Patents by Inventor Gerald Allen Foster

Gerald Allen Foster 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).

  • Method and apparatus for boronizing a metal workpiece
    Patent number: 6258172
    Abstract: A method and apparatus for boronizing a metal workpiece which includes the step of providing a container having a least one workpiece receiving chamber and at least one heating chamber adapted to heat the workpiece receiving chamber. The metal workpiece to be boronized is placed within the workpiece receiving chamber in physical contact with a boronizing agent. The heating chamber is heated until the workpiece receiving chamber is heated to a sufficient temperature for a sufficient length of time to boronize the workpiece. With this method an internal heating chamber positioned within the container is used to supply heat for the boronizing process, as opposed to placing the container into a boronizing furnace. This eliminates the need for a boronizing furnace, with all of its associated expense.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 28, 1999
    Date of Patent: July 10, 2001
    Inventors: Gerald Allen Foster, Dale William MacKenzie