Patents Examined by Janelle Morillo
  • Patent number: 7473327
    Abstract: A wear-resistant aluminum alloy improved in wear resistance (or viscosity), including: 0.1 to 0.39 wt % of Mg, 3.0 to 6.0 wt % of Si, 0.01 to 0.5 wt % of Cu, 0.01 to 0.5 wt % of Fe, 0.01 to 0.5 wt % of Mn, 0.01 to 0.5 wt % of Cr, and the remainder being Al and unavoidable impurities; and an extruded product using the aluminum alloy.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 26, 2004
    Date of Patent: January 6, 2009
    Assignee: Aisin Keikinzoku Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Nobuyuki Takase, Nobuyuki Higashi, Kazuhiro Nishikawa
  • Patent number: 7468088
    Abstract: One aspect of the invention is a method for incorporating carbon homogeneously into aluminum materials. The first step is to apply a positive charge to molten aluminum. Next, a negative charge is applied to an organic compound. Under an inert atmosphere, the negatively charged organic compound is mixed with the positively charged molten aluminum while running electric current therethrough. An aluminum material with carbon homogeneously dispersed throughout is recovered.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 23, 2005
    Date of Patent: December 23, 2008
    Assignee: Aluminastic Corporation
    Inventors: Matthew E. Blankenhorn, William F. Clifford, Sr.
  • Patent number: 7465424
    Abstract: Provided is a sputtering target material which has a high reflectance and which is excellent in a sulfurization resistance, comprising an Ag alloy prepared by alloying Ag with a specific small amount of the metal component (A) selected from In, Sn and Zn, a specific small amount of the metal component (B) selected from Au, Pd and Pt and, if necessary, a small amount of Cu.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 15, 2002
    Date of Patent: December 16, 2008
    Assignee: Ishifuku Metal Industry Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Koichi Hasegawa, Nobuo Ishii, Tomoyoshi Asaki
  • Patent number: 7452430
    Abstract: In reforming mechanical characteristics of a precipitation hardening type Al alloy casting, the Al alloy casting is subjected to a high temperature/high pressure treatment, then the pressure is reduced while maintaining the temperature of the Al alloy casting, and subsequently the Al alloy casting is subjected to solution treatment, quenching, and aging in this order. According to this method, mechanical characteristics of the casting can be reformed efficiently and economically and there can be obtained a reformed product of good quality.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 2, 2003
    Date of Patent: November 18, 2008
    Assignee: Kabushiki Kaisha Kobe Seiko Sho (Kobe Steel, Ltd.)
    Inventors: Yasuo Manabe, Makoto Yoneda, Shigeo Kofune
  • Patent number: 7452429
    Abstract: The present invention relates to an extruded, rolled and/or forged product made of an aluminum alloy. Alloys of the present invention may comprise (by mass): Zn 6.7-7.5% Cu 2.0-2.8% Mg 1.6-2.2% at least one element selected from the group composed of: i Zr 0.08-0.20% Cr 0.05-0.25% Sc 0.01-0.50% Hf 0.05-0.20% and V 0.02-0.20% Fe+Si<0.20% other elements ?0.05 each and ?0.15 total, balance aluminum. Products of the present invention in some embodiments have an improved compromise between static mechanical strength and damage tolerance.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 23, 2004
    Date of Patent: November 18, 2008
    Assignee: Pechiney Rhenalu
    Inventors: Julien Boselli, Fabrice Heymes, Frank Eberl, Timothy Warner
  • Patent number: 7449073
    Abstract: The invention provides a 2000 series aluminum alloy having enhanced damage tolerance, the alloy consisting essentially of about 3.0-4.0 wt % copper; about 0.4-1.1 wt % magnesium; up to about 0.8 wt % silver; up to about 1.0 wt % Zn; up to about 0.25 wt % Zr; up to about 0.9 wt % Mn; up to about 0.5 wt % Fe; and up to about 0.5 wt % Si, the balance substantially aluminum, incidental impurities and elements, said copper and magnesium present in a ratio of about 3.6-5 parts copper to about 1 part magnesium. The alloy is suitable for use in wrought or cast products including those used in aerospace applications, particularly sheet or plate structural members, extrusions and forgings, and provides an improved combination of strength and damage tolerance.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 7, 2005
    Date of Patent: November 11, 2008
    Assignee: Alcoa Inc.
    Inventors: Jen C. Lin, John M. Newman, Paul E. Magnusen, Gary H. Bray
  • Patent number: 7449045
    Abstract: A method of handling liquid non-ferrous metals after smelting. The liquid metal is in contact with a solid refractory material, and in the absence of electrical currents passing through the liquid-metal-contacting surfaces. The solid material is Ti3SiC2. The liquid non-ferrous material can be aluminum or an aluminum alloy, magnesium or a magnesium alloy, or other non-ferrous materials as to which the Ti3SiC2 material is stable.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 14, 2006
    Date of Patent: November 11, 2008
    Assignees: Sandvik Intellectual Property AB, Drexel University
    Inventors: Mats Sundberg, Jan-Olof Olsson, Chet Popilowski
  • Patent number: 7442266
    Abstract: A high-strength titanium alloy of the present invention includes Ti as a major component, 15 to 30 at % Va group element, and 1.5 to 7 at % oxygen (O) when the entirety is taken as 100 atomic % (at %), and its tensile strength is 1,000 MPa or more. Overturning the conventional concept, regardless of being high oxygen contents, it has been possible to achieve the compatibility between the high strength and high ductility on a higher level.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 26, 2003
    Date of Patent: October 28, 2008
    Assignee: Kabushiki Kaisha Toyota Chuo Kenkyusho
    Inventors: Tadahiko Furuta, Kazuaki Nishino, Takashi Saito, JungHwan Hwang
  • Patent number: 7438772
    Abstract: An aluminum-copper-magnesium alloy having ancillary additions of lithium. The alloy composition includes from about 3 to about 5 weight percent Cu, from about 0.5 to about 2 weight percent Mg, and from about 0.01 to about 0.9 weight percent Li. The combined amount of Cu and Mg is maintained below a solubility limit of the aluminum alloy. The alloys possess improved combinations of fracture toughness and strength, and also exhibit good fatigue crack growth resistance.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 3, 2003
    Date of Patent: October 21, 2008
    Assignee: Alcoa Inc.
    Inventors: Roberto J. Rioja, Gary H. Bray, Paul E. Magnusen
  • Patent number: 7435305
    Abstract: A compressor wheel made of a cast aluminum alloy, wherein the cast aluminum alloy contains Cu 1.4 to 3.2 mass %, Mg 1.0 to 2.0 mass %, Ni 0.5 to 2.0 mass %, Fe 0.5 to 2.0 mass %, and at least one selected from the group consisting of Ti 0.01 to 0.35 mass %, Zr 0.01 to 0.30 mass %, Sc 0.01 to 0.8 mass %, and V 0.01 to 0.5 mass %, with the balance being aluminum and inevitable impurities, with the [(Cu content)+0.5×(Mg content)] being 3.8 mass % or less, and with a secondary dendrite arm spacing being 50 ?m or less, wherein the cast aluminum alloy is being reinforced by a solution treatment and an aging treatment, and wherein the compressor wheel shows good heat resistant strength, and is for use in a turbocharger.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 21, 2005
    Date of Patent: October 14, 2008
    Assignee: Furukawa-Sky Aluminum Corp.
    Inventors: Ryo Shoji, Takayuki Sotome, Toshiya Okada, Yoki Hirano
  • Patent number: 7422645
    Abstract: A method of press quenching a 6020 aluminum alloy comprising the steps of providing an ingot or billet of 6020 aluminum alloy consisting essentially of about 0.5 to about 0.6% silicon, about 0.7 to about 0.8% magnesium, about 0.55 to about 0.65% copper, about 0.35 to about 0.45% iron, about 0.01 to about 0.04% manganese, about 1.05 to about 1.15% tin, and about 0.04 to about 0.06% chromium; homogenizing the billet, cooling the billet, reheating the billet, extruding the billet, quenching the extrusion, and artificially aging the extrusion. The alloy has enhanced productivity, strength, and machinability and can be used as a direct replacement for lead containing alloy 6262 T-6.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 2, 2005
    Date of Patent: September 9, 2008
    Assignee: Alcoa, Inc.
    Inventors: David A. Lukasak, Thomas J. Klemp
  • Patent number: 7413618
    Abstract: The present invention provides a silver alloy for use in a reflection film in an optical recording medium, comprising silver as a main component, and at least one metal element as a first additive element having lower melting point than that of silver. Preferable first additive elements in the present invention are aluminum, indium, tin, bismuth, gallium, zinc, strontium, calcium and germanium. Further, second additive elements in the present invention are preferable if they contain at least one of elements comprising platinum, gold, rhodium, iridium, ruthenium, palladium, lead, copper, manganese, silicon, nickel, chrome, cobalt, yttrium, iron, scandium, zirconium, titanium, niobium, molybdenum, tantalum, tungsten, hafnium, lanthanum, cerium, praseodymium, neodymium, samarium, europium, gadolinium, terbium, dysprosium, holmium, thulium, ytterbiumm, magnesium, and boron.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 29, 2004
    Date of Patent: August 19, 2008
    Assignee: Tanaka Kikinzoku Kogyo K.K.
    Inventors: Tomokazu Obata, Hiroshi Yanagihara
  • Patent number: 7413621
    Abstract: High strength, high ductility aluminum base alloys containing from 3 to 18.5 atomic percent nickel and 3 to 14.0 atomic percent yttrium, said alloy being in the devitrified state and containing less than 40 percent intermetallic phases.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 19, 2005
    Date of Patent: August 19, 2008
    Assignee: United Technologies Corporation
    Inventor: Thomas J. Watson
  • Patent number: 7390370
    Abstract: Gold bonding wires for semiconductor devices featuring increased strength and modulus of elasticity, stable loop shapes, suppressing the flow of wires, suppressing the leaning, and totally improved junctions of the wedge junction portions or wear characteristics for realizing a narrow-pitch connection, and enhanced the productivity on an industrial scale, and a method of producing the same. A gold bonding wire for a semiconductor device has a crystal grain structure in cross section in the lengthwise direction of the bonding wire, wherein a ratio of the area of crystal grains having an orientation [111] to the area of crystal grains having an orientation [100] is not smaller than 1.2 in the crystal orientations in the lengthwise direction of the wire.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 3, 2003
    Date of Patent: June 24, 2008
    Assignee: Nippon Steel Corporation
    Inventors: Tomohiro Uno, Shinichi Terashima, Kohei Tatsumi
  • Patent number: 7364632
    Abstract: The present invention is a process for producing a radiator member for electronic appliances, and is characterized in that, in a process for producing a radiator member for electronic appliances, the radiator member comprising a composite material in which SiC particles are dispersed in a matrix metal whose major component is Al, it comprises a filling step of filling an SiC powder into a mold, a pre-heating step of pre-heating the mold after the filling step to a pre-heating temperature which falls in a range of from a melting point or more of said matrix metal to less than a reaction initiation temperature at which a molten metal of the matrix metal and SiC particles in the SiC powder start to react, and a pouring step of pouring the molten matrix metal whose molten-metal temperature falls in a range of from the melting point or more of the matrix metal to less than the reaction initiation temperature, into the mold after the pre-heating step, and impregnating the SiC powder with the molten metal by pressur
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 14, 2002
    Date of Patent: April 29, 2008
    Assignee: Kabushiki Kaisha Toyota Jidoshokki
    Inventors: Katsufumi Tanaka, Tomohei Sugiyama, Kyoichi Kinoshita, Eiji Kono, Naohisa Nishino
  • Patent number: 7364630
    Abstract: The present invention provides an Al—Mg—Si alloy sheet in which the production of ridging marks during press forming is noticeably inhibited, and in addition, provides a manufacturing method capable of providing such an aluminum alloy sheet, and an intermediate material in the manufacture thereof. The Al—Mg—Si alloy sheet in accordance with the present invention is characterized by having a prescribed composition, and characterized in that respective textures are present therein with a good balance. Further, in accordance with the manufacturing method, and the intermediate material in the manufacture thereof of the present invention, it is possible to manufacture the alloy with high efficiency.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 24, 2004
    Date of Patent: April 29, 2008
    Assignee: Kobe Steel, Ltd.
    Inventors: Katsushi Matsumoto, Yasuaki Sugizaki
  • Patent number: 7364631
    Abstract: The alloy contains, by weight, at least 95% zirconium and from 0.01 to 0.1% sulphur and, optionally, at least one element from the group consisting of the elements tin, iron, chromium, hafnium, niobium, nickel, oxygen and vanadium, the balance of the alloy consisting of inevitable impurities. The sulphur is present in the alloy in the dissolved state, thereby improving the creep strength and in the form of uniformly distributed fine precipitates, thereby improving the corrosion and hydriding resistance. The alloy may be heated by a solution annealing treatment in the ? phase followed by a quench or by a soak at a temperature below 950° C. in order to transform it into the ? or ?+? phase.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 25, 2005
    Date of Patent: April 29, 2008
    Assignee: Compagnie Europeenne du Zirconium Cezus
    Inventor: Daniel Charquet
  • Patent number: 7354488
    Abstract: A family of alloys for use in medical, electrical contact and jewelry applications includes as primary components palladium, and boron and at least one of ruthenium, rhenium, platinum, gold, zirconium, tungsten, cobalt, nickel, tantalum and iridium. An alternative embodiment includes palladium and rhenium and/or ruthenium with an additional element iridium, platinum, tungsten, boron, gold, zirconium, cobalt, nickel and tantalum. The present alloy family has a high strength, high radio opacity, and biocompatibility characteristics, while also being workable into various configurations. Where required, some of the alloys also offer post form, heat treatment (age hardening) capabilities for even higher hardness and strength levels.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 10, 2005
    Date of Patent: April 8, 2008
    Assignee: Deringer-Ney, Inc.
    Inventors: Arthur S. Klein, Edward F. Smith, III
  • Patent number: 7354490
    Abstract: High strength aluminum alloy powders, extrusions, and forgings are provided in which the aluminum alloys exhibit high strength at atmospheric temperatures and maintain high strength and ductility at extremely low temperatures. The alloy is produced by blending about 89 atomic % to 99 atomic % aluminum, 1 atomic % to 11 atomic % of a secondary metal selected from the group consisting of magnesium, lithium, silicon, titanium, zirconium, and combinations thereof, and up to about 10 atomic % of a tertiary metal selected from the group consisting of Be, Ca, Sr, Ba, Ra, Sc, V, Cr, Mn, Fe, Co, Ni, Cu, Zn, Y, Nb, Mo, Tc, Ru, Rh, Pd, Ag, Cd, W, and combinations thereof. The alloy is produced by nanostructure material synthesis, such as cryomilling, in the absence of refractory dispersoids. The synthesized alloy is then canned, degassed, consolidated, extruded, and optionally forged into a solid metallic component. Grain size within the alloy is less than 0.5 ?m, and alloys with grain size less than 0.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 5, 2004
    Date of Patent: April 8, 2008
    Assignee: The Boeing Company
    Inventors: Leslie G. Fritzemeier, Daniel E. Matejczyk, Thomas J. Van Daam
  • Patent number: 7347905
    Abstract: An aluminum-silicon lost foam casting alloy having reduced microporosity and a method for casting the same is herein disclosed. A preferred lost foam cast alloy consists essentially of 6 to 12% by weight silicon and preferably 9.0 to 9.5% by weight silicon, 0.035-0.30% strontium, 0.40% maximum iron, 0.45% maximum copper, 0.49% maximum manganese, 0.60% maximum magnesium, 3.0% maximum zinc, and the balance aluminum. Most preferably, the lost foam alloy is free from iron, titanium and boron. However, such elements may exist at trace levels. Most preferably, the alloy is lost foam cast with the process that applies at least 10 atmospheres of pressure during solidification. However, the range may be 5 to 60 atmospheres. The strontium addition is greater than 0.005% by weight and most preferably greater than 0.05% by weight.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 5, 2005
    Date of Patent: March 25, 2008
    Assignee: Brunswick Corporation
    Inventors: Raymond J. Donahue, Terrance M. Cleary, Kevin R. Anderson