Patents Examined by Scott Kastler
  • Patent number: 10168100
    Abstract: A furnace stave comprising a plurality of internal channels or conduits for circulating cooling fluid through the stave; an inlet and an outlet channel associated with each internal channel; wherein the inlet channels of two internal channels are fed by the same inlet pipe or conduit. In another preferred aspect, the inlet channels of two internal channels fed by the same inlet pipe or conduit may or may not be overlapping or in fluid communication with each other.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 9, 2015
    Date of Patent: January 1, 2019
    Assignee: Berry Metal Company
    Inventor: Todd G. Smith
  • Patent number: 10118221
    Abstract: Techniques are disclosed for reducing macrosegregation in cast metals. Techniques include providing an eductor nozzle capable of increasing mixing in the fluid region of an ingot being cast. Techniques also include providing a non-contacting flow control device to mix and/or apply pressure to the molten metal that is being introduced to the mold cavity. The non-contacting flow control device can be permanent magnet or electromagnet based. Techniques additionally can include actively cooling and mixing the molten metal before introducing the molten metal to the mold cavity.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 21, 2015
    Date of Patent: November 6, 2018
    Assignee: Novelis Inc.
    Inventors: Samuel R. Wagstaff, Robert B. Wagstaff
  • Patent number: 10072315
    Abstract: Device for individual quenching of gears, pinions, bearing rings and other similar components of technical devices, operating in a vacuum furnace installation, whereby the quenching chamber of the installation is fitted with tightly-sealed doors for workpiece loading and unloading. The following elements are fitted inside the quenching chamber: removable table on which an individual workpiece is placed, along with a surrounding set of removable nozzles; the inlet of the quenching chamber features an attached tank supplying the cooling medium to the nozzles—preferably air or nitrogen, or argon or helium, or hydrogen or carbon dioxide, or mixtures thereof—while the outlet of the quenching chamber is connected to the inlet of a tank receiving expanded cooling medium from the chamber; moreover, there is a compressor connected in between the two tanks, ensuring closed-loop flow of the cooling medium.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 6, 2015
    Date of Patent: September 11, 2018
    Assignee: SECO/WARWICK S.A.
    Inventors: Maciej Korecki, Wieslaw Fujak, Józef Olejnik, Marek Stankiewicz, Emilia Wołowiec-Korecka
  • Patent number: 10071418
    Abstract: The damage to devices are avoided, by performing operation control of a hydraulic operating means and an electric servomotor, that are adapted as drive sources in an injection step, separately and not performing coordinate control. A die casting machine 1 includes a tubular injection sleeve 12, an injection plunger 13, an electric servomotor 17 and a hydraulic operating means 21 which are used as a drive source of an injection step, and a control means 30 which controls the electric servomotor 17 and the hydraulic operating means separately, when injecting and filling the cavity of the mold, which has been closed, with the molten metal by the advancing of the injection plunger 13, during a low-speed injection step and a high-speed injection step which is performed at a higher speed than the low-speed injection step, in the injection step.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 6, 2016
    Date of Patent: September 11, 2018
    Assignee: TOYO MACHINERY & METAL CO., LTD.
    Inventors: Shingo Ikeda, Akihiro Yamanaka, Yuji Harada
  • Patent number: 10054366
    Abstract: Blast furnace installation having top gas recycling and process for operating same, in which the oxygen concentration of the oxidizing gas injected into the blast furnace is regulated as a function of the flow rate of the recycled top gas.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 20, 2011
    Date of Patent: August 21, 2018
    Assignee: L'Air Liquide, Société Anonyme pour l'Etude et l'Exploitation des Procédés Georges Claude
    Inventors: Philippe Blostein, Michel Devaux, Richard Dubettier-Grenier
  • Patent number: 10046390
    Abstract: A coupling device is fixed to a ladle shroud for reversibly coupling an inlet orifice of said ladle shroud to a collector nozzle fixed to the outside of a bottom floor of a ladle in a metal casting installation, by means of at least a first and second elongated latch pivotally mounted on a hinge, such that the latch can pivot from a fixing position to an idle position. The idle position of the latches allows the engagement of the ladle shroud into its casting configuration about the collector nozzle, and the fixing position of the latches engages catches provided on said latches into matching fasteners located on the gate frame holding the collector nozzle.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 13, 2014
    Date of Patent: August 14, 2018
    Assignee: VESUVIUS GROUP S.A.
    Inventor: Mariano Collura
  • Patent number: 10041146
    Abstract: Processes for producing low-nitrogen metallic chromium or chromium-containing alloys, which prevent the nitrogen in the surrounding atmosphere from being carried into the melt and being absorbed by the metallic chromium or chromium-containing alloy during the metallothermic reaction, include vacuum-degassing a thermite mixture comprising metal compounds and metallic reducing powders contained within a vacuum vessel, igniting the thermite mixture to effect reduction of the metal compounds within the vessel under reduced pressure i.e., below 1 bar, and conducting the entire reduction reaction in said vessel under reduced pressure, including solidification and cooling, to produce a final product with a nitrogen content below 10 ppm. The final products obtained, in addition to low-nitrogen metallic chromium in combination with other elements, can be used as raw materials in the manufacture of superalloys, stainless steel and other specialty steels whose final content of nitrogen is below 10 ppm.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 5, 2014
    Date of Patent: August 7, 2018
    Assignee: Companhia Brasileira de Metalurgia e Mineraçäo
    Inventors: Kleber A. Sernik, Alaercio Salvador Martins Vieria, Adriano Porfirio Rios, Daniel Pallos Fridman
  • Patent number: 10023923
    Abstract: A method and device for treating a metal or a molten metal alloy using an addition agent, wherein the addition agent is deposited in a local cavity arranged at the bottom of a treatment ladle and surrounded by a protruding wall, and a closing member connected to movement means is able to form, with the bottom of the treatment ladle, in a low insulating position, a chamber including said local cavity and comprising an intermediate annular space around the small wall. Application to the treatment of a molten cast iron using pure magnesium or magnesium alloy.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 6, 2014
    Date of Patent: July 17, 2018
    Inventor: Mourad Toumi
  • Patent number: 10022793
    Abstract: An alloy flake production apparatus (1) includes a crystallinity control device (2) for controlling an alloy crystal structure of fed alloy flakes to a desired state, a cooling device (3) for cooling the alloy flakes discharged from the crystallinity control device (2), and a chamber for keeping these devices under reduced pressure or under an inert gas atmosphere. The crystallinity control device (2) has a rotary heating drum (21) in a cylindrical shape for heating the fed alloy flakes, and a switching device (23) for switching between storage and discharge of the alloy flakes fed to an inner wall side of the heating drum (21), so that long-time heat treatment is uniformly applied to the alloy flakes immediately after being made by ingot crushing. The heating drum (21) preferably has a scooping blade plate (22) for scooping up alloy flakes fed to the inner wall side with its rotation.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 11, 2012
    Date of Patent: July 17, 2018
    Assignee: SANTOKU CORPORATION
    Inventors: Kazuhiro Yamamoto, Shigeharu Watanabe
  • Patent number: 10024455
    Abstract: A control device (1) for a stopper (3) comprises: —an outer casing (10), —a control rod (6) sliding through the casing (10), rigidly attachable to the stopper (3), —a hydraulic circuit (20) including a double-acting hydraulic cylinder (21) and a reversible hydraulic pump (9), the hydraulic cylinder (21) having a first and a second chamber (21a, b) between which a piston (22) slides, the hydraulic pump (9) being connected directly to the first and second chamber (21a, b) by means of a first branch and a second branch (20a, b) of said hydraulic circuit (20, respectively, the piston being rigidly attached to the control rod (6), the hydraulic circuit (20) being entirely housed in the outer casing (10), —a control circuit (30) connected to the hydraulic circuit (20) to control the position of the piston (22).
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 8, 2013
    Date of Patent: July 17, 2018
    Assignee: Danieli & C. Officine Meccaniche S.p.A.
    Inventors: Andrea De Luca, Stefano Del Tedesco
  • Patent number: 10022786
    Abstract: A molten metal processing device including an assembly mounted on the casting wheel, including at least one vibrational energy source which supplies vibrational energy to molten metal cast in the casting wheel while the molten metal in the casting wheel is cooled, and a support device holding the vibrational energy source. An associated method for forming a metal product which provides molten metal into a containment structure included as a part of a casting mill, cools the molten metal in the containment structure, and couples vibrational energy into the molten metal in the containment structure.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 19, 2017
    Date of Patent: July 17, 2018
    Assignee: SOUTHWIRE COMPANY
    Inventors: Kevin Scott Gill, Michael Caleb Powell, Victor Frederic Rundquist, Venkata Kiran Manchiraju, Roland Earl Guffey
  • Patent number: 10018419
    Abstract: A solids injection lance includes (a) a tube that defines a passageway for solid feed material to be injected through the tube and has an inlet for solid material at a rear end and an outlet for discharging solid material at a forward end of the tube and (b) a puncture detection system for detecting a puncture in the solids injection tube.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 2, 2014
    Date of Patent: July 10, 2018
    Assignee: TaTa Steel Limited
    Inventors: Jacques Pilote, Rodney James Dry, Michael Anthony Hutton
  • Patent number: 10011887
    Abstract: A radiant tubes support device, which can be used in furnaces for the thermal treatment, for continuous lines for galvanising and annealing strips or panels made of metal sheet or other products made of steel or other metals, including a furnace side wall support, constrained to a wall of the furnace, a radiant tube support provided with a tubular element and anti-sticking means between the tubular element and the furnace side wall support for supporting the radiant tube and allowing the lateral oscillation thereof, avoiding the sticking on the furnace side wall support.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 2, 2013
    Date of Patent: July 3, 2018
    Inventor: Massimiliano Bisson
  • Patent number: 10011892
    Abstract: Methods are provided for producing alloy forms from alloys containing one or more extremely reactive elements and for fabricating a component therefrom. The fabricating method comprises substantially removing a reactive gas from the fabrication environment. An alloy form of the alloy is formed. The alloy form is formed by melting the alloy or by melting one or more base elements of the alloy to produce a molten liquid and introducing the one or more extremely reactive elements into the molten liquid. The molten alloy is shaped into the alloy form. The component is formed from the alloy form. If the one or more extremely reactive elements are introduced into the molten liquid, such introduction occurs just prior to the shaping step.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 21, 2014
    Date of Patent: July 3, 2018
    Assignee: HONEYWELL INTERNATIONAL INC.
    Inventors: Andy Szuromi, Brian Hann, Mark C. Morris, Donald G. Godfrey
  • Patent number: 10012443
    Abstract: A vessel used for containing molten metal has a refractory liner with an exterior surface and a metal-contacting interior surface and is made of at least two refractory liner units abutting at a joint. A housing at least partially surrounds the exterior surface of the refractory liner with a gap present between the exterior surface and the housing. Molten metal confinement elements, impenetrable by molten metal, are positioned within the gap to partition the gap into a molten metal confinement region between the elements and at least one other region. For example, the other region may be used to hold equipment such as electrical heaters that may be damaged by contact with molten metal. A drain outlet positioned in the housing allows molten metal entering the gap to drain out of the gap at the drain outlet.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 19, 2016
    Date of Patent: July 3, 2018
    Assignee: NOVELIS INC.
    Inventors: Eric W. Reeves, James Boorman, Robert Bruce Wagstaff, Randal Guy Womack
  • Patent number: 10014523
    Abstract: There is disclosed that a MOx nanostructure manufacturing apparatus and a manufacturing method thereof can not only supply a reaction gas more effectively to the surface of a molten metal with ease by injecting a carrier gas to the surface of the molten metal above a graphite crucible as well as bringing the reaction gas in the lower side of the graphite crucible, but also maximize volatilization rates through an inflow of the reaction gas from the lower portion toward the upper of the graphite crucible.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 13, 2013
    Date of Patent: July 3, 2018
    Assignee: KOREA INSTITUTE OF ENERGY RESEARCH
    Inventors: Bo-Yun Jang, Joon-Soo Kim, Jin-Seok Lee
  • Patent number: 10012442
    Abstract: A device for producing semi-solid slurry, including a height adjustment mechanism, a position adjustment mechanism, a melt protection mechanism, a support mechanism, a revolving pipe, guide mechanisms, thermally-adapted elastic supports, a driving mechanism of the revolving pipe, and a cooling module. The height adjustment mechanism is a box structure including an upper casing and a lower casing. The position adjustment mechanism includes a stationary rail and a moving rail support, and the stationary rail is fixed on the upper casing of the height adjustment mechanism. The melt protection mechanism includes a seal box including a base plate fixed on the moving rail support. The support mechanism includes a main support frame and an angle adjustment bracket, the main support frame is fixed on the base plate of the seal box, and the angle adjustment bracket is mounted on the main support frame.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 5, 2016
    Date of Patent: July 3, 2018
    Assignee: Nanchang University
    Inventors: Xiangjie Yang, Chiwei Huang, Xubo Liu, Hongmin Guo
  • Patent number: 10006101
    Abstract: An apparatus including a heating element and a sublimation vessel disposed adjacent the heating element such that the heating element heats a portion thereof. A collection vessel is removably disposed within the sublimation vessel and is open on an end thereof. A crucible is configured to sealingly position a solid mixture against the collection vessel.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 5, 2015
    Date of Patent: June 26, 2018
    Assignee: Idaho State University
    Inventors: Jon Stoner, Tim Gardner
  • Patent number: 10006106
    Abstract: Provided is a brass alloy excellent in recyclability and corrosion resistance while avoiding the addition of Bi and Si, and with which machinability is ensured and processing is facilitated with preventing inclusion of lead. The present invention includes at least 58.0 to 63.0 mass % of Cu, 1.0 to 2.0 mass % of Sn and 0.05 to 0.29 mass % of Sb and the remainder composed of Zn and unavoidable impurities. With the present invention, stress corrosion crack resistance and machinability are improved. 0.05 to 1.5 mass % of Ni is included in a copper alloy to improve stress corrosion crack resistance as a result of the interaction between Ni and Sb. Furthermore, 0.05 to 0.2 mass % of P is included to improve anti-dezincification properties.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 8, 2013
    Date of Patent: June 26, 2018
    Assignees: KITZ CORPORATION, KITZ METALWORKS CORPORATION
    Inventors: Hidenobu Tameda, Hisanori Terui, Kei Ito, Tomoyuki Ozasa
  • Patent number: 10005127
    Abstract: A method includes providing a metallic first powder having a plurality of first particles with a first mean particle diameter. A second powder added to the first powder has a plurality of second particles with a second mean particle diameter less than the first mean particle diameter. Energy is applied to at least the second powder so as to selectively heat the second particles. The first powder is combined with the heated second powder to form a modified powder including modified powder particles. Modified powder particles have an interior portion containing an interior composition, and an outer surface portion with an outer composition different from the interior composition.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 12, 2015
    Date of Patent: June 26, 2018
    Assignee: United Technologies Corporation
    Inventors: Zissis A. Dardas, Ying She