.C)<0.15 (wherein, I.sub.X (X is A, B or C) is a relative intensity by X-ray diffraction).
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 19, 1997
    Date of Patent: June 15, 1999
    Assignees: NGK Insulators, Ltd., Nissan Motor Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Yuichiro Imanishi, Makoto Miyoshi, Kazuhiko Shinohara, Masakazu Kobayashi
  • Patent number: 5897962
    Abstract: A method of making flowable tungsten/copper composite powder by milling an aqueous slurry of a mixture of the desired weight ratio of tungsten powder and copper oxide powder and, optionally, a small amount of cobalt powder, spray-drying the slurry to form spherical, flowable agglomerates, and reducing the agglomerates in a hydrogen atmosphere.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 13, 1995
    Date of Patent: April 27, 1999
    Assignee: Osram Sylvania Inc.
    Inventors: David L. Houck, Nelson Kopatz, Muktesh Paliwal, Sanjay Sampath
  • Patent number: 5891584
    Abstract: Articles for hot hydrocarbon fluid wherein the surface for contacting the fluid is a diffusion barrier material or a catalytic material coated on a metal substrate. The material is either catalytically-inactive tantalum oxide which inhibits the formation of coke in the fluid or catalytically-active zirconium oxide which promotes the formation of a loosely adherent coke in the fluid while inhibiting the formation of gum in the fluid. The coating materials, i.e., the diffusion barrier coating material and the catalytic coating material, are deposited by chemical vapor deposition (CVD), e.g., by effusive chemical vapor deposition of an organometallic compound on the surface without the use of carrier gas, without pre-oxidation of the surface and without thermal decomposition of the diffusion barrier material or the catalytic coating material.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 17, 1997
    Date of Patent: April 6, 1999
    Assignee: General Electric Company
    Inventor: George A. Coffinberry
  • Patent number: 5874055
    Abstract: A process for the extraction of a metal from an ore or concentrate comprises subjecting the ore or concentrate to pressure oxidation in the presence of oxygen and an acidic solution containing halogen ions and a source of bisulphate or sulphate ions, such as H.sub.2 SO.sub.4. The metals which can be extracted by the process comprises copper, as well as non-cuprous metals, such as zinc, and precious metals, such as gold and silver.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 26, 1996
    Date of Patent: February 23, 1999
    Assignee: Cominco Engineering Services Ltd.
    Inventor: David L. Jones
  • Patent number: 5869012
    Abstract: A process for the extraction of zinc from a sulphide ore or concentrate containing copper and zinc includes subjecting the concentrate to pressure oxidation in the presence of oxygen and an acidic halide solution to obtain a resulting pressure oxidation slurry and subjecting the slurry to a liquid/solid separation step to produce a liquor containing copper and zinc in solution. The liquor containing the copper and zinc is subjected to a first solvent extraction with a copper extractant to remove copper from the solution and to produce a copper depleted raffinate. The copper depleted raffinate is subjected to a second solid extraction with a zinc extractant to produce a zinc depleted raffinate and the zinc depleted raffinate is recycled to the pressure oxidation step.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 26, 1996
    Date of Patent: February 9, 1999
    Assignee: Cominco Engineering Services Ltd.
    Inventor: David L. Jones
  • Patent number: 5866081
    Abstract: In a pollutant destruction apparatus with at least one corona discharge reactor, one or more inner electrodes are deposited on the interior dielectric surface of each reactor, preferably by metal vapor deposition, to provide structural support and heat dissipation for the inner electrodes.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 19, 1996
    Date of Patent: February 2, 1999
    Assignee: Hughes Electronics Corporation
    Inventors: Weldon S. Williamson, Franklin A. Dolezal
  • Patent number: 5864087
    Abstract: A thermoelectric device is provided which is good in terms of responsibility to heat, by which a relatively large electric power can be produced, which is good in terms of durability, and which can be manufactured at reduced cost. The thermoelectric device includes a substrate having a thickness of 2.0 mm or less, and a thick-film type thermoelectric material formed on the substrate, and having a thickness of from 0.01 mm to 1.0 mm. The thick-film type thermoelectric material is covered with a glassy coating. By the coating, the thick-film type thermoelectric material is inhibited from coming off, and from deteriorating oxidatively.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 30, 1997
    Date of Patent: January 26, 1999
    Assignee: Technova Inc.
    Inventors: Takashi Amano, Naoki Kamiya, Makoto Okabayashi
  • Patent number: 5853913
    Abstract: An automatic re-fill device includes a body portion adapted to be secured in the accumulator lid and a tubular element having a lower float portion and being slidable within the body. The tubular element has a closure device within the body and a membrane at an upper portion thereof for increasing upward pushing force to close the closure when the float is lifted by the liquid in the accumulator.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 27, 1997
    Date of Patent: December 29, 1998
    Inventor: Olimpio Stocchiero
  • Patent number: 5840171
    Abstract: The invention provides an electrochemical reaction wherein a controlled amount of a first reagent is generated electrochemically at an electrode in electrical contact with a solution of an electrochemically inert salt, comprising applying a suitable electrical potential to the electrode for a suitable time to generate a controlled amount of the first reagent by electrochemical reaction between the electrode and a species in solution producing a localized thin layer environment comprising the first reagent in the vicinity of the electrode; and monitoring the amount or presence of the first reagent or a further species produced in solution in response to production of the first reagent. The method invention thus involves generating the first reagent in situ at an electrode.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 3, 1995
    Date of Patent: November 24, 1998
    Assignee: Unilever Patent Holdings BV
    Inventors: Brian Jeffrey Birch, Nicholas Andrew Morris
  • Patent number: 5841064
    Abstract: A Peltier effect module comprising a plurality of Peltier effect elements arranged in parallel between a pair of substrates where the Peltier effect elements are connected to connection electrodes disposed on the substrates. The array of Peltier effect elements is sealed off by a hollow seal frame surrounding the Peltier effect element array with a seal formed by a bond between both end edges of the seal frame and the substrates. Because the perimeter around the Peltier effect elements is sealed using a seal frame metalically bonded at both ends to the substrates, resistance to moisture penetration is largely determined by the material from which the seal frame is made. Therefore, by appropriately selecting the seal frame materials, the Peltier effect module can be reliably protected for a long period of time against moisture penetration.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 24, 1997
    Date of Patent: November 24, 1998
    Assignee: Matsushita Electric Works, Ltd.
    Inventors: Nobuteru Maekawa, Katsuyoshi Shimoda, Teruaki Komatsu, Shinya Murase, Hiroaki Okada, Hiroyuki Inoue
  • Patent number: 5840437
    Abstract: The apparatus comprises a cell block with fuel cells, a heat insulating sleeve and an afterburner chamber between the sleeve and the cell block. The afterburner chamber is connected at two opposite ends via channels to at least one exhaust outlet for exhaust gases. These channels are each closeable by a blocking member, with the combustion chamber of the auxiliary burner communicating with the channel between the afterburner chamber and one of the blocking members. This blocking member is closed during a starting-up phase, while the other blocking member is open.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 26, 1996
    Date of Patent: November 24, 1998
    Assignee: Sulzer Innotec AG
    Inventor: Roland Diethelm
  • Patent number: 5837928
    Abstract: A thermoelectric radiator for generating a direct current while providing at least a portion of the necessary cooling is formed with a first and second plurality of interdigitated thermoelectric lamella which are electrically joined and are connected to the positive and negative portions of the electrical system. The result is direct current flow when a heated coolant is passed over the lamella.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 27, 1996
    Date of Patent: November 17, 1998
    Inventor: Robert D. Zinke
  • Patent number: 5837929
    Abstract: A method of making a microelectronic thermoelectric device comprises the steps of providing a substrate of a predetermined material, creating thermally isolated, alternating P-type and N-type semiconductor materials on the substrate, electrically connecting the P-type areas to adjacent N-type areas on opposite sides of each P-type area so that each side of a P-type area is connected to an adjacent different N-type area and leaving a free P-type end and a free N-type end, and providing an electrical lead on the free end of the P-type area and an electrical lead on the free end of said N-type area for connection to a source of electrical power. Further, a microelectronic thermoelectric device comprises a plurality of sections of semiconductor material of a first conductivity type and a plurality of sections of second conductivity type opposite to the first type. The sections are arranged to alternate from one type to the other and are thermally isolated from one another.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 4, 1996
    Date of Patent: November 17, 1998
    Assignee: Mantron, Inc.
    Inventor: Lonnie W. Adelman
  • Patent number: 5835841
    Abstract: A composite material is composed of a matrix and dispersed components which form a discontinuous three-dimensional network structure in the matrix. It permits the dispersed components to fully exhibit the characteristic properties without any loss of mechanical properties. A process for producing the above-mentioned composite material includes preparing a raw material powder such that granules of desired shape for the matrix are discontinuously covered with components of desired shape for the dispersed phase, molding the raw material powder into a desired shape, and heating the molded article.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 22, 1996
    Date of Patent: November 10, 1998
    Assignee: Kabushiki Kaisha Toyota Chuo Kenkyusho
    Inventors: Katsunori Yamada, Nobuo Kamiya
  • Patent number: 5835842
    Abstract: A material for use in the production of an alloy having excellent corrosion resistance and abrasion resistance is provided. The material includes a cored wire formed from at least a pipe of matrix metal, which is at least one member selected from an Fe-base alloy, a Co-base alloy, and a Ni-base alloy. A VC powder having a particle diameter of 10 .mu.m or less is filled into the pipe. Also provided is a material for use in the production of an alloy having excellent corrosion resistance and abrasion resistance. The material includes a powder mixture containing at least a matrix metal, which is at least one member selected from an Fe-base alloy, a Co-based alloy and a Ni-base alloy, and a VC powder having a particle diameter of 10 .mu.m or less.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 10, 1996
    Date of Patent: November 10, 1998
    Assignees: Toshiba Kikai Kabushiki Kaisha, Daido Stell Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Kyoichi Sasaki, Yoshihisa Kato
  • Patent number: 5828712
    Abstract: Fluid flow rates are determined with a nonradioactive tracer agent in the operation of a water cooled nuclear fission reactor employed for driving electrical power generators. The technique is proposed for use to routinely calibrate other flow measuring means such as restricted flow nozzles.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 13, 1992
    Date of Patent: October 27, 1998
    Assignee: General Electric Company
    Inventors: Martin Sullivan Laurent, Michael Eildon Ball, Lynn Lawrence Sundberg, James Leon Simpson
  • Patent number: 5822674
    Abstract: A material for electric contacts based on silver-tin oxide is obtained by mixing a powder of silver or an alloy mainly containing silver with a powder consisting mainly of tin oxide and 0.01 to 10 wt. % (in relation to the quantity of tin oxide) of an additive consisting of one or more compounds containing silver, oxygen and a metal from sub-groups II to VI of the periodic system and/or antimony, bismuth, germanium, indium and gallium, compacting the mixture and sintering it. The tin oxide may be replaced by zinc oxide.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 18, 1995
    Date of Patent: October 13, 1998
    Assignee: Doduco GmbH + Co. Dr. Eugen Durrwachter
    Inventors: Volker Behrens, Thomas Honig
  • Patent number: H1922
    Abstract: A composition suitable for coating fabrics is provided. The composition comprises a halogen-containing copolymer of a C.sub.4 to C.sub.7 isomonoolefin and a para-alkylstyrene; a filler; a processing aid, and a curing agent. A fabric coated with the composition is also provided.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 11, 1994
    Date of Patent: November 7, 2000
    Assignee: Exxon Chemical Patents Inc.
    Inventors: James Vincent Fusco, Donald Frederick Kruse, Irwin Jerome Gardner