Patents by Inventor Hiroyuki Kawata

Hiroyuki Kawata 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: 20220127709
    Abstract: Provided are a hot dip galvanized steel sheet comprising a base steel sheet wherein the base steel sheet has a predetermined chemical composition, and contains ferrite: 50% or less, retained austenite: 30% or less, tempered martensite: 5% or more, fresh martensite: 10% or less, and pearlite and cementite in total: 5% or less, remaining structures consist of bainite, and a number ratio of tempered martensite with a Mn concentration profile satisfying [Mn]b/[Mn]a>1.2 and [Mn]a/[Mn]<2.0 ([Mn] is the Mn content in the base steel sheet, [Mn]a is the average Mn concentration in the tempered martensite, and [Mn]b is the Mn concentration at the interfaces of different phases of the tempered martensite and ferrite phase and bainite phase) is 0.2 or more with respect to the total number of tempered martensite, and a method for producing the same.
    Type: Application
    Filed: February 6, 2020
    Publication date: April 28, 2022
    Applicant: NIPPON STEEL CORPORATION
    Inventors: Takafumi YOKOYAMA, Hiroyuki KAWATA, Kunio HAYASHI, Yuji YAMAGUCHI, Satoshi UCHIDA
  • Publication number: 20220127691
    Abstract: A high-strength steel sheet includes a chemical composition including: by mass %, C: 0.080 to 0.500%, Si: 2.50% or less, Mn: 0.50 to 5.00%, P: 0.100% or less, S: 0.0100% or less, Al: 0.001 to 2.500%, N: 0.0150% or less, O: 0.0050% or less, and the balance: Fe and inevitable impurities. The high-strength steel sheet satisfying a predetermined formula has a microstructure in a region from ?t to ?t from a steel sheet surface. The microstructure includes: by volume %, 20% or more of acicular ferrite, 20% or more of an island-shaped hard structure including residual austenite, 2% to 25% of residual austenite, and 20% or less of aggregated ferrite.
    Type: Application
    Filed: December 11, 2018
    Publication date: April 28, 2022
    Applicant: NIPPON STEEL CORPORATION
    Inventors: Hiroyuki KAWATA, Eisaku SAKURADA, Kohichi SANO, Takafumi YOKOYAMA
  • Publication number: 20220119909
    Abstract: A steel sheet of the present invention is a steel sheet having a predetermined chemical composition and containing at least ferrite, residual austenite, and/or martensite in a microstructure, and furthermore, is a steel sheet in which, in a plane parallel to a rolled surface, an average distance between centers of high Mn regions adjacent to each other is 1.00 mm or less, a density DA of the high Mn regions at a sheet width center portion and a density DB of the high Mn regions at a ¼ position from a sheet width end portion satisfy a relationship of 0.77?DA/DB?1.30, a ratio of an average hardness of the high Mn regions to an average hardness of the low Mn regions is 1.1 to 2.0, and a difference between an average of a top 5% and an average of a bottom 5% of Mn contents in the low Mn regions is 0.3% or more.
    Type: Application
    Filed: April 8, 2020
    Publication date: April 21, 2022
    Applicant: NIPPON STEEL CORPORATION
    Inventors: Kohichi SANO, Hiroyuki KAWATA
  • Publication number: 20220119908
    Abstract: Provided are a hot dip galvanized steel sheet comprising a base steel sheet and a hot dip galvanized layer on at least one surface of the base metal steel sheet, wherein the base steel sheet has a predetermined chemical composition, and contains, by volume fraction, ferrite: 0% to 50%, retained austenite: 0% to 30%, tempered martensite: 5% or more, fresh martensite: 0% to 10%, and pearlite and cementite in total: 0% to 5%, when there are remaining structures, the remaining structures consist of bainite, a concentration of B atoms at prior austenite grain boundaries is 2.0 atm % or more, and an average effective crystal grain size is 7.0 ?m or less, and a method for producing the same.
    Type: Application
    Filed: February 6, 2020
    Publication date: April 21, 2022
    Applicant: NIPPON STEEL CORPORATION
    Inventors: Takafumi YOKOYAMA, Hiroyuki KAWATA, Kunio HAYASHI, Yuji YAMAGUCHI, Satoshi UCHIDA
  • Publication number: 20220112569
    Abstract: A steel sheet includes, as a chemical composition, by mass %: C: 0.0015% to 0.0400%; Mn: 0.20% to 1.50%; P: 0.010% to 0.100%; Cr: 0.001% to 0.500%; Si: 0.200% or less; S: 0.020% or less; sol. Al: 0.200% or less; N: 0.0150% or less; Mo: 0% to 0.500%; B: 0% to 0.0100%; Nb: 0% to 0.200%; Ti: 0% to 0.200%; Ni: 0% to 0.200%; Cu: 0% to 0.100%; and a remainder including iron and impurities, in which a metallographic structure in a surface layer region includes ferrite having a volume fraction of 90% or more, and in the surface layer region, an average grain size of the ferrite is 1.0 ?m to 15.0 ?m, and a texture in which an XODF{001}/{111}, S as a ratio of an intensity of {001} orientation to an intensity of {111} orientation in the ferrite is 0.30 or more and less than 3.50 is included.
    Type: Application
    Filed: January 7, 2020
    Publication date: April 14, 2022
    Applicant: NIPPON STEEL CORPORATION
    Inventors: Masahiro KUBO, Hiroyuki KAWATA, Kenichiro OTSUKA, Masafumi AZUMA
  • Publication number: 20220090248
    Abstract: Provided are a hot dip galvanized steel sheet comprising a base steel sheet wherein the base steel sheet has a predetermined composition and contains ferrite: 0% to 50%, retained austenite: 0% to 30%, tempered martensite: 5% or more, fresh martensite: 0% to 10%, and pearlite and cementite in total: 0% to 5%, remaining structures consist of bainite, when defining a region having a hardness of 90% or less of the hardness at a position of ¼ thickness to the base steel sheet side from an interface of the base steel sheet and a hot dip galvanized layer as a “soft layer”, there is a soft layer having a thickness of 10 ?m or more at the base steel sheet side from the interface, the soft layer contains tempered martensite, and an increase rate in a thickness direction of an area % of tempered martensite from the interface to the inside of the base steel sheet inside the soft layer is 5.0%/pm or less, and a method for producing the same.
    Type: Application
    Filed: February 6, 2020
    Publication date: March 24, 2022
    Applicant: NIPPON STEEL CORPORATION
    Inventors: Takafumi YOKOYAMA, Hiroyuki KAWATA, Kunio HAYASHI, Yuji YAMAGUCHI, Satoshi UCHIDA
  • Patent number: 11274356
    Abstract: A steel sheet having a chemical composition of the base metal including, in mass %, C: 0.17 to 0.40%, Si: 0.10 to 2.50%, Mn: 1.00 to 10.00%, P: 0.001 to 0.03%, S: 0.0001 to 0.02%, Al: 0.001 to 2.50%, N: 0.0001 to 0.010%, O: 0.0001 to 0.010%, Ti: 0 to 0.10%, Nb: 0 to 0.10%, V: 0 to 0.10%, B: 0 to 0.010%, Cr: 0 to 2.00%, Ni: 0 to 2.00%, Cu: 0 to 2.00%, Mo: 0 to 2.00%, Ca: 0 to 0.50%, Mg: 0 to 0.50%, REM: 0 to 0.50%, the balance: Fe and impurities, wherein the steel sheet has an internal oxidized layer in which at least one part of a crystal grain boundary is covered by oxides, and in which a grain boundary coverage ratio of oxides is 60% or more in a region from the surface of the base metal to a depth of 5.0 ?m.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 15, 2017
    Date of Patent: March 15, 2022
    Assignee: NIPPON STEEL CORPORATION
    Inventors: Kengo Takeda, Kunio Hayashi, Akihiro Uenishi, Hiroyuki Kawata, Chisato Yoshinaga, Yasunobu Miyazaki, Toyomitsu Nakamura
  • Publication number: 20220074015
    Abstract: A steel sheet has a predetermined chemical composition, in which a metallographic structure in a surface layer region ranging from a surface to a position of 20 ?m from the surface in a sheet thickness direction consists of ferrite and a secondary phase having a volume fraction of 1.0% to 15.0%, the metallographic structure in an internal region ranging from a position of more than 20 ?m from the surface in the sheet thickness direction to a ¼ thickness position from the surface in the sheet thickness direction consists of ferrite and a secondary phase having a volume fraction of 5.0% to 25.0%, the volume fraction of the secondary phase in the surface layer region is less than the volume fraction of the secondary phase in the internal region, and in the surface layer region, the average grain size of the secondary phase is 0.5 ?m to 4.0 ?m, and a texture in which an XODF{001}/{111} as the ratio of the intensity of {001} orientation to an intensity of {111} orientation in the ferrite is 0.70 to 2.
    Type: Application
    Filed: January 7, 2020
    Publication date: March 10, 2022
    Applicant: NIPPON STEEL CORPORATION
    Inventors: Masahiro KUBO, Hiroyuki KAWATA, Masahiro SAITO, Kenichiro OTSUKA, Masafumi AZUMA
  • Publication number: 20220064771
    Abstract: Provided are a hot dip galvanized steel sheet comprising a base steel sheet and a hot dip galvanized layer on at least one surface of the base metal steel sheet, wherein the base steel sheet has a predetermined chemical composition and contains, by volume fraction, ferrite: 0% to 50%, retained austenite: 6% to 30%, bainite: 5% or more, tempered martensite: 5% or more, fresh martensite: 0% to 10%, and pearlite and cementite in total: 0% to 5%, a number density of tempered martensite with a circle equivalent diameter of 5.0 ?m or more is 20/1000 ?m2 or less, and an area ratio of fresh martensite with a circle equivalent diameter of 2.0 ?m or more after imparting 5% plastic strain is 10% or less, and a method for producing the same.
    Type: Application
    Filed: February 6, 2020
    Publication date: March 3, 2022
    Applicant: NIPPON STEEL CORPORATION
    Inventors: Takafumi YOKOYAMA, Hiroyuki KAWATA, Kunio HAYASHI, Yuji YAMAGUCHI, Satoshi UCHIDA
  • Publication number: 20220063245
    Abstract: High strength steel sheet improved in formability, bending load, and bendability is provided. The high strength steel sheet has a center part of sheet thickness and a surface soft part formed at one side or two sides of the center part of sheet thickness, has metal structures of the center part of sheet thickness comprised of, by area ratio, tempered martensite: 85% or more, one or more of ferrite, bainite, pearlite, and retained austenite: total of less than 15%, and as-quenched martensite: less than 5%, has metal structures of the surface soft part comprised of, by area ratio, ferrite: 65% or more, pearlite: 5% or more and less than 20%, one or more of tempered martensite, bainite, and retained austenite: total of less than 10%, and as-quenched martensite: less than 5%, has average distances of pearlite at the surface soft part of 3 ?m or more, and has Vickers hardness (Hc) of the center part of sheet thickness and Vickers hardness (Hs) of the surface soft part satisfying 0.50?Hs/Hc?0.75.
    Type: Application
    Filed: March 16, 2020
    Publication date: March 3, 2022
    Applicant: NIPPON STEEL CORPORATION
    Inventors: Katsuya NAKANO, Kengo TAKEDA, Hiroyuki KAWATA
  • Patent number: 11225701
    Abstract: A hot dip galvanized steel sheet and hot dip galvannealed steel sheet improved in uniform ductility and local ductility, yield strength and tensile strength, and low temperature impact property, characterized by having a predetermined chemical composition, having a metal structure containing, by volume %, retained austenite: over 5.0% and tempered martensite: over 5.0%, having retained austenite containing C: 0.85 mass % or more, and having a ratio [C]?gb/[P]?gb of an amount of segregation of C (number of atoms/nm2): [C]?gb to an amount of segregation of P (number of atoms/nm2): [P]?gb at prior austenite grain boundaries of 4.0 or more.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 30, 2018
    Date of Patent: January 18, 2022
    Assignee: NIPPON STEEL CORPORATION
    Inventors: Jun Haga, Kohichi Sano, Koutarou Hayashi, Kunio Hayashi, Masaharu Kameda, Akihiro Uenishi, Hiroyuki Kawata
  • Publication number: 20220001929
    Abstract: The frame member has a flat sheet portion with a recessed portion having a pair of wall portions and a bottom portion extending between tip portions in an extending direction of the pair of wall portions, in which a Vickers hardness of a region of the flat sheet portion excluding the recessed portion is 330 Hv or more, a depth of the recessed portion is 5 mm or more, when a width of the recessed portion is L0 and a cross-sectional length of an inner peripheral wall of the recessed portion consisting of the pair of wall portions and the bottom portion is L1, a value of (L1?L0)/L0 is 0.18 or more and 2.8 or less, and a Vickers hardness of a ridgeline portion extending between the flat sheet portion and the recessed portion is 1.06 times or more and 1.20 times or less the Vickers hardness of the region of the flat sheet portion excluding the recessed portion.
    Type: Application
    Filed: November 12, 2019
    Publication date: January 6, 2022
    Applicant: NIPPON STEEL CORPORATION
    Inventors: Hiroaki KUBOTA, Yuri TODA, Hiroyuki KAWATA
  • Patent number: 11180835
    Abstract: A steel sheet has a predetermined chemical composition, and a surface exhibits an absorption peak at which a reflectance is not less than 50% nor more than 85% in a range of wave numbers of 1200 cm?1 to 1300 cm?1 by a Fourier transform-infrared spectroscopy analysis by a reflection absorption spectrometry method, and does not exhibit an absorption peak in a range of wave numbers of 1000 cm?1 to 1100 cm?1, or exhibits an absorption peak at which a reflectance is 85% or more in the range of wave numbers of 1000 cm?1 to 1100 cm?1, wherein Ni of 3 mg/m2 to 100 mg/m2 adheres to the surface.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 25, 2015
    Date of Patent: November 23, 2021
    Assignee: NIPPON STEEL CORPORATION
    Inventors: Kohei Ueda, Hiroyuki Kawata, Takayuki Kitazawa, Takeshi Yasui, Hiroyuki Ban
  • Publication number: 20210340653
    Abstract: A high-strength steel sheet excellent in formability, toughness and weldability has a chemical composition including: by mass %, C: 0.05 to 0.30%, Si: 2.50% or less, Mn: 0.50 to 3.50%, P: 0.100% or less, S: 0.0100% or less, Al: 0.001 to 2.500%, N: 0.0150% or less, O: 0.0050% or less, and the balance consisting of Fe and inevitable impurities. The high-strength steel sheet has a microstructure in a region from ?t (t: sheet thickness) to ?t (t: sheet thickness) from a steel sheet surface, the microstructure including: by volume %, acicular ferrite (3): 20% or more, and martensite (4):10% or more, aggregated ferrite: 20% or less, residual austenite: 2.0% or less, and the martensite satisfies a formula (A), ? i = 1 5 ? ? d i a i 1.5 ? 10.
    Type: Application
    Filed: December 11, 2018
    Publication date: November 4, 2021
    Applicant: NIPPON STEEL CORPORATION
    Inventors: Hiroyuki KAWATA, Eisaku SAKURADA, Kohichi SANO, Takafumi YOKOYAMA
  • Patent number: 11118252
    Abstract: A steel sheet includes a hot-dip galvanized layer or a galvannealed layer on a surface of the steel sheet, the steel sheet including: in mass %, C: 0.06% or more and 0.22% or less; Si: 0.50% or more and 2.00% or less; Mn: 1.50% or more and 2.80% or less; Al: 0.02% or more and 1.00% or less; P: 0.001% or more and 0.100% or less; S: 0.0005% or more and 0.0100% or less; N: 0.0005% or more and 0.0100% or less; and a balance: Fe and impurities.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 30, 2018
    Date of Patent: September 14, 2021
    Assignee: NIPPON STEEL CORPORATION
    Inventors: Kohichi Sano, Hiroyuki Kawata, Yuji Yamaguchi, Satoshi Uchida, Yoshinori Imai, Riki Okamoto
  • Patent number: 11035021
    Abstract: A high-strength steel sheet includes: a specific chemical composition; and a microstructure represented by, in a ? thickness to ? thickness range with ¼ thickness of a sheet thickness from a surface being a center, in volume fraction, ferrite: 85% or less, bainite: 3% or more and 95% or less, tempered martensite: 1% or more and 80% or less, retained austenite: 1% or more and 25% or less, pearlite and coarse cementite: 5% or less in total, and fresh martensite: 5% or less, in which the solid-solution carbon content in the retained austenite is 0.70 to 1.30 mass %, and to all grain boundaries of retained austenite grains having an aspect ratio of 2.50 or less and a circle-equivalent diameter of 0.80 ?m or more, the proportion of interfaces with the tempered martensite or the fresh martensite is 75% or less.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 23, 2017
    Date of Patent: June 15, 2021
    Assignee: NIPPON STEEL CORPORATION
    Inventors: Hiroyuki Kawata, Yuji Yamaguchi, Takayuki Kitazawa, Satoshi Uchida, Kohei Ueda, Naoki Maruyama
  • Patent number: 11027361
    Abstract: By obtaining a spot-welded joint being a spot-welded joint formed by overlapping a plurality of pieces of steel plates (1A, 1B) and performing spot welding on the steel plates, including a high-strength steel plate whose tensile strength is 750 (MPa) to 2500 (MPa), being at least one piece of steel plate out of the plurality of pieces of steel plates, in which a carbon equivalent Ceq of the high-strength steel plate is 0.20 mass % to 0.55 mass %, and ten or more of iron-based carbides in each of which a length of a longest portion is 0.1 (?m) or more exist in a square region 103 within a heat-affected zone 4 of a cross section that passes through a center of a welding mark, and is cut along a plate thickness direction of the steel plates (1A, 1B), a cross tensile strength of the spot-welded joint to be formed is improved.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 28, 2018
    Date of Patent: June 8, 2021
    Assignee: NIPPON STEEL CORPORATION
    Inventors: Chisato Wakabayashi, Fuminori Watanabe, Seiji Furusako, Yasunobu Miyazaki, Hiroyuki Kawata, Tohru Okada, Hideki Hamatani
  • Patent number: 11007598
    Abstract: The present invention provides a spot welding method for a member to be welded constituted of a plurality of steel sheets that are overlapped with each other at at least a welding zone, in which at least an overlapped face of at least one of the plurality of steel sheets at the welding zone is coated with zinc plating, a total sheet thickness t (mm) of the plurality of steel sheets is 1.35 mm or more, a squeeze time St (seconds) from the time when welding electrodes are brought into contact with the member to be welded to the time when electric current flow for welding starts satisfies “0.020?St”, and a hold time Ht( seconds) after welding from the time when electric current flow for welding between the welding electrodes ends to the time when the welding electrodes and the member to be welded are brought out of contact satisfies “0.015t2+0.020?Ht”.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 2, 2016
    Date of Patent: May 18, 2021
    Assignee: NIPPON STEEL CORPORATION
    Inventors: Chisato Yoshinaga, Yasunobu Miyazaki, Kunio Hayashi, Hiroyuki Kawata, Masanori Yasuyama
  • Publication number: 20210123122
    Abstract: This steel sheet has a predetermined chemical composition, in which a steel structure of an inside of the steel sheet contains, by volume fraction, soft ferrite: 0% to 30%, retained austenite: 3% to 40%, fresh martensite: 0% to 30%, a sum of pearlite and cementite: 0% to 10%, and a remainder includes hard ferrite, in the inside of the steel sheet, a number proportion of the retained austenite having an aspect ratio of 2.0 or more in the total retained austenite is 50% or more, a soft layer having a thickness of 1 to 100 ?m from a surface in a sheet thickness direction is present, in ferrite contained in the soft layer, a volume fraction of grains having an aspect ratio of less than 3.0 is 50% or more, the volume fraction of retained austenite in the soft layer is less than 50% of the volume fraction of the retained austenite of the inside of the steel sheet, and a peak of an emission intensity at a wavelength indicating Si appears in a range of more than 0.2 ?m and 5.0 ?m or less from the surface.
    Type: Application
    Filed: March 30, 2018
    Publication date: April 29, 2021
    Applicant: Nippon Steel Corporation
    Inventors: Takafumi YOKOYAMA, Kohichi SANO, Riki OKAMOTO, Hiroyuki KAWATA, Eisaku SAKURADA, Yuji YAMAGUCHI, Kazuki SHIOKAWA, Yuichi NAKAHIRA, Kohei UEDA, Masahiro NAKATA, Satoshi UCHIDA
  • Publication number: 20210095356
    Abstract: A steel sheet according to an aspect of the present invention has a predetermined chemical composition, in which a steel structure of an inside of the steel sheet contains, by volume fraction, soft ferrite: 0% to 30%, retained austenite: 3% to 40%, fresh martensite: 0% to 30%, a sum of pearlite and cementite: 0% to 10%, and a remainder including hard ferrite, in the inside of the steel sheet, a number proportion of the retained austenite having an aspect ratio of 2.0 or more in the total retained austenite is 50% or more, a soft layer having a thickness of 1 ?m to 100 ?m from the surface is present in a sheet thickness direction, among ferrite contained in the soft layer, a volume fraction of grains having an aspect ratio of less than 3.0 is 50% or more, a volume fraction of retained austenite in the soft layer is 50% or more of the volume fraction of the retained austenite of the inside of the steel sheet, and a peak of an emission intensity at a wavelength indicating Si appears in a range of more than 0.
    Type: Application
    Filed: March 30, 2018
    Publication date: April 1, 2021
    Applicant: NIPPON STEEL CORPORATION
    Inventors: Takafumi YOKOYAMA, Kohichi SANO, Riki OKAMOTO, Hiroyuki KAWATA, Eisaku SAKURADA, Yuji YAMAGUCHI, Kazuki SHIOKAWA, Yuichi NAKAHIRA, Kohei UEDA, Masahiro NAKATA, Satoshi UCHIDA