Patents Examined by Stephen Stein
  • Patent number: 7141295
    Abstract: An optically embossed sheet (10) for a laminate (107) for decorative boards includes a base layer (12) having a print surface (14) and an opposed resin application surface (16), wherein the print surface (14) defines a decorative area (18). A small particle ink (20) overlies the decorative area (18), and a large particle ink (22) overlies the small particle ink (20) within a low-gloss region (24) defined within the decorative area (18). A thermosetting resin is applied only to the resin application surface so that more than fifty percent of the particles of the small particle ink (20) at the print surface (14) are coalesced by the thermosetting resin (26) into agglomerations (27), and less than about thirty percent of the particles of the large particle ink (22) are coalesced into agglomerations (27) giving rise to a substantial gloss differential at the print surface (14).
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 2, 2005
    Date of Patent: November 28, 2006
    Assignee: Interprint, Inc.
    Inventors: John Carmelo Genzabella, William Michael Hines, Jr., George Anthony Baldasarre
  • Patent number: 7125608
    Abstract: The present invention improves upon the Czochralski method for growing a single-crystal silicon ingot and provides a high quality silicon wafer having an oxide layer with superior voltage-resistance characteristics. An apparatus and method are also provided, whereby vacancy defect density and distribution are uniformly controlled. A single-crystal silicon ingot is grown under a condition where the temperature variation of the ingot is less than or equal to 20° C./cm in the temperature range of 1000 to 1100° C.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 1, 2004
    Date of Patent: October 24, 2006
    Assignee: Siltron Inc.
    Inventors: Young Ho Hong, Ill Soo Choi, Sang Hee Kim, Man Seok Kwak, Hong Woo Lee
  • Patent number: 7118813
    Abstract: A III–V nitride, e.g., GaN, substrate including a (0001) surface offcut from the <0001> direction predominantly toward a direction selected from the group consisting of <10-10> and <11-20> directions, at an offcut angle in a range that is from about 0.2 to about 10 degrees, wherein the surface has a RMS roughness measured by 50×50 ?m2 AFM scan that is less than 1 nm, and a dislocation density that is less than 3E6 cm?2. The substrate may be formed by offcut slicing of a corresponding boule or wafer blank, by offcut lapping or growth of the substrate body on a corresponding vicinal heteroepitaxial substrate, e.g., of offcut sapphire. The substrate is usefully employed for homoepitaxial deposition in the fabrication of III–V nitride-based microelectronic and opto-electronic devices.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 14, 2003
    Date of Patent: October 10, 2006
    Assignee: Cree, Inc.
    Inventors: Xueping Xu, Robert P. Vaudo, Jeffrey S. Flynn, George R. Brandes
  • Patent number: 7101625
    Abstract: Glass for a light filter capable of preventing variation of refractive index in a band-pass filter has a coefficient of thermal expansion within a range from 90×10?7/° C. to 120×10?7/° C. within a temperature range from ?20° C. to +70° C. and, preferably, Young's modulus of 75 GPa or over and Vickers hardness of 550 or over, and light transmittance for plate thickness of 10 mm of 90% or over within a wavelength range from 950 nm to 1600 nm.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 28, 2004
    Date of Patent: September 5, 2006
    Assignee: Kabushiki Kaisha Ohara
    Inventor: Naoyuki Goto
  • Patent number: 7087276
    Abstract: A thermal transfer recording medium include a support; and a heat-sensitive transfer layer on the support, and wherein the heat-sensitive transfer layer includes: a resin made from monomer which includes a glycidyl ester of an unsaturated carboxylic acid; and sulfonamide. The present invention also provides a thermal transfer recording method including transferring an image from the thermal transfer recording medium to an image receiving member.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 17, 2005
    Date of Patent: August 8, 2006
    Assignee: Ricoh Company, Ltd.
    Inventors: Takayuki Sasaki, Shigeru Miyajima, Yoshiaki Yamada
  • Patent number: 7083850
    Abstract: A porous, flexible, resilient heat transfer material which comprises network of metal flakes. Such heat transfer materials are preferably produced by first forming a conductive paste comprising a volatile organic solvent and conductive metal flakes. The conductive paste is heated to a temperature below the melting point of the metal flakes, thereby evaporating the solvent and sintering the flakes only at their edges. The edges of the flakes are fused to the edges of adjacent flakes such that open pores are defined between at least some of the adjacent flakes, thereby forming a network of metal flakes. This network structure allows the heat transfer material to have a low storage modulus of less than about 10 GPa, while having good electrical resistance properties.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 18, 2001
    Date of Patent: August 1, 2006
    Assignee: Honeywell International Inc.
    Inventor: Ignatius J. Rasiah
  • Patent number: 7074489
    Abstract: Organofluorosilicate glass films contain both organic species and inorganic fluorines, exclusive of significant amounts of fluorocarbon species. Preferred films are represented by the formula SivOwCxHyFz, where v+w+x+y+z=100%, v is from 10 to 35 atomic %, w is from 10 to 65 atomic % y is from 10 to 50 atomic %, x is from 1 to 30 atomic %, z is from 0.1 to 15 atomic %, and x/z is optionally greater than 0.25, wherein substantially none of the fluorine is bonded to the carbon. In one embodiment there is provided a CVD method that includes: providing a substrate within a vacuum chamber; introducing into the vacuum chamber gaseous reagents including a fluorine-providing gas, an oxygen-providing gas and at least one precursor gas selected from an organosilane and an organosiloxane; and applying energy to the gaseous reagents in the chamber to induce reaction of the gaseous reagents and to form the film on the substrate.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 12, 2002
    Date of Patent: July 11, 2006
    Assignee: Air Products and Chemicals, Inc.
    Inventors: Mark Leonard O'Neill, Aaron Scott Lukas, Mark Daniel Bitner, Jean Louise Vincent, Raymond Nicholas Vrtis, Brian K. Peterson
  • Patent number: 7074478
    Abstract: A substrate, such as a document of value, carries a design feature (F), which includes an array of repeating patterns with the patterns exhibiting discrete differences in one or more visual characteristics, for example, shape, color or optical responses, according to a predetermined pattern. The differences are, preferably, indiscernible to the unaided eye, but can be discriminated by an optical reading machine. In an alternatively preferred embodiment, the visual characteristics of each pattern represent 8- or 16-bit information.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 21, 2001
    Date of Patent: July 11, 2006
    Assignee: Fryco Limited
    Inventor: Nigel Christopher Abraham
  • Patent number: 7074479
    Abstract: Porous coatings on high-performance ceramics attempt to combine the mechanical and thermal characteristics, which fulfil stringent demands, of the substrate material with the advantageous properties of coating materials. The subsequent application of layers of this type to the pre-sintered substrate produces unsatisfactory results in several areas of use with regard to possible layer thickness, porosity and adhesion. According to the invention, a shaped body consisting of a sintered, inorganic material, whose surface comprises a porous layer is produced in such a way that the base body is first formed as a green body. A layer in the form of a suspension, also containing an inorganic material, is then applied to the surface or to one section of the surface of the base body. A predetermined fraction of a pore-forming substance is mixed with at least the material of said layer and the green body with its applied layer is subjected to the thermal treatments required for producing a monolithic sintered body.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 14, 2001
    Date of Patent: July 11, 2006
    Assignee: Ceramtec AG Innovative Ceramic Engineering
    Inventors: Dirk Rogowski, Hans-Georg Pfaff, Alwin Nagel
  • Patent number: 7070833
    Abstract: A method of passivating the surface of a substrate to protect the surface against corrosion, the surface effects on a vacuum environment, or both. The substrate surface is placed in a treatment environment and is first dehydrated and then the environment is evacuated. A silicon hydride gas is introduced into the treatment environment, which may be heated prior to the introduction of the gas. The substrate and silicon hydride gas contained therein are heated, if the treatment environment was not already heated prior to the introduction of the gas and pressurized to decompose the gas. A layer of silicon is deposited on the substrate surface. The duration of the silicon depositing step is controlled to prevent the formation of silicon dust in the treatment environment. The substrate is then cooled and held at a cooled temperature to optimize surface conditions for subsequent depositions, and the treatment environment is purged with an inert gas to remove the silicon hydride gas.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 18, 2003
    Date of Patent: July 4, 2006
    Assignee: Restek Corporation
    Inventors: David A. Smith, Gary A. Barone, Martin E. Higgins, Bruce R. F. Kendall, David J. Lavrich
  • Patent number: 7070857
    Abstract: Multi-layer composite product, featuring low emissivity in the mid-infrared band (as wavelength range 2,5–5 ?m) and far-infrared (as wavelength range 8.0–14.0 ?m) bands, as well as low reflexivity in the near-infrared (at a wavelength range of 0.7–2.5 ?m) and in the visible (as wavelength range 0.3–0.7 ?m) bands, including a base constructed with low-density and/or high thermal-resilience structural materials, covered with optionally doped coating, and where, between the base and the coating, at least one intermediate layer of metals or metal oxides is planned for insertion.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 20, 2002
    Date of Patent: July 4, 2006
    Assignees: Centro Sviluppo Materiali S.p.A., Alenia Aeronautica S.p.A.
    Inventors: Mario Tului, Roberta Valle, Flavio Mortoni, Marco Protti
  • Patent number: 7070851
    Abstract: Apparatuses and methods for forming displays are claimed. One embodiment of the invention relates to depositing a plurality of blocks onto a substrate and is coupled to a flexible layer having interconnect deposited thereon. Another embodiment of the invention relates to forming a display along a length of a flexible layer wherein a slurry containing a plurality of elements with circuit elements thereon washes over the flexible layer and slides into recessed regions or holes found in the flexible layer. Interconnect is then deposited thereon. In another embodiment, interconnect is placed on the flexible layer followed by a slurry containing a plurality of elements.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 21, 2002
    Date of Patent: July 4, 2006
    Assignee: Alien Technology Corporation
    Inventors: Jeffrey Jay Jacobsen, Glenn Wilhelm Gengel, Mark A. Hadley, Gordon S. W. Craig, John Stephen Smith
  • Patent number: 7060355
    Abstract: A polycrystalline silicon rod according to present invention has a structure for hanging of polycrystalline silicon rods to each other end-to-end, so that the efficiency of melting polycrystalline silicon can be increased considerably. A polycrystalline silicon rod obtained by entirely or partially removing a peripheral portion from the rod to leave a central portion, and processing the central portion, preferably, the peripheral portion is removed by grinding in an amount corresponding to 10 to 60% of the diameter of the rod, and then subjected to groove-forming processing. This makes annealing unnecessary.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 1, 2001
    Date of Patent: June 13, 2006
    Assignee: Mitsubishi Materials Polycrystalline Silicon Corporation
    Inventors: Mamoru Nakano, Yukio Yamaguchi, Teruhisa Kitagawa, Rikito Sato, Naoki Hatakeyama
  • Patent number: 7056603
    Abstract: A touch panel includes a transparent electro-conductive film. The transparent electro-conductive film comprises a primary layer formed on a polymer film, and a transparent electro-conductive thin film or a multi-lamination film composed of at least one metal-compound layer and at least one electro-conductive-metal layer is formed on the primary layer. The primary layer is made of silicon compound. The primary layer is formed by sputtering, using a target having a density of 2.9 g/cm3 or more.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 1, 2004
    Date of Patent: June 6, 2006
    Assignee: Bridgestone Corporation
    Inventors: Masato Yoshikawa, Yoshinori Iwabuchi, Yukihiro Kusano, Mitsuhiro Nishida
  • Patent number: 7052771
    Abstract: A covering material comprising a first layer, which forms the wearing layer of the structure and contains an ionomer, as well as a second layer next to the first layer. According to the invention, the first layer contains a wear-resistant and electrically conductive ionomer polyelectrolyte and the second layer is electrically conductive. The first layer comprises in particularan ionomer, which is a polymer of a co- or terpolymer of ethylene and acrylic or methacrylic acid, or any other known ionomer, and a block polyether, the polymer being ionically crosslinked with alkali and/or alkaline-earth and/or metal cations. The second layer forms the bottom layer of the structure, and it is made up of a polyolefin elastomer that has been rendered electrically conductive. The material according to the invention is suitable as covering for ESD applications.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 1, 2002
    Date of Patent: May 30, 2006
    Assignee: IonPhasE Oy
    Inventor: Jyri Nieminen
  • Patent number: 7052733
    Abstract: A method for making thin film filters having a negative temperature drift coefficient are the subject of the present invention. Such filters can achieve better optical control within an operational temperature range from ?5° C. to 70° C. degrees. A first embodiment of the present invention includes: 1. providing a substrate wafer which has a coefficient of thermal expansion (CTE) greater than that of a selected film stack material; 2. polishing the substrate wafer; 3. depositing thin film layers made of the film stack material on the substrate wafer at a temperature substantially higher than room temperature; 4. cooling the substrate-film stack laminate to room temperature, thus forming a convex-shaped laminate; 5. cutting the cooled laminate into pieces. A second embodiment includes the steps of: 1. providing a laminate composed of a glass substrate and a film stack; 2. using at least one ion beam source to bombard the film stack of the laminate with high energy ions; 3.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 10, 2002
    Date of Patent: May 30, 2006
    Assignee: Hon Hai Precision Ind. Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Ga Lane Chen, Charles Leu
  • Patent number: 7048434
    Abstract: Thermally analysis of layers and multiple layer structures used in the semiconductor processing arts is disclosed. A modulated calorimetric analysis may be used to determine a thermal signature that characterizes the chemical properties of a sample of material. The signature may include one or more thermal properties such as heat capacities. The signature may be used to compare and infer the suitability of a material for use in an integrated circuit manufacturing process. A thermal signature for a material that is not known to be suitable for manufacturing integrated circuits may be compared with a thermal signature for a standard material that is known to be suitable in order to determine whether the aforementioned material is suitable. Multiple layer structures may also be analyzed, compared, and inferred, and approaches for determining thermal signatures for any individual layer of the multiple layer structure are disclosed.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 17, 2002
    Date of Patent: May 23, 2006
    Assignee: Intel Corporation
    Inventors: Alex Tregub, Mansour Moinpour, David Fryer
  • Patent number: 7045223
    Abstract: Single crystal spinel boules, wafers, substrates and active devices including same are disclosed. In one embodiment, such articles have reduced mechanical stress and/or strain represented by improved yield rates.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 23, 2003
    Date of Patent: May 16, 2006
    Assignee: Saint-Gobain Ceramics & Plastics, Inc.
    Inventors: Milan Kokta, Jennifer Stone-Sundberg, Jeffrey Cooke, Ronald Ackerman, Hung Ong, Emily Corrigan
  • Patent number: 7045179
    Abstract: A protecting film for covering a recording face of a recording medium includes a support, a first protective layer formed of thermoplastic resin and formed on the support, and a second protective layer formed of thermoplastic resin, and laminated on the first protective layer. An image is formed on the recording face by a thermal transfer type overcoat process.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 13, 2004
    Date of Patent: May 16, 2006
    Assignee: Seiko Epson Corporation
    Inventors: Hajime Mizutani, Hiroyuki Onishi, Teruaki Kaieda, Masahiro Hanmura, Koichi Terao, Etsuo Okaue
  • Patent number: 7041391
    Abstract: The present invention provides a method for forming a film of aluminum oxide in which a target containing aluminum is sputtered in a gas containing fluorine atoms. The thin film of aluminum oxide according to the present invention has little optical absorption and high refractive index in the ultraviolet and vacuum ultraviolet regions.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 20, 2002
    Date of Patent: May 9, 2006
    Assignee: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventors: Kenji Ando, Masaaki Matsushima, Minoru Otani, Yasuyuki Suzuki, Ryuji Biro, Hidehiro Kanazawa