Patents Examined by John Hevey
  • Patent number: 9862030
    Abstract: Provided are alloy flakes for rare earth sintered magnet, which achieve a high rare earth component yield after pulverization with respect to before pulverization and a uniform particle size after pulverization, and a method for producing such alloy at high energy efficiency in an industrial scale. The method includes (A) preparing an alloy melt containing R composed of at least one element selected from rare earth metal elements including Y, B, and the balance M composed of Fe, or of Fe and at least one element selected from transition metal elements other than Fe, Si, and C, (B) rapidly cooling/solidifying the alloy melt to not lower than 700° C. and not higher than 1000° C. by strip casting with a cooling roll, and (C) heating and maintaining, in a particular temperature range, alloy flakes separated from the roll by rapid cooling and solidifying in step (B) before the flakes are cooled to not higher than 500° C., to obtain alloy flakes having a composition of 27.0 to 33.0 mass % R, 0.90 to 1.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 1, 2011
    Date of Patent: January 9, 2018
    Assignee: SANTOKU CORPORATION
    Inventors: Takuya Onimura, Shinya Tabata
  • Patent number: 9865382
    Abstract: Provided are raw material alloy flakes for a rare earth sintered magnet and a method for producing the same. The alloy flakes have a roll-cooled face, and (1) contain at least one R selected from rare earth metal elements including Y, B, and the balance M including iron, at a particular ratio; (2) as observed in a micrograph at a magnification of 100× of its roll-cooled face, have not less than 5 crystals each of which is a dendrite grown radially from a point of crystal nucleation, and crosses a line segment corresponding to 880 ?m; and (3) as observed in a micrograph at a magnification of 200× of its section taken generally perpendicularly to its roll-cooled face, have an average distance between R-rich phases of not less than 1 ?m and less than 10 ?m.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 30, 2012
    Date of Patent: January 9, 2018
    Assignee: SANTOKU CORPORATION
    Inventors: Shinya Tabata, Kazumasa Shintani, Takuya Onimura
  • Patent number: 9845521
    Abstract: A copper alloy containing Ni: 1.5%-3.6% and Si: 0.3%-1.0% in terms of mass percent with the remainder consisting of copper and unavoidable impurities, wherein: the average crystal grain size of the crystal grains in the copper alloy is 5 to 30 ?m; the area ratio of the crystal grains having crystal grain sizes not less than twice the average crystal grain size is not less than 3%; and the ratio of the area of cube orientation grains to the area of the crystal grains having crystal grain sizes not less than twice the average crystal grain size is not less than 50%.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 18, 2011
    Date of Patent: December 19, 2017
    Assignee: Kobe Steel, Ltd.
    Inventors: Hisao Shishido, Shinya Katsura, Yasuhiro Aruga, Katsushi Matsumoto
  • Patent number: 9829122
    Abstract: Copper alloys exhibiting enhanced oxidation resistance are provided by adding an amount of sulfur that is effective to enhance oxidative resistance. Such sulfur addition can be achieved by combining elemental forms of copper and sulfur and heating the mixture to form a molten alloy, or by forming a sulfur-rich pre-mix that is added to a base alloy composition. Forming a pre-mix provides improved homogeneity and distribution of the sulfur predominantly in the form of a metal sulfide.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 14, 2013
    Date of Patent: November 28, 2017
    Assignee: NIBCO INC.
    Inventor: Benjamin L. Lawrence
  • Patent number: 9821372
    Abstract: A method for producing a composite material includes providing a composition comprising at least one hardness carrier and a base binder alloy, and sintering the composition. The base binder alloy comprises from 66 to 93 wt.-% of nickel, from 7 to 34 wt.-% of iron, and from 0 to 9 wt.-% of cobalt, wherein the wt.-% proportions of the base binder alloy add up to 100 wt.-%.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 24, 2012
    Date of Patent: November 21, 2017
    Assignee: H. C. STARCK GMBH
    Inventor: Benno Gries
  • Patent number: 9809872
    Abstract: A dilute copper alloy material includes, based on a total mass of the dilute copper alloy material, 2 to 12 mass ppm of sulfur, 2 to 30 mass ppm of oxygen, 4 to 55 mass ppm of titanium, and a balance of pure copper and inevitable impurity. A part of the sulfur and the titanium forms a compound or an aggregate of TiO, TiO2, TiS or Ti—O—S, and an other part of the sulfur and the titanium forms a solid solution. TiO, TiO2, TiS and Ti—O—S distributed in a crystal grain of the dilute copper alloy material are not more than 200 nm, not more than 1000 nm, not more than 200 nm and not more than 300 nm, respectively, in particle size thereof, and not less than 90% of particles distributed in a crystal grain of the dilute copper alloy material are 500 nm or less in particle size.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 8, 2010
    Date of Patent: November 7, 2017
    Assignee: HITACHI METALS, LTD.
    Inventors: Seigi Aoyama, Toru Sumi, Shuji Sakai, Takahiro Sato, Hidenori Abe
  • Patent number: 9805836
    Abstract: A dilute copper alloy material used in an environment with presence of hydrogen includes pure copper including an inevitable impurity, more than 2 mass ppm of oxygen, and an additive element selected from the group consisting of Mg, Zr, Nb, Ca, V, Fe, Al, Si, Ni, Mn, Ti and Cr, the additive element being capable of forming an oxide in combination with the oxygen. A method of manufacturing a dilute copper alloy member excellent in characteristics of resistance to hydrogen embrittlement includes melting the dilute copper alloy material by SCR continuous casting and rolling at a copper melting temperature of not less than 1100° C. and not more than 1320° C. to make molten metal, forming a cast bar from the molten metal, and forming the dilute copper alloy member by hot-rolling the cast bar.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 19, 2011
    Date of Patent: October 31, 2017
    Assignee: HITACHI METALS, LTD.
    Inventors: Hiromitsu Kuroda, Toru Sumi, Hideyuki Sagawa, Seigi Aoyama
  • Patent number: 9793035
    Abstract: The present invention relates to a soft magnetic metal powder which has Fe as the main component and contains Si and B, wherein, the content of Si in the soft magnetic metal powder is 1 to 15 mass %, the content of boron inside the metal particle of the soft magnetic metal powder is 10 to 150 ppm, and the particle has a film of boron nitride on the surface. The present invention also relates to a soft magnetic metal powder core prepared by using the soft magnetic metal powder.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 14, 2015
    Date of Patent: October 17, 2017
    Assignee: TDK CORPORATION
    Inventors: Yu Sakurai, Tomofumi Kuroda, Hideyuki Itoh
  • Patent number: 9790575
    Abstract: An electric and electronic part copper alloy sheet with excellent bending workability and stress relaxation resistance is made from a copper alloy containing 1.5 to 4.0 percent by mass of Ni, Si satisfying a Ni/Si mass ratio of 4.0 to 5.0, 0.01 to 1.3 percent by mass of Sn, and the remainder composed of copper and incidental impurities, wherein the average crystal grain size is 5 to 20 ?m, the standard deviation of the crystal grain size satisfies 2?<10 ?m, and the proportion of the number of particles having a particle diameter of 90 to 300 nm in Ni—Si dispersed particles having a particle diameter of 30 to 300 nm is 20% or more, where the particles are observed in a cross-section defined by a direction perpendicular to a sheet surface and a direction parallel to a rolling direction.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 19, 2015
    Date of Patent: October 17, 2017
    Assignee: Kobe Steel, Ltd.
    Inventor: Shinya Katsura
  • Patent number: 9773721
    Abstract: A lead-free solder which can reduce the occurrence of voids and a connecting member which uses the solder and has excellent adhesion, bonding strength, and workability are provided. The lead-free solder alloy contains Sn: 0.1-3% and/or Bi: 0.1-2%, and a remainder of In and unavoidable impurities and has the effect of suppressing the occurrence of voids at the time of soldering. The connecting member is prepared by melting the lead-free solder alloy, immersing a metal substrate in the melt, and applying ultrasonic vibrations to the molten lead-free solder alloy and the metal substrate to form a lead-free solder alloy layer on the surface of the metal substrate. A heat sink and a package are soldered to each other through this connecting member by reflow heating in the presence of flux.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 25, 2014
    Date of Patent: September 26, 2017
    Assignee: SENJU METAL INDUSTRY CO., LTD.
    Inventors: Shunsaku Yoshikawa, Yoshie Yamanaka, Tsukasa Ohnishi, Seiko Ishibashi, Koji Watanabe, Hiroki Ishikawa, Yutaka Chiba
  • Patent number: 9765425
    Abstract: A copper alloy sputtering target is provided and contains 0.01 to (less than) 0.5 wt % of at least one element selected from Al or Sn, and containing Mn or Si in a total amount of 0.25 wtppm or less. The above copper alloy sputtering target allows the formation of a wiring material for a semiconductor element, in particular, a seed layer being stable, uniform and free from the occurrence of coagulation during electrolytic copper plating and exhibits excellent sputtering film formation characteristics. A semiconductor element wiring formed with this target is also provided.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 12, 2010
    Date of Patent: September 19, 2017
    Assignee: JX Nippon Mining & Metals Corporation
    Inventor: Takeo Okabe
  • Patent number: 9745649
    Abstract: The object of the present invention is to provide a heat-resistant steel for exhaust valves, having relatively small Ni content, high mechanical characteristics (for example, tensile strength, fatigue strength, wear resistance and hardness) at high temperature, and excellent oxidation resistance. The present invention provides a heat-resistant steel for exhaust valves, which includes: 0.45?C<0.60 mass %, 0.30<N<0.50 mass %, 19.0?Cr<23.0 mass %, 5.0?Ni<9.0 mass %, 8.5?Mn<10.0 mass %, 2.5?Mo<4.0 mass %, 0.01?Si<0.50 mass %, and 0.01?Nb<0.30 mass %, with the balance being Fe and unavoidable impurities, in which the steel satisfies 0.02?Nb/C<0.70 and satisfies 4.5?Mo/C<8.9.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 24, 2012
    Date of Patent: August 29, 2017
    Assignees: DAIDO STEEL CO., LTD., HONDA MOTOR CO., LTD.
    Inventors: Mototsugu Osaki, Shigeki Ueta, Takashi Tsuyumu
  • Patent number: 9731350
    Abstract: A foundry method of casting monocrystalline metal parts, the method including at least casting a molten alloy into a cavity of a mold through at least one casting channel in the mold, subjecting the alloy to heat treatment, and removing the mold, and wherein the heat treatment is performed before an end of mold removal.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 6, 2012
    Date of Patent: August 15, 2017
    Assignee: SNECMA
    Inventors: Celine Yanxi Chan, Benoit Georges Jocelyn Marie, David Locatelli
  • Patent number: 9702027
    Abstract: The invention relates to a copper alloy, composed of (in wt %): 51.8 to 84.0% Cu, 15.5 to 36.0% Zn, 0.35 to 3.0% Sn, 0.12 to 1.5% Fe, 0.02 to 1.0% P, optionally also 0.1 to 2.0% Al, optionally also 0.05 to 0.7% Si, optionally also 0.05 to 2.0% Ni, optionally also respectively 0.1 to 1.0% Mn, Co, optionally also respectively 0.01 to 1.0% As, Sb, and unavoidable contaminants, wherein more than 95% of the structure consist of ?-mixed crystal, in which at least iron phosphides and/or iron are embedded as deposition particles, which can be used for metallic articles in breeding organisms living in seawater.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 15, 2012
    Date of Patent: July 11, 2017
    Assignee: WIELAND-WERKE AG
    Inventors: Andrea Kaeufler, Jochen Aufrecht
  • Patent number: 9702028
    Abstract: A magnesium-based alloy powder is made of a magnesium-based alloy that contains 0.2 mass % to 5 mass % of calcium, wherein the magnesium-based alloy powder has an average particle diameter of 100 ?m to 1,500 ?m, wherein the magnesium-based alloy powder has a particle average aspect ratio of 0.5 to 1, wherein the magnesium-based alloy powder has an apparent density of 0.2 g/cm3 to 1.2 g/cm3, and wherein the mean value of hardness variation index values obtained by dividing the difference of the maximum value and the minimum value of micro Vickers hardnesses taken at 10 measurement points in a particle cross section by the maximum value is 0.3 or less.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 27, 2014
    Date of Patent: July 11, 2017
    Assignee: Seiko Epson Corporation
    Inventors: Isamu Otsuka, Hiroyoshi Otaka
  • Patent number: 9689060
    Abstract: This high-strength hot-rolled steel plate contains specific amounts of C, Si, Mn, Al, V and also Ti and/or Nb so as to fulfill C?12(V/51+Ti/48+Nb/93)>0.03, and the rest consists of iron and unavoidable impurities. Ferrite is the main microstructure, the remaining microstructure is one or more selected from the group consisting of bainite, martensite and retained austenite, wherein the average particle diameter of precipitated carbides (the total content of V, Ti and Nb is 0.02% or greater) in the ferrite is less than 6 nm.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 15, 2012
    Date of Patent: June 27, 2017
    Assignee: Kobe Steel, Ltd.
    Inventors: Toshio Murakami, Masao Kinefuchi, Hideo Hata
  • Patent number: 9676030
    Abstract: The invention provides an industrial method for producing dispersion-strengthened iron-based materials at low cost and in large-scale. The industrial acid pickling waste solution is treated by spray roasting process after yttrium chloride is added. During the spray roasting process, the solution is atomized into fine droplets, the droplets are contacted with gas and dried into powders, which are heated in air to form metal oxides. The mixed powders of the metal oxides are reduced in hydrogen stream to obtain yttria dispersion-strengthened iron powders. High performance dispersion-strengthened iron materials are obtained by densifying the yttria dispersion-strengthened iron powders. The method has simple process and low cost, and is suitable for large-scale production due to the direct use of acid pickling waste solution from steel factory.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 30, 2011
    Date of Patent: June 13, 2017
    Assignee: UNIVERSITY OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY BEIJING
    Inventors: Zhimeng Guo, Weiwei Yang, Ji Luo, Huiqin Cao, Cunguang Chen
  • Patent number: 9670566
    Abstract: Copper based alloys exhibiting a white/silver hue. The alloys contain copper, nickel, zinc, manganese, tin, sulfur, and antimony.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 7, 2014
    Date of Patent: June 6, 2017
    Assignee: SLOAN VALVE COMPANY
    Inventors: Michael Murray, Mahi Sahoo
  • Patent number: 9644251
    Abstract: Provided are a Cu—Zr-based copper alloy plate which retains satisfactory mechanical strength and, at the same time, has a good balance of bending formability and bending elastic limit at a high level and a process for manufacturing the Cu—Zr-based copper alloy plate. The copper alloy plate contains 0.05% to 0.2% by mass of Zr and a remainder including Cu and unavoidable impurities, and the average value of KAM values measured by an EBSD method using a scanning electron microscope equipped with a backscattered electron diffraction pattern system is 1.5° to 1.8°, the R/t ratio is 0.1 to 0.6 wherein R represents the minimum bending radius which does not cause a crack and t represents the thickness of the plate in a W bending test, and the bending elastic limit is 420 N/mm2 to 520 N/mm2.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 10, 2012
    Date of Patent: May 9, 2017
    Assignee: Mitsubishi Shindoh Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Takeshi Sakurai, Yoshio Abe, Naotake Hirano
  • Patent number: 9640320
    Abstract: In a method of producing a grain-oriented electrical steel sheet by subjecting a coil for grain-oriented electrical steel sheet after cold rolling to a primary recrystallization annealing, applying an annealing separator thereon, and conducting final annealing, rapid heating is conducted at a rate of not less than 80° C./sec from 500° C. to 700° C. in the course of heating for the primary recrystallization annealing, and a temperature keeping treatment is conducted for 2 to 100 hours from 700° C. to 1000° C. in the course of heating for the final annealing, and further, the final annealing is preferably conducted by laying a thermal insulation material on an upper surface of a coil supporting stand in an annealing furnace used for the final annealing concentrically from the outer periphery of the coil supporting stand and over an area of not less than 20% of the radius of the coil supporting stand.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 8, 2012
    Date of Patent: May 2, 2017
    Assignee: JFE STEEL CORPORATION
    Inventors: Makoto Watanabe, Yukihiro Shingaki, Toshito Takamiya, Tomoyuki Okubo