Patents by Inventor Bruce Allan Cook

Bruce Allan Cook 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).

  • Wear-resistant boride composites with high percentage of reinforcement phase
    Patent number: 7517375
    Abstract: A highly wear resistant sintered, hot pressed, or otherwise compacted ceramic composite material is described, consisting of two discrete phases of the form AlxMgyB14 where x and y ?1 or like hard, orthorhombic compounds, and TiB2 or like Group IVB transition metal di-borides, and with an unexpectedly high content of transition metal di-boride in the range from 40 to 90 percent (28 to 85 volume percent).
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 4, 2006
    Date of Patent: April 14, 2009
    Assignee: Iowa State University Research Foundation, Inc.
    Inventors: Bruce Allan Cook, Joel Lee Harringa, Alan Mark Russell, Justin S. Peters, Atiq Ahmed
  • Ultra-hard low friction coating based on A1MgBfor reduced wear of MEMS and other tribological components and system
    Patent number: 7238429
    Abstract: Performance and reliability of microelectromechanical system (MEMS) components enhanced dramatically through the incorporation of protective thin film coatings. Current-generation MEMS devices prepared by the LIGA technique employ transition metals such as Ni, Cu, Fe, or alloys thereof, and hence lack stability in oxidizing, corrosive, and/or high temperature environments. Fabrication of a superhard, self-lubricating coating based on a ternary boride compound AlMgB14 is described in this letter as a potential breakthrough in protective coating technology for LIGA microdevices. Nanoindentation tests show that hardness of AlMgB14 films prepared by pulsed laser deposition ranges from 45 GPa to 51 GPa, when deposited at room temperature and 573 K, respectively. Extremely low friction coefficients of 0.04-0.05, which are thought to result from a self-lubricating effect, have also been confirmed by nanoscratch tests on the AlMgB14 films.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 21, 2004
    Date of Patent: July 3, 2007
    Assignee: Iowa State University Research Foundation, Inc.
    Inventors: Bruce Allan Cook, Yun Tian, Joel Lee Harringa, Alan Paul Constant, Alan Mark Russell, Palaniappa A. Molian
  • Ultra-hard boride-based metal matrix reinforcement
    Patent number: 7172641
    Abstract: A composite of M/AlMgB14 or M alloy/AlMgB14 is synthesized, where M=Al, Ti, W, or Cu. Small particles and/or fibers of AlMgB14 are distributed throughout a metal matrix to strengthen the resulting composite.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 18, 2004
    Date of Patent: February 6, 2007
    Assignee: Iowa State University Research Foundation, Inc.
    Inventors: Bruce Allan Cook, Alan Mark Russell, Joel Lee Harringa, S. Bulent Biner, Iver Anderson