Patents Examined by George P. Wyszomierski
  • Patent number: 7291201
    Abstract: A method for making Nano-scale lead-free solder includes the following steps of: forming a mixture solution Sn-Ag or Sn-Ag-Cu; making NaBH4, NaOH and alkyl C12H25OSO3Na to a reducing dispersing solution; producing reactant Sn-Ag or Sn-Ag-Cu by means of the oxidation reduction method; and adding 95% ethanol to be mixed, and cleaning the reactant by using a supersonic vibrator for removing boron (B) and sulfur (S) atom which adhere to the reactant, thereby producing the Nano-scale (0.1˜100 nm) lead-free solder Sn-3.5Ag or Sn-3.5Ag-xCu (x=0.2˜1.0).
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 30, 2004
    Date of Patent: November 6, 2007
    Assignee: National Tsing Hua University
    Inventors: Jeng-Gong Duh, Li-Yin Hsiao
  • Patent number: 7288134
    Abstract: Dumbbell-shaped or flower-shaped nanoparticles and a process of forming the same, wherein the process comprises forming a mixture of a nanoparticle with a precursor in a first solvent, wherein the nanoparticle comprises a hydrophobic outer coating; heating the mixture; cooling the mixture to room temperature; modifying the hydrophobic outer coating into a hydrophilic outer coating; precipitating a solid product from the mixture, and dispersing the product in a second solvent. The nanoparticles comprise any of a semiconducting, magnetic, and noble metallic material, wherein the nanoparticles comprise a first portion comprising any of PbSe, PbS, CdSe, CdS, ZnS, Au, Ag, Pd, and Pt, and wherein the precursor comprises any of a cationic, neutral or particulate Au, Ag, Pd, Pt, or transition metal (Fe, Co, Ni) precursors of Fe(CO)5, Co(CO)8, Ni(CO)4 or their analogues. The first and second solvents comprise any of alkanes, arenes, ethers, nitrites, ketones, and chlorinated hydrocarbons.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 10, 2004
    Date of Patent: October 30, 2007
    Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
    Inventors: Shouheng Sun, Heng Yu, Shan X. Wang
  • Patent number: 7270694
    Abstract: A process comprising: reacting a silver compound with a reducing agent comprising a hydrazine compound in the presence of a thermally removable stabilizer in a reaction mixture comprising the silver compound, the reducing agent, the stabilizer, and an optional solvent, to form a plurality of silver-containing nanoparticles with molecules of the stabilizer on the surface of the silver-containing nanoparticles.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 5, 2004
    Date of Patent: September 18, 2007
    Assignee: Xerox Corporation
    Inventors: Yuning Li, Yiliang Wu, Beng S. Ong
  • Patent number: 7255757
    Abstract: A nanocomposite comprising a plurality of nanoparticles dispersed in a molybdenum-based matrix, and an x-ray tube component formed from such a nanocomposite. The nanocomposite contains volume fraction of nanoparticle dispersoids in a range from about 2 volume percent to about 20 volume percent. A method of making such molybdenum-based nanocomposites is also disclosed.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 22, 2003
    Date of Patent: August 14, 2007
    Assignee: General Electric Company
    Inventors: Pazhayannur Ramanathan Subramanian, Judson Sloan Marte, Paul Leonard Dupree
  • Patent number: 7252699
    Abstract: Continuous, conducting metal patterns can be formed from metal nanoparticle containing films by exposure to radiation (FIG. 1). The metal patterns can be one, two, or three dimensional and have high resolution resulting in feature sizes in the order of micron down to nanometers. Compositions containing the nanoparticles coated with a ligand and further including a dye, a metal salt, and either a matrix or an optional sacrificial donor are also disclosed.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 17, 2001
    Date of Patent: August 7, 2007
    Assignee: The Arizona Board of Regents
    Inventors: Joseph W. Perry, Seth R. Marder, Francesco Stellacci
  • Patent number: 7252721
    Abstract: A power transmission shaft having an improved strength and ensuring a stable torsion fatigue strength. The power transmission shaft has coupling members respectively provided on the opposite ends of an pipe part made of a steel material. The steel material includes 0.30-0.45% by weight of C, 0.05-0.35% by weight of Si, 1.0-2.0% by weight of Mn, 0.05% by weight or less of Al, 0.01% by weight or less of S, and the remainder (iron Fe and unavoidable impurities). The pipe part has an electro-unite portion that extends in the axial direction. The electro-unite portion and neighborhood thereof are hardened so as to have a Rockwell hardness HRC of 45 or more. Also, another power transmission shaft has coupling members integrally formed on opposite ends thereof. In addition, the shaft is formed from a steel element tube by a plastic working.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 24, 2002
    Date of Patent: August 7, 2007
    Assignee: NTN Corporation
    Inventors: Kazuya Wakita, Katsuyuki Ikei, Hisaaki Kura
  • Patent number: 7250088
    Abstract: A method and an apparatus for manufacturing a directionally solidified columnar grained article with a reduced amount of secondary misorientation of the columnar grains. The method employs a casting assembly comprising a mold with a cavity, a selector section at a lower end of the mold, a heating chamber and a cooling chamber. The mold is fed with a liquid metal and moved from the heating chamber to the cooling chamber where the columnar grained article is solidified. The article is solidified with at least two dendrites or grains emerging from the selector section and entering the main cavity of the shell mold. Further, the selector section is configured so that no dendrite or grain grows from the bottom of the selector section into the shell mold cavity along a continuous path of purely vertical growth.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 31, 2003
    Date of Patent: July 31, 2007
    Assignee: Alstom
    Inventor: John Fernihough
  • Patent number: 7250134
    Abstract: A steel powder metal skeleton is infiltrated with an infiltrant composition similar to the skeleton, with an additional agent that depresses the melting point of the infiltrant relative to the skeleton. Infiltration is driven primarily by capillary pressure. The powder and infiltrant compositions differ primarily only in a higher concentration of a melting point depressant agent “MPD” in the infiltrant. Carbon (C) and silicon (Si) and several other elements can be elements in an MPD, either alone or in combination. Certain steel target compositions are such that a complementary infiltrant, and skeleton can be chosen such that a skeleton will remain solid at an infiltration temperature at which the infiltrant can be melted and fully infiltrated, and further where there is a persistent two phase field, with a liquid phase that is large enough (greater than 7% vol, and typically between 20 and 40 vol %) so that flow can be maintained without choke off from diffusional solidification.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 26, 2003
    Date of Patent: July 31, 2007
    Assignee: Massachusetts Institute of Technology
    Inventors: Brian D. Kernan, Emanuel M. Sachs, Samuel M. Allen, Adam M. Lorenz
  • Patent number: 7247188
    Abstract: A particle producing apparatus includes a reaction container, an introduction portion for introducing a source gas and a reaction inhibitor generating gas into the reaction container, an inert gas introduction portion for introducing a carrier gas into the reaction container, a heater provided on the reaction container, and an exhaust portion. The growth of particles is controlled using a particle producing reaction and a reverse reaction.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 30, 2003
    Date of Patent: July 24, 2007
    Assignee: Kabushiki Kaisha Toshiba
    Inventor: Isao Matsui
  • Patent number: 7244321
    Abstract: A composite metal object comprises ductile crystalline metal particles in an amorphous metal matrix. An alloy is heated above its liquidus temperature. Upon cooling from the high temperature melt, the alloy chemically partitions, forming dendrites in the melt. Upon cooling the remaining liquid below the glass transition temperature it freezes to the amorphous state, producing a two-phase microstructure containing crystalline particles in an amorphous metal matrix. The ductile metal particles have a size in the range of from 0.1 to 15 micrometers and spacing in the range of from 0.1 to 20 micrometers. Preferably, the particle size is in the range of from 0.5 to 8 micrometers and spacing is in the range of from 1 to 10 micrometers. The volume proportion of particles is in the range of from 5 to 50% and preferably 15 to 35%. Differential cooling can produce oriented dendrites of ductile metal phase in an amorphous matrix.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 12, 2003
    Date of Patent: July 17, 2007
    Assignee: California Institute of Technology
    Inventors: Choong Paul Kim, Charles C. Hays, William L. Johnson
  • Patent number: 7235119
    Abstract: Copper particle clusters constituting a powder suitable for making a conductive paste are provided that are individually composed of not fewer than two and not more than 20 unit particles joined through neck portions. A conductive paste made from the powder is excellent in conductivity. A conductive filler for conductive paste is provided that consists essentially of a mixture of copper particle clusters A individually composed of two or more unit particles joined through neck portions and spherical metallic particles B of smaller diameter than the particles A. A conductive paste made from the filler is low in viscosity and excellent in conductivity.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 21, 2005
    Date of Patent: June 26, 2007
    Assignee: Dowa Mining Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Kazushi Sano, Yoshihiro Okada, Hiromasa Miyoshi, Yoshiomi Takada
  • Patent number: 7229485
    Abstract: In a process for the reduction of a metalliferous ore or concentrate the ore or concentrate is first prepared into a particulate form. A reaction chamber (3, 103, 203, 301, 401, 503, 603, 702) is then charged with ore or concentrate, a reductant and an input gas. The reaction chamber (3, 103, 203, 301, 401, 503, 603, 702) is irradiated with electromagnetic radiation within a frequency range of 30 MHz to 300 GHz until a non-equilibrium plasma is initiated. The plasma is sustained and controlled with the radiation until the ore or concentrate is reduced to form reduction product.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 4, 2001
    Date of Patent: June 12, 2007
    Assignee: Tesla Group Holdings Pty Limited
    Inventor: Jeffrey Tanner-Jones
  • Patent number: 7226516
    Abstract: The invention relates to an aluminium OSF integrated circuit panel production method comprising surface preparation of two aluminium alloy sheets, deposition on one of the sheets of a weld-proof ink in reserved areas corresponding to the design of the circuit, connection by rolling of the sheets together, and expansion of the channels corresponding to the non-welded areas using a pressurised fluid, wherein one of the sheets is made of 1000 series alloy and the other of an alloy containing iron and manganese and such that Fe+Mn>0.8% (by weight), and preferentially >1, or 1.5%. The iron and manganese alloy is preferentially obtained by continuous casting of strips between two cooled rolls. The invention also relates to a continuous aluminium alloy integrated circuit panel production method.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 7, 2001
    Date of Patent: June 5, 2007
    Assignee: Alcan Rhenalu
    Inventors: Yves Doremus, Laurent Poizat, Hayat Elghazal
  • Patent number: 7217389
    Abstract: Articles formed from powders containing tungsten and at least one binder. In some embodiments, the article contains at least one metallic binder. In some embodiments, the article contains at least one non-metallic binder, such as a polymeric binder. In some embodiments, the article contains both a metallic binder and a non-metallic binder. In some embodiments the article is a firearms projectile, such as a bullet or shot, which may be ferromagnetic or non-ferromagnetic, which may be frangible or infrangible, and which may be jacketed or unjacketed. In some embodiments, the article is a radiation shield, and in other embodiments, the article is a weight or foundry article. In some embodiments, the article has a density in the range of approximately 8 g/cc and approximately 15 g/cc.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 7, 2002
    Date of Patent: May 15, 2007
    Inventor: Darryl D. Amick
  • Patent number: 7208028
    Abstract: W powder is produced by: preparing a precursor containing tungsten; producing gas by vaporizing or sublimating the precursor; separating the tungsten component by placing the gas in an inert atmosphere while maintaining pressure below atmospheric pressure; and condensing the tungsten component at pressure below atmospheric pressure.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 30, 2003
    Date of Patent: April 24, 2007
    Assignee: Korean Institute of Machinery and Materials
    Inventors: Byung Kee Kim, Jin Chun Kim
  • Patent number: 7189293
    Abstract: The present invention is a method of producing an annealed wafer wherein a silicon single crystal wafer having a diameter of 200 mm or more produced by the Czochralski (CZ) method is subjected to a high temperature heat treatment in an atmosphere of an argon gas, a hydrogen gas, or a mixture gas thereof at a temperature of 1100–1350° C. for 10–600 minutes, and before the high temperature heat treatmen, a pre-annealing is performed at a temperature less than the temperature of the high temperature heat treatment, so that the growth of slip dislocations is suppressed by growing oxide precipitates. Thereby, there is provided a method of producing an annealed wafer wherein the generation and growth of slip dislocations generated in a high temperature heat treatment are suppressed and the defect density in the wafer surface layer is lowered even in the case of a silicon single crystal wafer having a large diameter of 200 mm or more, and the annealed wafer.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 25, 2002
    Date of Patent: March 13, 2007
    Assignee: Shin-Etsu Handotai Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Norihiro Kobayashi, Masaro Tamatsuka, Takatoshi Nagoya, Wei Feig Qu, Hiroshi Takeno, Ken Aihara
  • Patent number: 7169351
    Abstract: A method for densification of the surface layer of an optionally sintered powder metal component comprising the steps of decarburizing the surface layer for softening the surface layer of the component, and densifying the surface layer of the component.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 25, 2001
    Date of Patent: January 30, 2007
    Assignee: Höganäs AB
    Inventors: Sven Bengtsson, Yang Yu, Martin Svensson
  • Patent number: 7150776
    Abstract: High purity refractory metals, valve metals, refractory metal oxides, valve metal oxides, or alloys thereof suitable for a variety of electrical, optical and mill product/fabricated parts usages are produced from their respective oxides by metalothermic reduction of a solid or liquid form of such oxide using a reducing agent that establishes (after ignition) a highly exothermic reaction, the reaction preferably taking place in a continuously or step-wise moving oxide such as gravity fall with metal retrievable at the bottom and an oxide of the reducing agent being removable as a gas or in other convenient form and unreacted reducing agent derivatives being removable by leaching or like process.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 3, 2004
    Date of Patent: December 19, 2006
    Assignee: H.C. Starck Inc.
    Inventors: Leonid N. Shekhter, Terrance B. Tripp, Leonid L. Lanin, Anastasia M. Conlon, Howard V. Goldberg
  • Patent number: 7060120
    Abstract: To produce a hydrogen absorbing alloy powder which is an aggregate of alloy particles each including a metal matrix and added-components, an aggregate of metal matrix particles and an aggregate of added-component particles are used, and mechanical alloying is carried out. In this case, the relationship between the particle size D of the metal matrix particles and the particle size d of the added-component particles is set at d?D/6. Thus, the milling time can be shortened remarkably.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 30, 2003
    Date of Patent: June 13, 2006
    Assignee: Honda Giken Kogyo Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventors: Izuru Kanoya, Takanori Suzuki, Mitsuya Hosoe, Hajime Goto
  • Patent number: 6752884
    Abstract: A method for manufacturing a mesh screen of an electrodeless lighting system, capable of intercepting microwave and passing light generated in a bulb, including a mesh screen forming step for forming a mesh screen to have a mesh structure, a first plating step for plating first metal substance on the surface of the mesh screen, a vacuum heat-treating step for vacuum-heat-treating the mesh screen under the condition that the temperature is risen to a predetermined degree, a second plating step for plating second metal substance on the surface of the mesh screen and a photocatalytic coating step for coating photocatalytic substance on the surface of the mesh screen, can improve plating characteristic of the mesh screen, strengthen the maintenance strength, lengthen the life span of the mesh screen and improve the optical character.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 8, 2002
    Date of Patent: June 22, 2004
    Assignee: LG Electronics Inc.
    Inventor: Byoung-Ok Min