Patents by Inventor Akio Niikura

Akio Niikura has filed for patents to protect the following inventions. This listing includes patent applications that are pending as well as patents that have already been granted by the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO).

  • Patent number: 11408690
    Abstract: A method for producing an aluminum alloy clad material having a core material and a sacrificial anode material clad on at least one surface of the core material, wherein the core material comprises an aluminum alloy comprising 0.050 to 1.5 mass % (referred to as “%” below) Si, 0.050 to 2.0% Fe and 0.50 to 2.00% Mn; the sacrificial anode material includes an aluminum alloy containing 0.50 to 8.00% Zn, 0.05 to 1.50% Si and 0.050 to 2.00% Fe; the grain size of the sacrificial anode material is 60 ?m or more; and a ratio R1/R2 is 0.30 or less, wherein R1 (?m) is a grain size in a thickness direction and R2 (?m) is a grain size in a rolling direction in a cross section of the core material along the rolling direction; a production method thereof; and a heat exchanger using the clad.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 1, 2019
    Date of Patent: August 9, 2022
    Assignee: UACJ CORPORATION
    Inventors: Makoto Ando, Atsushi Fukumoto, Akio Niikura
  • Publication number: 20190323788
    Abstract: A method for producing an aluminum alloy clad material having a core material and a sacrificial anode material clad on at least one surface of the core material, wherein the core material comprises an aluminum alloy comprising 0.050 to 1.5 mass % (referred to as “%” below) Si, 0.050 to 2.0% Fe and 0.50 to 2.00% Mn; the sacrificial anode material includes an aluminum alloy containing 0.50 to 8.00% Zn, 0.05 to 1.50% Si and 0.050 to 2.00% Fe; the grain size of the sacrificial anode material is 60 ?m or more; and a ratio R1/R2 is 0.30 or less, wherein R1 (?m) is a grain size in a thickness direction and R2 (?m) is a grain size in a rolling direction in a cross section of the core material along the rolling direction; a production method thereof; and a heat exchanger using the clad.
    Type: Application
    Filed: July 1, 2019
    Publication date: October 24, 2019
    Applicant: UACJ CORPORATION
    Inventors: Makoto ANDO, Atsushi FUKUMOTO, Akio NIIKURA
  • Patent number: 10436528
    Abstract: An aluminum alloy brazing sheet which is thin but has excellent weldability and post-brazing strength. An aluminum alloy brazing sheet having a core material comprising an aluminum alloy, an Al—Si based brazing filler metal clad on one surface of the core material and a sacrificial anode material clad on the other surface of the core material: wherein the core material comprises certain amounts of Si, Fe, Cu and Mn and certain amounts of one, two or more selected from Ti, Zr, Cr and V; the sacrificial anode material comprises certain amounts of Si, Fe, Mg and Zn; in a cross section parallel to the longitudinal direction and along the thickness direction, the interface between the core material and the sacrificial anode material includes 300 pieces/mm or less of an Al—Mg—Cu based intermetallic compound; and the core material and the sacrificial anode material have an unrecrystallized structure.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 12, 2014
    Date of Patent: October 8, 2019
    Assignee: UACJ Corporation
    Inventors: Atsushi Fukumoto, Akio Niikura
  • Patent number: 10161693
    Abstract: An aluminum alloy fin material for heat exchangers, containing 0.5 to 1.5 mass % of Si; more than 1.0 mass % but not more than 2.0 mass % of Fe; 0.4 to 1.0 mass % of Mn; and 0.4 to 1.0 mass % of Zn, with the balance being Al and unavoidable impurities, wherein a metallographic microstructure before braze-heating is such that a density of second phase particles having a circle-equivalent diameter of less than 0.1 ?m is less than 1×107 particles/mm2, and that a density of second phase particles having a circle-equivalent diameter of 0.1 ?m or more is 1×105 particles/mm2 or more, wherein a tensile strength before braze-heating, TSB (N/mm2), a tensile strength after braze-heating, TSA (N/mm2), and a fin sheet thickness, t (?m), satisfy: 0.4?(TSB?TSA)/t?2.1, and wherein the sheet thickness is 150 ?m or less; and a method of producing the same.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 4, 2016
    Date of Patent: December 25, 2018
    Assignee: UACJ CORPORATION
    Inventors: Atsushi Fukumoto, Junichi Mochizuki, Akio Niikura
  • Patent number: 10145630
    Abstract: An aluminum alloy fin material for heat exchangers, containing 0.5 to 1.5 mass % of Si; 0.1 to 1.0 mass % of Fe; 0.8 to 1.8 mass % of Mn; and 0.4 to 2.5 mass % of Zn, with the balance being Al and unavoidable impurities, wherein a metallographic microstructure before braze-heating is such that a density of second phase particles having a circle-equivalent diameter of less than 0.1 ?m is less than 1×107 particles/mm2, and that a density of second phase particles having a circle-equivalent diameter of 0.1 ?m or more is 5×104 particles/mm2 or more, wherein a tensile strength before braze-heating, TSB (N/mm2), a tensile strength after braze-heating, TSA (N/mm2), and a sheet thickness of the fin material, t (?m), satisfy a relationship: 0.4?(TSB?TSA)/t?2.1, and wherein the sheet thickness is 150 ?m or less; and a method of producing the same.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 4, 2016
    Date of Patent: December 4, 2018
    Assignee: UACJ CORPORATION
    Inventors: Atsushi Fukumoto, Junichi Mochizuki, Akio Niikura
  • Patent number: 10099320
    Abstract: An aluminum alloy brazing sheet having high corrosion resistance is provided, which develops the sacrificial anticorrosion effect in both surfaces of the sheet, which has the brazing function in one of both the surfaces, and which prevents the occurrence of preferential corrosion. A channel forming component for a vehicular heat exchanger is also provided by utilizing the aluminum alloy brazing sheet. An aluminum alloy brazing sheet having high corrosion resistance includes an aluminum alloy core, a filler material clad on one surface of the core, and a sacrificial anode material clad on the other surface of the core, wherein the filler material, the sacrificial anode material, and the core have respective predetermined alloy compositions. A channel forming component for a vehicular heat exchanger is manufactured using the aluminum alloy brazing sheet having high corrosion resistance.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 28, 2013
    Date of Patent: October 16, 2018
    Assignees: Denso Corporation, UACJ Corporation
    Inventors: Sadayuki Kamiya, Shota Terachi, Kenji Negura, Makoto Ando, Atsushi Fukumoto, Yoshiyuki Oya, Akio Niikura
  • Patent number: 10024611
    Abstract: Disclosed is an aluminum alloy material for a heat exchanger fin, the aluminum alloy material containing Si: 1.0% to 5.0% by mass, Fe: 0.1% to 2.0% by mass, and Mn: 0.1% to 2.0% by mass with balance being Al and inevitable impurities, wherein 250 pieces/mm2 or more to 7×104 pieces/mm2 or less of Si-based intermetallic compound particles having equivalent circle diameters of 0.5 to 5 ?m are present in a cross-section of the aluminum alloy material; and wherein 10 pieces/mm2 or more and 1000 pieces/mm2 or less of the Al—Fe—Mn—Si-based intermetallic compounds having equivalent circle diameters of more than 5 ?m are present in a cross-section of the aluminum alloy material. The aluminum alloy material may further contain one or more additive elements of Mg, Cu, Zn, In, Sn, Ti, V, Zr, Cr, Ni, Be, Sr, Bi, Na, and Ca.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 25, 2013
    Date of Patent: July 17, 2018
    Assignee: UACJ Corporation
    Inventors: Kazuko Fujita, Akio Niikura, Takashi Murase
  • Patent number: 9999946
    Abstract: An aluminum alloy brazing sheet having a good brazing property that prevents diffusion of molten filler material in a core material of the aluminum alloy brazing sheet during a brazing process and which has a superior corrosion resistance to an exhaust gas condensate water after the brazing process is disclosed. A method of manufacturing of the aluminum alloy brazing sheet also is disclosed. A high corrosion-resistant heat exchanger that employs the aluminum alloy brazing sheet also is disclosed.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 31, 2015
    Date of Patent: June 19, 2018
    Assignee: UACJ Corporation
    Inventors: Sadayuki Kamiya, Masaki Harada, Masafumi Saito, Taketoshi Toyoma, Makoto Ando, Yoshiyuki Oya, Akio Niikura, Yoichi Kojima
  • Patent number: 9976200
    Abstract: A highly corrosion resistant and highly formable cladded aluminum-alloy material, a method for producing the same, a heat exchanger using the same and a method for producing the same are shown. The present cladded aluminum-alloy material has an aluminum alloy core material, an intermediate layer material clad on one surface of the core material and a brazing filler metal clad on the intermediate layer material surface which is not at the core material side, wherein a crystal grain size of the intermediate layer material before brazing heating is 60 ?m or more, and in a cross section of the core material in a rolling direction before brazing heating, when R1 (?m) represents the crystal grain size in a plate thickness direction, and R2 (?m) represents the crystal grain size in the rolling direction, R1/R2 is 0.30 or less.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 17, 2014
    Date of Patent: May 22, 2018
    Assignee: UACJ Corporation
    Inventors: Makoto Ando, Yutaka Yanagawa, Akio Niikura
  • Patent number: 9976201
    Abstract: A highly corrosion resistant and highly formable aluminum-alloy clad material, a method for producing the same, a heat exchanger using the same and a method for producing the same are shown. The present aluminum-alloy clad material has an aluminum alloy core material, an intermediate layer material clad on one surface of the core material and a brazing filler metal clad on the surface of the intermediate layer material that is not on the core material side, wherein a crystal grain size of the intermediate layer material before brazing heating is 60 ?m or more, and in a cross section of the core material in a rolling direction before brazing heating, when R1 (?m) represents the crystal grain size in a plate thickness direction, and R2 (?m) represents the crystal grain size in the rolling direction, R1/R2 is 0.30 or less.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 17, 2014
    Date of Patent: May 22, 2018
    Assignee: UACJ CORPORATION
    Inventors: Makoto Ando, Takuya Murata, Akio Niikura
  • Patent number: 9903008
    Abstract: Aluminum alloy material containing Si: 1.0 to 5.0 mass % and Fe: 0.01 to 2.0 mass % with balance being Al and inevitable impurities, wherein 250 pcs/mm2 or more to 7×105 pcs/mm2 or less of Si-based intermetallic compound particles having equivalent circle diameters of 0.5 to 5 ?m are present in a cross-section of the aluminum alloy material, while 100 pcs/mm2 or more to 7×105 pcs/mm2 or less of Al-based intermetallic compound particles having equivalent circle diameters of 0.5 to 5 ?m are present in a cross-section of the aluminum alloy material. An aluminum alloy structure is manufactured by bonding two or more members in vacuum or a non-oxidizing atmosphere at temperature at which a ratio of a mass of a liquid phase generated in the aluminum alloy material to a total mass of the aluminum alloy material is 5% or more and 35% or less.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 20, 2017
    Date of Patent: February 27, 2018
    Assignee: UACJ Corporation
    Inventors: Akio Niikura, Kazuko Fujita, Takashi Murase, Yoshiyuki Oya, Tomohito Kurosaki
  • Patent number: 9878402
    Abstract: An aluminum alloy brazing sheet having a core material of an aluminum alloy, and a filler material cladded on the core is disclosed. The core material is an aluminum alloy having about 0.05 to about 1.2 mass Si, about 0.05-about 1.0 mass % Fe, about 0.05-about 1.2 mass % Cu, and about 0.6-about 1.8 mass % Mn, balance Al and the inevitable impurities. The filler material includes an aluminum alloy having about 2.5-about 13.0 mass % Si. Also, there is provided a method of manufacturing such an aluminum alloy brazing sheet.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 30, 2014
    Date of Patent: January 30, 2018
    Assignee: UACJ Corporation
    Inventors: Makoto Ando, Akio Niikura, Yoichiro Bekki
  • Patent number: 9802273
    Abstract: A first layer (11) and a second layer (12) are layered with an intermediate layer (21) therebetween. A clad material (1) is manufactured by heating and bonding the layered body at a temperature, at which the ratio of the mass of a liquid phase generated from the intermediate layer (21) is 5% or more and 35% or less, and by rolling the body. The clad material may comprise the clad material (1) which is a two-layer material formed of the first layer (11) and the second layer (12) as described above, as well as a third layer, a fourth layer, a fifth layer, and the like.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 2, 2011
    Date of Patent: October 31, 2017
    Assignee: UACJ CORPORATION
    Inventors: Kazuko Fujita, Takashi Murase, Akio Niikura
  • Publication number: 20170137919
    Abstract: Aluminum alloy material containing Si: 1.0 to 5.0 mass % and Fe: 0.01 to 2.0 mass % with balance being Al and inevitable impurities, wherein 250 pcs/mm2 or more to 7×105 pcs/mm2 or less of Si-based intermetallic compound particles having equivalent circle diameters of 0.5 to 5 ?m are present in a cross-section of the aluminum alloy material, while 100 pcs/mm2 or more to 7×105 pcs/mm2 or less of Al-based intermetallic compound particles having equivalent circle diameters of 0.5 to 5 ?m are present in a cross-section of the aluminum alloy material. An aluminum alloy structure is manufactured by bonding two or more members in vacuum or a non-oxidizing atmosphere at temperature at which a ratio of a mass of a liquid phase generated in the aluminum alloy material to a total mass of the aluminum alloy material is 5% or more and 35% or less.
    Type: Application
    Filed: January 20, 2017
    Publication date: May 18, 2017
    Inventors: Akio NIIKURA, Kazuko FUJITA, Takashi MURASE, Yoshiyuki OYA, Tomohito KUROSAKI
  • Publication number: 20170113305
    Abstract: This cladded aluminum-alloy material is provided with: an aluminum alloy core material, a coating material used to clad both surfaces of the core material; and a brazing material used to clad both of the coating material surfaces, or one of the coating material surfaces which is not at the core material side. The core material, the coating material and brazing filler material have described alloy compositions. The crystal grain size of the coating material before brazing heating is at least 60 ?m. In a cross section of the core material in the rolling direction before brazing heating, when R1 (?m) represents the crystal grain size in the plate thickness direction, and R2 (?m) represents the crystal grain size in the rolling direction, R1/R2 is not more than 0.50. As a result, the cladded aluminum-alloy material exhibits excellent mouldability, and the coating material after brazing heating exhibits excellent corrosion resistance.
    Type: Application
    Filed: March 11, 2015
    Publication date: April 27, 2017
    Applicant: UACJ Corporation
    Inventors: Makoto ANDO, Akio NIIKURA
  • Patent number: 9574253
    Abstract: An aluminum alloy material contains Si: 1.0 mass % to 5.0 mass % and Fe: 0.01 mass % to 2.0 mass % with balance being Al and inevitable impurities, wherein 250 pcs/mm2 or more to 7×105 pcs/mm2 or less of Si-based intermetallic compound particles having equivalent circle diameters of 0.5 to 5 ?m are present in a cross-section of the aluminum alloy material, while 100 pcs/mm2 to 7×105 pcs/mm2 of Al-based intermetallic compound particles having equivalent circle diameters of 0.5 to 5 ?m are present in a cross-section of the aluminum alloy material. An aluminum alloy structure is manufactured by bonding two or more members in vacuum or a non-oxidizing atmosphere at temperature at which a ratio of a mass of a liquid phase generated in the aluminum alloy material to a total mass of the aluminum alloy material is 5% or more and 35% or less.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 1, 2012
    Date of Patent: February 21, 2017
    Assignee: UACJ Corporation
    Inventors: Akio Niikura, Kazuko Fujita, Takashi Murase, Yoshiyuki Oya, Tomohito Kurosaki
  • Publication number: 20170003085
    Abstract: A heat exchanger aluminum alloy fin material, comprising Si 0.5 to 1.5 mass %; Fe 0.1 to 1.0 mass %; Mn 0.8 to 2.2 mass %; Zn 0.4 to 2.5 mass %; and further at least one selected from Cu, Ti, Zr, Cr, and V each in 0.02 to 0.3 mass %, with the balance being Al and unavoidable impurities, wherein a metallographic microstructure before braze-heating is such that a density of second phase particles having a circle-equivalent diameter of less than 0.1 ?m is less than 1×107 particles/mm2, and that a density of second phase particles having a circle-equivalent diameter of 0.1 ?m or more is 5×104 particles/mm2 or more, wherein a tensile strength before braze-heating, TSB, a tensile strength after braze-heating, TSA, and a sheet thickness of the fin material, t, satisfy: 0.4?(TSB?TSA)/t?2.1, and wherein the sheet thickness is 150 ?m or less.
    Type: Application
    Filed: September 19, 2016
    Publication date: January 5, 2017
    Applicant: UACJ Corporation
    Inventors: Atsushi FUKUMOTO, Junichi MOCHIZUKI, Akio NIIKURA
  • Publication number: 20160319401
    Abstract: A highly corrosion resistant and highly formable aluminum-alloy clad material, a method for producing the same, a heat exchanger using the same and a method for producing the same are shown. The present aluminum-alloy clad material has an aluminum alloy core material, an intermediate layer material clad on one surface of the core material and a brazing filler metal clad on the surface of the intermediate layer material that is not on the core material side, wherein a crystal grain size of the intermediate layer material before brazing heating is 60 ?m or more, and in a cross section of the core material in a rolling direction before brazing heating, when R1 (?m) represents the crystal grain size in a plate thickness direction, and R2 (?m) represents the crystal grain size in the rolling direction, R1/R2 is 0.30 or less.
    Type: Application
    Filed: December 17, 2014
    Publication date: November 3, 2016
    Applicant: UACJ CORPORATION
    Inventors: Makoto ANDO, Takuya MURATA, Akio NIIKURA
  • Publication number: 20160319399
    Abstract: A highly corrosion resistant and highly formable cladded aluminum-alloy material, a method for producing the same, a heat exchanger using the same and a method for producing the same are shown. The present cladded aluminum-alloy material has an aluminum alloy core material, an intermediate layer material clad on one surface of the core material and a brazing filler metal clad on the intermediate layer material surface which is not at the core material side, wherein a crystal grain size of the intermediate layer material before brazing heating is 60 ?m or more, and in a cross section of the core material in a rolling direction before brazing heating, when R1 (?m) represents the crystal grain size in a plate thickness direction, and R2 (?m) represents the crystal grain size in the rolling direction, R1/R2 is 0.30 or less.
    Type: Application
    Filed: December 17, 2014
    Publication date: November 3, 2016
    Applicant: UACJ Corporation
    Inventors: Makoto ANDO, Yutaka YANAGAWA, Akio NIIKURA
  • Publication number: 20160167177
    Abstract: Problem To provide an aluminum alloy brazing sheet, featuring a good brazing property that prevents diffusion of molten filler material in a core material of the aluminum alloy brazing sheet during a brazing process and exhibiting a superior corrosion resistance to an exhaust gas condensate water after the brazing process, a method of manufacturing the aluminum alloy brazing sheet, and a high corrosion-resistant heat exchanger using the aluminum alloy brazing sheet. Resolving Means A high corrosion-resistant aluminum alloy brazing sheet comprises a core material composed of an aluminum alloy, a sacrificial anode material cladded on one surface of the core material, and a filler material composed of an Al/Si-based alloy and cladded on another surface of said core material, and is characterized in that the sacrificial anode material is composed of an aluminum alloy which contains Si falling within a range of 2.5-7.0 mass %, Zn falling a range of 1.0-5.5 mass %, Fe falling within a range of 0.05-1.
    Type: Application
    Filed: July 31, 2015
    Publication date: June 16, 2016
    Inventors: Sadayuki Kamiya, Masaki Harada, Masafumi Saito, Taketoshi Toyoma, Makoto Ando, Yoshiyuki Oya, Akio Niikura, Yoichi Kojima