Patents Examined by G. A. Blackwell-Rudasill
  • Patent number: 6699557
    Abstract: An optical recording medium (10) is adapted such that information is recorded by forming recording marks on a recording layer (12) that covers grooves (16) of an optical transparent substrate (14). In the recording layer (16), contiguously defined along a feed direction S of irradiation are virtual recording cells (40) which have a given unit length in the feed direction S of irradiation along the groove 16 and a given unit width in the direction orthogonal thereto. In addition, the groove width W is set so that 0.20×(&lgr;/NA)<W<0.50×(&lgr;/NA), where &lgr; is the wavelength of a laser beam to be irradiated with and NA is the numerical aperture of the objective lens for the laser beam in a irradiation optical system. The irradiation time is set in five stages or more to radiate the laser beam, thereby making it possible to record information in multi-levels.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 28, 2002
    Date of Patent: March 2, 2004
    Assignee: TDK Corporation
    Inventors: Hiroyuki Arioka, Syuji Tsukamoto, Takashi Horai, Shirou Ootsuki
  • Patent number: 6699342
    Abstract: A multi-layer tile material produced from layers of alumina enhanced thermal barrier material having different densities. The insulation layers are bound together by a high strength, high temperature alumina or silica binder having a coefficient of thermal expansion similar to that of the insulation layers. Use of the multi-layered tile allows the problems of tile slumping and of insufficient heat management associated with low density alumina enhanced thermal barrier tile to be overcome.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 7, 2003
    Date of Patent: March 2, 2004
    Assignee: The Boeing Company
    Inventor: Robert A. DiChiara, Jr.
  • Patent number: 6692836
    Abstract: A composite material having an aluminum substrate, an intermediate layer located on one side of the substrate, and an optically active multilayer system applied to the intermediate layer. The multilayer system includes three layers. The two upper layers are dielectric and/or oxide layers and the bottom layer is a metallic layer applied to the intermediate layer. In order to controllably and selectively set the absorptivity and reflectivity in various wavelength regions, the intention also being to ensure good processability, in particular deformability, a high thermal conductivity and high long-term thermal and chemical stability of the material, the top layer is a dielectric layer, preferably an oxide, fluoride or nitride layer of chemical composition MeOz, MeFr, MeNs, with a refractive index n<1.8. The middle layer is a chromium oxide layer of chemical composition CrOx. The bottom layer of gold, silver, copper, chromium, aluminum and/or molybdenum.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 20, 2001
    Date of Patent: February 17, 2004
    Assignee: Alanod Aluminium-Veredlung GmbH & Co. KG
    Inventors: Werner Reichert, Klaus Ganz
  • Patent number: 6692831
    Abstract: A heat treatable coated article including an infrared (IR) reflecting layer (e.g., of or including Ag), the coated article being able to attain a &Dgr;E* (glass side) no greater than about 3.0, more preferably no greater than 2.5, and even more preferably no greater than 2.0, following or due to heat treatment (e.g., thermal tempering). Accordingly, low-E (i.e., low emissivity) coated articles of certain embodiments of this invention appear from the glass side thereof visually similar to the naked eye both before and after heat treatment. Coated articles herein may be used in the context of insulating glass (IG) window units, vehicle windshields, or any other suitable applications. In certain embodiments of this invention, an exemplary layer stack includes: glass/Si3N4/NiCr/Ag/NiCr/Si3N4. Other materials may instead be used without departing from the scope and/or spirit of the instant invention which is a low-E matchable product.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 6, 2002
    Date of Patent: February 17, 2004
    Assignee: Guardian Industries Corp.
    Inventor: Grzegorz Stachowiak
  • Patent number: 6689428
    Abstract: The present invention provides an artificial bark for a decorative tree and a method of creating the material and applying it. The artificial bark includes an undercoat preferably made of a foamable plastic coating, a top coat also preferably made of a foamable plastic coating which is texturized, and a layer of colorant. The undercoat is applied to a structural member of the tree and then air dried. Then the top coat is applied, texturized by dragging a comb-like instrument across its surface, and air dried. Next, the undercoat and topcoat on the structural member are heat cured. Due to differences in the content of the undercoat and the top coat, heat curing causes the texture created in the top coat to be accentuated. After cooling, a colorant is applied to complete the artificial bark's resemblance to real tree bark.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 28, 2002
    Date of Patent: February 10, 2004
    Assignee: Boto (Licenses) Limited
    Inventor: Cheung Chong Kao
  • Patent number: 6686049
    Abstract: Anti-reflection colored film-coated glass products prepared by forming on a transparent glass substrate with a refractive index of 1.47-1.53, a high refractive index film with a refractive index of 1.59-2.30 and a film thickness of 80-140 nm and containing 0-85% silicon oxides, 10-95% titanium oxides and 5-30% fine gold particles in terms of weight percentage, and by forming on the high refractive index film, a low refractive index film with a refractive index which is a value in the range of 1.35-1.58 and at least 0.20 smaller than the refractive index of the high refractive index film, having a film thickness of 70-99 nm and containing 90-100% silicon oxides in terms of weight percentage.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 3, 2000
    Date of Patent: February 3, 2004
    Assignee: Nippon Sheet Glass Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Koichiro Nakamura, Toshifumi Tsujino
  • Patent number: 6677062
    Abstract: The present invention provides a method of forming a transparent conductive film at a low temperature that is suitable for use with a synthetic resin substrate. According to the production method of a substrate with an electrode of the present invention, an oxide conductive film composed of an amorphous material or mainly composed of an amorphous material is formed on a substrate at a temperature equal to or less than the crystallization temperature of the film, and subsequently, the formed oxide conductive film is crystallized by heating. The oxide conductive film is processed into the shape of an electrode either before or after crystallization, according to necessity.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 19, 2002
    Date of Patent: January 13, 2004
    Assignee: Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Naomi Kaneko, Naohide Wakita, Hiroshi Satani, Tsuyoshi Uemura
  • Patent number: 6677046
    Abstract: A glass ceramic having properties of low thermal expansion, high transmittance in a visible light region and low specific gravity, and a glass ceramic substrate made of the glass ceramic are provided. The glass ceramic has a crystal phase containing a &bgr;-quartz solid solution precipitated by heat treatment of a matrix glass for a glass ceramic, and the matrix glass has a glass composition comprising 55 to 70 mol % of SiO2, 13 to 23 mol % of Al2O3, 11 to 21 mol % of an alkali metal oxide, provided that the alkali metal oxide contains 10 to 20 mol % of Li2O and contains 0.1 to 3 mol % of Na2O and K2O in total, 0.1 to 4 mol % of TiO2 and 0.1 to 2 mol % of ZrO2, the total content of said components being at least 95 mol %, and further comprising 0 to less than 0.2 mol % of BaO, 0 to less than 0.1 mol % of P2O5, 0 to less than 0.3 mol % of B2O3 and 0 to leas than 0.1 mol % of SnO2.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 27, 2002
    Date of Patent: January 13, 2004
    Assignee: Hoya Corporation
    Inventors: Yoichi Hachitani, Keiji Hosoda, Kenji Matsumoto
  • Patent number: 6673456
    Abstract: The object of the present invention is to provide an interlayer film for laminated glass which exerts excellent heat insulation or electromagnetic wave transmittance and which is suitable for producing a laminated glass having excellent fundamental performance characteristics required for the laminated glass, such as transparency, especially good haze, appropriate bond strength between an interlayer film and glass, penetration resistance, impact absorption, weather resistance, and so on. Also, the object of the present invention is to provide a laminated glass produced by using the above-mentioned interlayer film.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 10, 2002
    Date of Patent: January 6, 2004
    Assignee: Sekisui Chemical Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Shinnen Kobata, Yoshio Aoshima, Hajime Shohi
  • Patent number: 6673433
    Abstract: Disclosed are antifouling material possessing excellent surface antifouling properties, particularly excellent antifouling activity against greasy stains and soils, a process for producing the same, and a coating composition and an apparatus for the antifouling material. The antifouling material comprises: a substrate; and an inorganic layer consisting essentially of an amorphous metal oxide, the inorganic layer containing an alkali metal and non-bridging oxygen in an amount effective in removing contaminants, derived from an exhaust gas, adhered on the surface of the inorganic layer by cleaning using running water alone to restore the diffuse reflectance of the surface of the inorganic layer to not less than 75% of the initial diffuse reflectance, the inorganic layer constituting the outermost fixed layer of the antifouling material.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 22, 2001
    Date of Patent: January 6, 2004
    Assignee: Toto Ltd.
    Inventors: Yoshimitsu Saeki, Hideki Kobayashi, Yoshitaka Mayumi, Kazuya Tsujimichi, Hiroyuki Fujii, Junji Kameshima, Tomoaki Morikawa, Shinji Tanaka, Yasushi Nakashima, Tatsuhiko Kuga
  • Patent number: 6667094
    Abstract: A paste for screen printing of electrical structures on substrates, in particular ceramic substrates, which includes a mixture of inorganic solid particles having high sintering temperature and an inorganic binding agent having a low sintering temperature below the sintering temperature of the inorganic solid particles, wherein the inorganic solid particles having high sintering temperature are at least partially in the form of fibers. The strength and breaking reliability of the printed and then fired electrical structures, such as resistors and coating layers, may be increased by the fiber components in the printing paste.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 16, 2001
    Date of Patent: December 23, 2003
    Assignee: Robert Bosch GmbH
    Inventors: Walter Beck, Joachim Hennig, Klaus Krüger
  • Patent number: 6663945
    Abstract: A multilayer card is described. The multilayer card includes a base layer, a watermark layer, an image layer, and an opaque layer. The watermark layer is provided on the base layer and is at least partially transparent. The image layer is provided on the watermark layer. The opaque layer is provided on the image layer.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 26, 2001
    Date of Patent: December 16, 2003
    Assignee: ALPS Electric Co., Ltd.
    Inventor: Tsuyoshi Miyano
  • Patent number: 6656599
    Abstract: A metal article, in particular a component for a thermal cracking furnace, and a method of protecting the metal from exposure to carbon, the article having a protective coating that has a glass-ceramic surface and an interior having a CTE between that of the glass-ceramic and the metal.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 8, 2001
    Date of Patent: December 2, 2003
    Assignee: Corning Incorporated
    Inventors: David G. Grossman, Kamjula P. Reddy, Michael H. Wasilewski
  • Patent number: 6656597
    Abstract: A glass plate has a thickness of from 1.5 to 3 mm, and it has a peripheral region having a predetermined width along the edge line of the plate and having its principal stress difference of compressive properties, an intermediate region having a predetermined width adjacent to an inner periphery of the peripheral region and having its principal stress difference of tensile properties and a central region occupying an inner peripheral side of the intermediate region wherein the central region has an averaged surface compression stress of from 15 to 35 MPa, and the peripheral region has a width of from 5 to 20 mm; the maximum value of the principal stress difference averaged in a thickness direction of the plate along its center line is from 20 to 40 MPa, and the minimum value of the principal stress difference averaged in a thickness direction along the center line is from 8 to 25 MPa.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 5, 2001
    Date of Patent: December 2, 2003
    Assignee: Asahi Glass Company, Limited
    Inventor: Masayuki Takahara
  • Patent number: 6649288
    Abstract: A Group III nitride film is directly grown on a crystalline substrate along the C-axis of the substrate, and includes at least Al. The Group III nitride film has a hexagonal crystal system, and the lattice constant “c” of the c-axis of the Group III nitride film and the lattice constant “a” of the crystal face perpendicular to the main surface of the substrate satisfies the relation of “C>2.636a-3.232”.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 16, 2001
    Date of Patent: November 18, 2003
    Assignee: NGK Insulators, Ltd.
    Inventors: Tomohiko Shibata, Yukinori Nakamura, Mitsuhiro Tanaka
  • Patent number: 6649278
    Abstract: A process for forming a thin layer exhibiting a substantially uniform property on an active surface of a semiconductor substrate. The process includes varying the temperature within a reaction chamber while a layer of a material is formed upon the semiconductor substrate. Varying the temperature within the reaction chamber facilitates temperature uniformity across the semiconductor wafer. As a result, a layer forming reaction occurs at a substantially consistent rate over the entire active surface of the semiconductor substrate. The process may also include oscillating the temperature within the reaction chamber while a layer of a material is being formed upon a semiconductor substrate.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 20, 2001
    Date of Patent: November 18, 2003
    Assignee: Micron Technology, Inc.
    Inventors: Garry Anthony Mercaldi, Don Carl Powell
  • Patent number: 6649287
    Abstract: The invention provides semiconductor materials including a gallium nitride material layer formed on a silicon substrate and methods to form the semiconductor materials. The semiconductor materials include a transition layer formed between the silicon substrate and the gallium nitride material layer. The transition layer is compositionally-graded to lower stresses in the gallium nitride material layer which can result from differences in thermal expansion rates between the gallium nitride material and the substrate. The lowering of stresses in the gallium nitride material layer reduces the tendency of cracks to form. Thus, the invention enables the production of semiconductor materials including gallium nitride material layers having few or no cracks. The semiconductor materials may be used in a number of microelectronic and optical applications.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 14, 2000
    Date of Patent: November 18, 2003
    Assignee: Nitronex Corporation
    Inventors: T. Warren Weeks, Jr., Edwin L. Piner, Thomas Gehrke, Kevin J. Linthicum
  • Patent number: 6645608
    Abstract: The invention relates to a reflection reducing coating on a substrate which is formed from an alternating change layer system each having a lower and higher refractive index. In particular, the invention can be advantageously employed on surfaces of substrates such as optical elements and spectacle glasses, in particular. According to the object most different substrates are to be coated, and during the deposition of a reflection reducing coating an unacceptable temperature rise of the respective substrate is not to occur. With this, a coating is deposited in which the sum of the layer thicknesses of layers each having a higher refractive index is ≦5% of the total layer thickness of the coating, and the layers of the material having a higher refractive index within the layer sequence of the change layer system are uniformly distributed.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 22, 2002
    Date of Patent: November 11, 2003
    Assignee: Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft zur Forderung der angewandten Forschung e.V.
    Inventors: Ulrike Schulz, Norbert Kaiser, Uwe Schallenberg
  • Patent number: 6638626
    Abstract: A protective plate for a plasma display comprises conductive substrate for protecting a plasma display and an electrode in electrical contact with the conductive substrate.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 3, 2002
    Date of Patent: October 28, 2003
    Assignee: Asahi Glass Company Ltd.
    Inventors: Nobuyoshi Sakurada, Toshihiro Ajikata, Kouichi Osada, Ken Moriwaki, Katsuaki Aikawa, Kazuyoshi Noda, Takuji Oyama
  • Patent number: 6623842
    Abstract: In a surface electrode structure on a ceramic multi-layer substrate having on the surface SAW device mounting surface electrodes for mounting flip chips as surface-acoustic-wave devices by gold-gold bonding and soldered parts mounting surface electrodes. Further, at least the lowermost layer is made of a sintered silver conductor which is partly buried in the ceramic multi-layer substrate, a nickel or a nickel alloy layer being contained as an intermediate layer, and the topmost layer being a gold layer. Thus, a surface electrode structure on a ceramic multi-layer substrate is suitable for both mounting of SAW devices by gold-gold bonding and mounting of other parts by soldering and which enable consistent mounting of individual parts using a ceramic multi-layer substrate to provide higher reliability.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 20, 2001
    Date of Patent: September 23, 2003
    Assignee: TDK Corporation
    Inventors: Fumio Uchikoba, Tomoyuki Goi