Patents by Inventor Frank Ernst

Frank Ernst 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).

  • Publication number: 20230015135
    Abstract: A workpiece made from a self passivating metal and having one or more surface regions defining a Beilby layer as a result of a previous metal shaping operation is activated for subsequent low temperature gas hardening by exposing the workpiece to the vapors produced by heating an oxygen-free nitrogen halide salt.
    Type: Application
    Filed: September 9, 2022
    Publication date: January 19, 2023
    Inventors: Peter C. Williams, Steven V. Marx, Frank Ernst, Anna V. Agaponova
  • Publication number: 20220364216
    Abstract: A method for low-temperature interstitial case formation on a self-passivating metal workpiece includes exposing the workpiece in a heated gaseous environment comprising oxygen to pyrolysis products of a nonpolymeric reagent comprising nitrogen and carbon.
    Type: Application
    Filed: April 28, 2022
    Publication date: November 17, 2022
    Inventors: Frank Ernst, Todd Johns, Ronald Edmonson, Cyprian Adair William Illing, Peter C. Williams, Christina Semkow
  • Patent number: 11473183
    Abstract: A workpiece made from a self passivating metal and having one or more surface regions defining a Beilby layer as a result of a previous metal shaping operation is activated for subsequent low temperature gas hardening by exposing the workpiece to the vapors produced by heating an oxygen-free nitrogen halide salt.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 27, 2020
    Date of Patent: October 18, 2022
    Assignee: SWAGELOK COMPANY
    Inventors: Peter C. Williams, Steven V. Marx, Frank Ernst, Anna V. Agaponova
  • Patent number: 11269788
    Abstract: There is described a method of managing memory in an electronic device, the method comprising creating a set of equally sized logical regions in a logical address space, each logical region comprising a plurality of consecutive logical addresses, and mapping a subset of consecutive logical addresses within each logical region to a set of physical addresses within a corresponding physical memory region, the subset of consecutive logical addresses comprising the first logical address within the logical region, said first logical address being mapped to a base address within the corresponding physical memory region. Furthermore, there is described a controller for managing memory in an electronic device and a method of determining a physical memory address in a physical memory region using such a controller.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 18, 2020
    Date of Patent: March 8, 2022
    Assignee: NXP B.V.
    Inventors: Alexandre Frey, Ralf Malzahn, Frank Ernst Johannes Siedel, Shameer Puthalan, Andreas Lessiak, Daniel Kershaw
  • Patent number: 11066735
    Abstract: A carburization method for steel is contemplated, with austenitic stainless steel showing particular promise. The surface is first passivated with an acidic solution and then subjected to low temperature (between ˜350 to 550° C. or between ˜650 to 1,000° F.) carburization in the presence of a concentrated carbon solution (e.g., carbon monoxide, hydrogen gas, and nitrogen gas), followed by a repeated cycle of passivation and carburization under identical conditions but for a comparatively shorter period of time relative to the first cycle. The carburized surface is allowed to cool and cleaned, after which the resulting surface is shown to have ultrahigh tensile strength, increased interatomic bonding strength, and lowered electrical and thermal conductivity. To the extent this method can be employed to completely saturate and penetrate the workpiece (e.g., a foil), the resultant material and article are formed entirely from a novel composition.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 16, 2019
    Date of Patent: July 20, 2021
    Assignee: CASE WESTERN RESERVE UNIVERSITY
    Inventors: Zhe Ren, Frank Ernst
  • Publication number: 20210081335
    Abstract: There is described a method of managing memory in an electronic device, the method comprising creating a set of equally sized logical regions in a logical address space, each logical region comprising a plurality of consecutive logical addresses, and mapping a subset of consecutive logical addresses within each logical region to a set of physical addresses within a corresponding physical memory region, the subset of consecutive logical addresses comprising the first logical address within the logical region, said first logical address being mapped to a base address within the corresponding physical memory region. Furthermore, there is described a controller for managing memory in an electronic device and a method of determining a physical memory address in a physical memory region using such a controller.
    Type: Application
    Filed: August 18, 2020
    Publication date: March 18, 2021
    Inventors: Alexandre Frey, Ralf Malzahn, Frank Ernst Johannes Siedel, Shameer Puthalan, Andreas Lessiak, Daniel Kershaw
  • Publication number: 20200283882
    Abstract: A workpiece made from a self passivating metal and having one or more surface regions defining a Beilby layer as a result of a previous metal shaping operation is activated for subsequent low temperature gas hardening by exposing the workpiece to the vapors produced by heating an oxygen-free nitrogen halide salt.
    Type: Application
    Filed: March 27, 2020
    Publication date: September 10, 2020
    Inventors: Peter C. Williams, Steven V. Marx, Frank Ernst, Anna V. Agaponova
  • Patent number: 10604832
    Abstract: A workpiece made from a self passivating metal and having one or more surface regions defining a Beilby layer as a result of a previous metal shaping operation is activated for subsequent low temperature gas hardening by exposing the workpiece to the vapors produced by heating an oxygen-free nitrogen halide salt.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 26, 2018
    Date of Patent: March 31, 2020
    Assignee: Swagelok Company
    Inventors: Peter C. Williams, Steven V. Marx, Frank Ernst, Anna V. Agaponova
  • Publication number: 20200087773
    Abstract: A carburization method for steel is contemplated, with austenitic stainless steel showing particular promise. The surface is first passivated with an acidic solution and then subjected to low temperature (between ˜350 to 550° C. or between ˜650 to 1,000° F.) carburization in the presence of a concentrated carbon solution (e.g., carbon monoxide, hydrogen gas, and nitrogen gas), followed by a repeated cycle of passivation and carburization under identical conditions but for a comparatively shorter period of time relative to the first cycle. The carburized surface is allowed to cool and cleaned, after which the resulting surface is shown to have ultrahigh tensile strength, increased interatomic bonding strength, and lowered electrical and thermal conductivity. To the extent this method can be employed to completely saturate and penetrate the workpiece (e.g., a foil), the resultant material and article are formed entirely from a novel composition.
    Type: Application
    Filed: October 16, 2019
    Publication date: March 19, 2020
    Inventors: Zhe REN, Frank ERNST
  • Publication number: 20200048774
    Abstract: A process for surface activation or depassivation of an article, in particular an alloy, by immersion of the alloy in an aqueous acid solution. The surface activation methods of the present invention can be performed during a relatively short period of time and achieve reductions in production costs and provide environmental friendliness as compared to prior art processes. In a further embodiment, after surface activation, the article is immersed in a second liquid that prevents re-formation of a passivating oxide layer on the surface of the article. In a further embodiment the surface-activated alloys are subjected to surface engineering by a process that infuses carbon or nitrogen through the surface at a temperature sufficiently low to suppress precipitation of carbides or nitrides.
    Type: Application
    Filed: September 13, 2019
    Publication date: February 13, 2020
    Inventors: Zhen Li, Frank Ernst, Harold Kahn, Arthur Heuer
  • Patent number: 10450658
    Abstract: A process for surface activation or depassivation of an article, in particular an alloy, by immersion of the alloy in an aqueous acid solution. The surface activation methods of the present invention can be performed during a relatively short period of time and achieve reductions in production costs and provide environmental friendliness as compared to prior art processes. In a further embodiment, after surface activation, the article is immersed in a second liquid that prevents re-formation of a passivating oxide layer on the surface of the article. In a further embodiment the surface-activated alloys are subjected to surface engineering by a process that infuses carbon or nitrogen through the surface at a temperature sufficiently low to suppress precipitation of carbides or nitrides.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 6, 2015
    Date of Patent: October 22, 2019
    Assignee: CASE WESTERN RESERVE UNIVERSITY
    Inventors: Zhen Li, Frank Ernst, Harold Kahn, Arthur Heuer
  • Publication number: 20190093207
    Abstract: A workpiece made from a self passivating metal and having one or more surface regions defining a Beilby layer as a result of a previous metal shaping operation is activated for subsequent low temperature gas hardening by exposing the workpiece to the vapors produced by heating an oxygen-free nitrogen halide salt.
    Type: Application
    Filed: November 26, 2018
    Publication date: March 28, 2019
    Applicants: Swagelok Company, Case Western Reserve University
    Inventors: Peter C. Williams, Steven V. Marx, Frank Ernst, Anna V. Agaponova
  • Patent number: 10214805
    Abstract: A workpiece made from a self passivating metal and having one or more surface regions defining a Beilby layer as a result of a previous metal shaping operation is activated for subsequent low temperature gas hardening by exposing the workpiece to the vapors produced by heating an oxygen-free nitrogen halide salt.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 30, 2015
    Date of Patent: February 26, 2019
    Assignees: SWAGELOK COMPANY, CASE WESTERN RESERVE UNIVERSITY
    Inventors: Peter C. Williams, Steven V. Marx, Frank Ernst, Anna V. Agaponova
  • Patent number: 9643794
    Abstract: The invention proceeds from a product-stream-transfer apparatus (10a) for transferring at least a first product sub-stream (12a) and a further product sub-stream (14a) into a main product stream (16a) or for separating a main product stream into at least a first product sub-stream and a further product sub-stream along a product-stream-transfer route (18a), having a first side route (20a) with a multiplicity of transporting elements (22a) for transporting products (24a) of the first product sub-stream (12a), having at least a further side route (26a) with a multiplicity of transporting elements (22a) for transporting products (24a) of the further product sub-stream (14a), and having a main route (28a), which is adjacent to the product-stream-transfer route (18a) and is intended for transporting the products (24a) of the main product stream (16a).
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 10, 2014
    Date of Patent: May 9, 2017
    Assignee: Robert Bosch GmbH
    Inventors: Alfred Wipf, Frank Ernst, Christian Reichardt, Markus Landolt
  • Publication number: 20170081767
    Abstract: A process for surface activation or depassivation of an article, in particular an alloy, by immersion of the alloy in an aqueous acid solution. The surface activation methods of the present invention can be performed during a relatively short period of time and achieve reductions in production costs and provide environmental friendliness as compared to prior art processes. In a further embodiment, after surface activation, the article is immersed in a second liquid that prevents re-formation of a passivating oxide layer on the surface of the article. In a further embodiment the surface-activated alloys are subjected to surface engineering by a process that infuses carbon or nitrogen through the surface at a temperature sufficiently low to suppress precipitation of carbides or nitrides.
    Type: Application
    Filed: May 6, 2015
    Publication date: March 23, 2017
    Inventors: Zhen Li, Frank Ernst, Harold Kahn, Arthur Heuer
  • Publication number: 20160289010
    Abstract: The invention proceeds from a product-stream-transfer apparatus (10a) for transferring at least a first product sub-stream (12a) and a further product sub-stream (14a) into a main product stream (16a) or for separating a main product stream into at least a first product sub-stream and a further product sub-stream along a product-stream-transfer route (18a), having a first side route (20a) with a multiplicity of transporting elements (22a) for transporting products (24a) of the first product sub-stream (12a), having at least a further side route (26a) with a multiplicity of transporting elements (22a) for transporting products (24a) of the further product sub-stream (14a), and having a main route (28a), which is adjacent to the product-stream-transfer route (18a) and is intended for transporting the products (24a) of the main product stream (16a).
    Type: Application
    Filed: November 10, 2014
    Publication date: October 6, 2016
    Inventors: Alfred Wipf, Frank Ernst, Christian Reichardt, Markus Landolt
  • Patent number: 9449877
    Abstract: A method of singulating a semiconductor wafer with laser energy while the semiconductor wafer is supported on a mounting tape during singulation comprises the step of depositing a coating material onto a portion of the mounting tape adjacent to a perimeter of the semiconductor wafer to form a protective layer over the mounting tape. The semiconductor wafer is then cut with a laser beam such that the laser beam at least partially impinges upon the protective layer during cutting of the semiconductor wafer. After singulation of the semiconductor wafer, the protective layer is removed from the mounting tape.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 17, 2014
    Date of Patent: September 20, 2016
    Assignee: ASM TECHNOLOGY SINGAPORE PTE LTD
    Inventors: Frank Ernst, Rogier Evertsen, Raph Pieters, Mark Müller, Guido Knippels
  • Publication number: 20160079118
    Abstract: A method of singulating a semiconductor wafer with laser energy while the semiconductor wafer is supported on a mounting tape during singulation comprises the step of depositing a coating material onto a portion of the mounting tape adjacent to a perimeter of the semiconductor wafer to form a protective layer over the mounting tape. The semiconductor wafer is then cut with a laser beam such that the laser beam at least partially impinges upon the protective layer during cutting of the semiconductor wafer. After singulation of the semiconductor wafer, the protective layer is removed from the mounting tape.
    Type: Application
    Filed: September 17, 2014
    Publication date: March 17, 2016
    Inventors: Frank ERNST, Rogier EVERTSEN, Raph PIETERS, Mark Müller, Guido KNIPPELS
  • Publication number: 20160032442
    Abstract: A workpiece made from a self passivating metal and having one or more surface regions defining a Beilby layer as a result of a previous metal shaping operation is activated for subsequent low temperature gas hardening by exposing the workpiece to the vapors produced by heating an oxygen-free nitrogen halide salt.
    Type: Application
    Filed: July 30, 2015
    Publication date: February 4, 2016
    Inventors: Peter C. Williams, Steven V. Marx, Frank Ernst, Anna V. Agaponova
  • Patent number: 9011723
    Abstract: In a method for treating alternative, carbon-containing, low-caloric waste materials for use in furnace systems, in particular rotary tubular kilns for the production of clinker, the carbon-containing, alternative fuels are subjected to high-temperature gasification under anoxic conditions at temperatures above 1000° C., wherein water, water vapor or CO2 is injected to ensure a reaction forming CO and H2. The waste heat from a clinker cooler is used for the high-temperature gasification.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 10, 2009
    Date of Patent: April 21, 2015
    Assignee: Holcim Technology Ltd.
    Inventors: Frank Ernst, Albert Obrist