Patents Examined by Sam Heinrich
  • Patent number: 4991765
    Abstract: A push rod is manufactured by projection-welding a bottom surface of an end element to a tapered annular end surface of a pipe. To prevent some inclination from arising between the bottom surface of the end element and the annular end surface of the pipe when they are tightly pressed against each other, the bottom surface is formed integrally with a plurality of rose seats of wedge shape in cross section that extend radially with respect to the axial center of the end element. Projection-welding is performed after the rose seats are brought into confronting contact with the tapered annular end surface of substantially triangular shape in cross section.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 8, 1990
    Date of Patent: February 12, 1991
    Assignee: Usui Kokusai Sangyo Kaisha/Ltd.
    Inventor: Kenji Sugiyama
  • Patent number: 4991766
    Abstract: A process for manufacturing an improved flight assembly for a vertical centrifugal separator. e.g., of the type used to dry coal, is disclosed. The flights are first welded to the cone on which they are to be carried, then the outside edges of the flights are machined, for example on a vertical mill, after which a hard facing is applied to at least a portion of each flight. Preferably a stabilizing ring is welded to the bottoms of the flights before machining. A machining tolerance of plus or minus 1/64 inch (with respect to the gap between each flight and the surrounding conical screen with which the flight assembly is to be used) is preferred. The hard facing may be a weld having a hardness of at least about 40 Rockwell (C scale).
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 19, 1990
    Date of Patent: February 12, 1991
    Inventors: Joseph W. Hunnicutt, III., Jimmy Taylor, David L. Singleton
  • Patent number: 4989776
    Abstract: Articles of aluminum, or of an aluminum alloy, can be brazed satisfactorily, employing an aluminum alloy as the brazing material, by removing any surface oxide layers from bodies comprising the articles, and preforms of the brazing material, simultaneously with providing initial films of zinc, or tin, thereon. Then coatings of silver and/or of gold, or a suitable alloy containing silver or gold, are provided on the articles, and on the preforms of the brazing material, to protect the surfaces of these aluminum containing bodies from reoxidizing. The required brazing operation then is performed in a high vacuum, or in an inert atmosphere. Any oxygen produced inadvertently, for example, by the decomposition of any silver oxide present, is removed before it can contact any aluminum. The zinc or tin, the materials of the coatings, and the aluminum of the bodies, interdiffuse, and this interdiffusion proceeds rapidly when the brazing alloy melts.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 28, 1989
    Date of Patent: February 5, 1991
    Assignee: GEC Ferranti Defence Systems Limited
    Inventor: William D. Hepburn
  • Patent number: 4989773
    Abstract: A method for joining graphite and metallic material with a material comprising titanium, nickel and copper in a composition ratio of, by weight,Ti 69-57Ni 24-20Cu 7-23.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 21, 1989
    Date of Patent: February 5, 1991
    Assignee: Japan Atomic Energy Research Institute
    Inventor: Sintarou Ishiyama
  • Patent number: 4988036
    Abstract: An improved heating cycle for brazing an assembly of clad aluminum sheet components having a hypoeutectic aluminum-silicon braze alloy cladding comprises a dwell at a temperature slightly above the eutectic melting point and effective to partially melt the cladding. The dwell is accompanied by vaporization of residual magnesium from the clad alloy to getter oxygen from about the assembly and enhanced disruption of oxide film on the cladding surface, which film would otherwise interfere with capillary flow of the braze alloy into joints. The eutectic temperature dwell provides a more uniform flow of braze alloy into seams and thereby produces a strong, leak-free joint in the brazed structure.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 9, 1990
    Date of Patent: January 29, 1991
    Assignee: General Motors Corporation
    Inventors: Gary A. Kemble, Melvin C. Nietopski, Joseph P. DiFonzo
  • Patent number: 4988033
    Abstract: A method of reparing a worn flight bar is accomplished by first removing by torch cutting the worn ends of the flight bar. Replacement endpieces having an outer surface profile matching that of a new flight bar and an inner face configured to match the cut face of the flight bar ends are secured thereto by welding. Each profiled replacement endpiece is preferably formed by drop forging and contains welding chamfers and seating lands formed around the inner face thereof to insure strong weld joints and reproducible dimensional accuracy.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 28, 1989
    Date of Patent: January 29, 1991
    Assignee: Advanced Longwall Equipment, Inc.
    Inventor: Friedhelm E. Hesse
  • Patent number: 4988032
    Abstract: A method for facilitating the assembly of a structural panel and for preventing the sag thereof comprises the step of placing the structural panel (2), comprising an outer plate (6) and an underlying skeleton framework (7), upon longitudinally extending support beams (B') which interconnect the upper ends of laterally spaced rows of longitudinally spaced support columns (C) which extend upwardly from a floor support surface (F). A mobile radiation heating element truck (4), movable upon laterally spaced rails (8) by means of casters (11), includes radiation heating elements (12).
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 26, 1990
    Date of Patent: January 29, 1991
    Assignee: Kawasaki Jukogyo Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventors: Akira Sakaguchi, Hisashi Uchibe, Toshiyuki Tange
  • Patent number: 4988037
    Abstract: A method and apparatus for superplastic forming and diffusion bonding of hollow metal parts. A forming assembly is prepared by surrounding a hollow tool (typically having a frusto-conical exterior) with a part blank having a corresponding shape, attaching parts, such as rings, to the exterior of the blank, then surrounding those parts with a skin blank. The forming assembly is placed in a pressure chamber, a heater is placed within the assembly and the chamber is sealed. The assembly of parts is heated to the diffusion bonding temperature of the parts while subjecting them to high gas pressure. The skin blank is deformed into intimate contact with the adjacent surfaces of the other parts and all of the parts are diffusion bonded together at all interfaces to form a unitary product. Gas pressure is released and the product is cooled and removed from the chamber and hollow tool. Any desired finish machining is accomplished and the productive is complete.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 31, 1988
    Date of Patent: January 29, 1991
    Assignee: Rohr Industries, Inc.
    Inventor: Gilbert C. Cadwell
  • Patent number: 4988034
    Abstract: A mechanical part has a metal main body and a ceramic tip having a joining surface at which it is joined to the metal main body. The ceramic tip has a chamferred edge at the periphery of the joining surface. The joining surface and the chamferred edge are metallized prior to joining of the joining surface to the metal main body.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 21, 1988
    Date of Patent: January 29, 1991
    Assignee: NGK Spark Plug Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Masato Taniguchi, Harumi Suzuki
  • Patent number: 4986463
    Abstract: A process for joining the surface of one preferably metallic member to another at a joint, and using solder to create the joint at a joining temperature, includes applying a medium to the joint which evaporates by microexplosion at below the joining temperature. The microexplosive evaporation of the medium advantageously cleans the surfaces of the members and reduces surface tension to allow solder to flow and wet the surfaces. The medium is advantageously glycerin or a mixture of glycerin and detergent so that no residue remains after the joining operation.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 20, 1989
    Date of Patent: January 22, 1991
    Assignee: Productech Inc.
    Inventor: Gero Zimmer
  • Patent number: 4986460
    Abstract: An apparatus for manufacturing semiconductor devices wherein a curing oven cures samples of dies bonded to lead frames by adhesives, a wire bonder which is installed adjacent to and in line with the curing oven wire-bonds the samples which have been cured in the curing oven, and a sample feeding mechanism feeds the samples to the curing oven and then to a wire-bonding section of the wire bonder; thus, there is no need for separate transport of the samples following curing or for repeated heating of the samples, and product reliability and productivity are improved. In addition, there is no need for a special curing oven or special measures to prevent oxidation following curing.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 30, 1989
    Date of Patent: January 22, 1991
    Assignee: Kabushiki Kaisha Shinkawa
    Inventors: Nobuto Yamazaki, Hiroshi Ushiki, Kenji Katakubo
  • Patent number: 4984730
    Abstract: An automatic wire bonding apparatus, for wedge-bonding using aluminium wire, comprises a bonding head comprising a bonding tool mounted on an ultrasonic transducer, a bonding tip of the tool being arranged, in the operation of the machine, to press aluminium wire against the contact surface of an electronic or electrical component, the wire being drawn from a suitable wire supply, and a wire clamp by which the wire drawn from the wire supply may be clamped, the wire clamp being movable backward and forward generally in the direction in which the wire is fed appropriately to position the free end of wire drawn from the spool after completion of a bonding operation. The automatic wire-bonding apparatus further comprises means for monitoring, during bonding, the quality of the bond formed between the wire and the surface to which it is to be bonded, by identifying those bonds which do not fall within predetermined maximum and minimum values for deformation of the wire due to ultrasonic excitation.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 3, 1989
    Date of Patent: January 15, 1991
    Assignee: Emhart Inc.
    Inventors: Bernd Gobel, Andreas Ziemann
  • Patent number: 4982890
    Abstract: In a soldering device comprising at least one stirrup electrode that is secured to a soldering stirrup holder and is heatable with electrical resistance heating and has two soldering webs lying opposite one another or four soldering webs lying opposite one another in pairs, the working surfaces at the underside of the soldering webs should be capable of being placed exactly parallel onto the soldering location that lies, for example, on a printed circuitboard. This is enabled by a flexible suspension of the soldering stirrup holder which provides a pivot compensation center lying centrally in the plane of the working surfaces. As a result thereof, a reliable contact of the parts to be soldered to one another and to the soldering stirrups is guaranteed.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 1, 1989
    Date of Patent: January 8, 1991
    Assignee: Siemens Aktiengesellschaft
    Inventors: Rudolf Schuster, Josef Raschke, Klaus Kamperdicks
  • Patent number: 4982892
    Abstract: A structure and method for selectively forming interconnections between the interconnect lines of a printed circuit board. At the same time solder is deposited through a solder application mask to bond the modules to the board, solder is also deposited on pad interconnect structures between the interconnect lines. Thus, line interconnections can be formed at minimal additional cost, reducing the number of different boards needed to mount different sets of modules or alternate component or circuit configurations. In a preferred embodiment, the pads comprise an arcuate member and an elongated member extending within the arc described by the arcuate member. By optimizing the spacing between the members, the total area of the members, and the volume of the solder, a highly reliable solder fillet interconnection can be formed.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 9, 1989
    Date of Patent: January 8, 1991
    Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
    Inventors: Anthony J. Parla, Howard F. Tepper
  • Patent number: 4982728
    Abstract: An apparatus for assembling semiconductor devices includes a transportation line for transporting partially fabricated articles such as lead frames with a semiconductor chip mounted thereon; a working unit disposed in the transportation line for processing the partially fabricated articles by wire bonding or die bonding; an inspection unit disposed separately from the transportation line; a delivery unit for extracting a processed article from the transportation line, moving the extracted worked article to an inspection section and returning the processed article to the transportation line after checking; and a stock unit for stocking the processed articles. In the inspection section, one of the processed articles selected for sampling inspection is placed on a support and is checked with a microscope. During checking, the support and the microscope can be moved relative to each other to enable observation of the whole of the selected article.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 4, 1990
    Date of Patent: January 8, 1991
    Assignee: Mitsubishi Denki Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventors: Hisao Masuda, Hitoshi Fujimoto, Shuichi Osaka
  • Patent number: 4981248
    Abstract: An electronically controlled mask shield for a wave soldering machine is disclosed which can be positioned to shield gold contacts on printed wiring boards (PWBs) during a wave soldering operation. The shield is a trough shaped member that is attached by a frame assembly to a conveyor rail of a conventional wave soldering machine. The frame assembly includes a pair of support sleeves to which the two ends of the shield are attached. The support sleeves are movable with respect to the conveyor rail between a retracted position and any desired extended position by means of a motor, and a chain and sprocket drive mechanism. A motor control circuit enables the shield to be positioned as desired, and a position responsive sensor is attached to the drive mechanism to provide signals for a position indicating display. The motor control circuit can be either manually controlled, or automatically controlled by a microprocessor.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 20, 1989
    Date of Patent: January 1, 1991
    Assignee: Digital Equipment Corporation
    Inventor: James L. Hall
  • Patent number: 4981250
    Abstract: The invention relates to a method of producing explosion-welded joints between the pipe or pipe lines. By carefully evaluating and testing the configuration of the ends of the pipes to be joined and also the functioning of the charge system, together with a system for encapsulating the charge and for determining the position of the charge during a welding sequence, it has been possible to provide a practical and reproduceable system which escapes the drawbacks of partial and poor weld bonds, cold-work hardening of the pipe material, and surface damage encountered with known systems of this kind. The method has been applied and tested on ferritic stainless material, so-called Duplex material, and on all carbon steel grades used in the production of pipe lines.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 5, 1989
    Date of Patent: January 1, 1991
    Assignee: Exploweld AB
    Inventor: Per I. Persson
  • Patent number: 4981249
    Abstract: An automatic jet soldering apparatus comprising: a solder bath for holding molten solder therein; a nozzle body having an open top and an open bottom through which the molten solder rises from the solder bath; a punched panel having numerous holes and disposed inside of the nozzle body in such a way to be opened and closed; and a jet source connected to the lower part of the nozzle body, the molten solder rising upward through the nozzle body via the open bottom and the open top of the nozzle body by means of jet power from the jet source. The soldering apparatus further comprises a back rectifying plate mounted on the rear portion of the top opening of the nozzle body, the sloping angle of the back rectifying plate being adjustable, thereby attaining an easy removal of solder residues from the punched panel and achieving a zero relative speed between a printed circuit board and the solder flow velocity, so that the reliability of soldering can be enhanced.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 30, 1989
    Date of Patent: January 1, 1991
    Assignee: Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Yasuji Kawashima, Kazuo Nishibori, Yasuhiro Morita, Sachiho Hayama
  • Patent number: 4981252
    Abstract: A flexible manufacturing system for assembling various types of vehicle bodies is disclosed. The system includes a work supply means by which corresponding works for the various types of vehicle bodies are supplied, a main body assembling device which includes a plurality of locating and welding robots of numerical control type and control means for controlling operation of the robots in a programmed manner so that the various types of vehicle bodies are continuously assembled in order. A method for controlling the system comprises (a) sensing a trouble which would occur in any of the robots, (b) stopping the robot in trouble, and (c) controlling operation of the other robots in such a manner that at least one of the types of vehicle bodies is assembled by the remaining robots.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 12, 1989
    Date of Patent: January 1, 1991
    Assignee: Nissan Motor Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Kazuhiko Yazaki, Hiroyuki Ono, Kaoru Okuyama, Hiroyuki Kanno, Hiroshi Sasaoka
  • Patent number: 4979663
    Abstract: A method for aligning and bonding the outer leads of the conductive fingers of a tape-and-semiconductor-chip sub-assembly to a package substrate is disclosed. Each section of tape is provided with an inner support ring and an outer support ring. The conductive fingers extend from under the inner support ring to under the outer support ring. The outer support ring is spaced away from the inner support ring to expose portions of the tape outer leads therebetween. The tape-and-chip sub-assembly is positioned over the package substrate so the outer leads are in register with the appropriate package substrate leads. A deposit of flux is applied to at least one location between the substrate and outer support ring to bond the sub-assembly to the substrate. The bonded outer support ring prevents the sub-assembly from moving so the leads do not become out of register with the substrate prior to and during the lead bonding process.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 7, 1989
    Date of Patent: December 25, 1990
    Assignee: Digital Equipment Corporation
    Inventors: John W. Sofia, David L. Hallowell