Patents by Inventor Ralf Lammers

Ralf Lammers 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: 11408508
    Abstract: A piston ring (10) has a running surface (12) and a flank surface (14) which are coated. The uppermost layer of the running surface (12) is a hydrogen-containing or a hydrogen-free DLC layer, and the uppermost layer of at least one flank surface (14) is a chromium layer. A method of producing a piston ring (10) includes forming a DLC layer as the uppermost layer of the running surface (12), and forming a chromium layer as the uppermost layer of at least one flank surface (14).
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 28, 2018
    Date of Patent: August 9, 2022
    Assignee: Federal-Mogul Burscheid GmbH
    Inventors: Walter Stumpf, Steffen Hoppe, Ralf Lammers, Rudolf Linde
  • Publication number: 20200309263
    Abstract: A piston ring (10) has a running surface (12) and a flank surface (14) which are coated. The uppermost layer of the running surface (12) is a hydrogen-containing or a hydrogen-free DLC layer, and the uppermost layer of at least one flank surface (14) is a chromium layer. A method of producing a piston ring (10) includes forming a DLC layer as the uppermost layer of the running surface (12), and forming a chromium layer as the uppermost layer of at least one flank surface (14).
    Type: Application
    Filed: November 28, 2018
    Publication date: October 1, 2020
    Inventors: WALTER STUMPF, STEFFEN HOPPE, RALF LAMMERS, RUDOLF LINDE
  • Patent number: 10370755
    Abstract: A piston ring is produced in which a piston ring base body made of cast iron or cast steel is coated with at least one PVD layer having a variable layer thickness, such that an increased layer thickness is present in the region of the ring ends compared to the remaining circumferential region of the piston ring base body, wherein the piston ring base body is configured so that, in the cold operating state with the engine not running, the radial pressure distribution of the piston ring base body is such that the ring ends exhibit substantially no radial pressure across a defined circumferential angle, and the variable layer thickness of the PVD layer is set so that a substantially uniform radial pressure distribution is present along the entire ring circumference of the piston ring at a piston ring temperature above 150° C.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 10, 2014
    Date of Patent: August 6, 2019
    Assignee: Wilmington Trust, National Association, as Collateral Trustee
    Inventors: Ralf Lammers, Christiane Bauer, Yurly Ivanov
  • Publication number: 20180259069
    Abstract: Disclosed is a piston ring having a substrate to which a wear resistant coating is applied that includes at least one first element with a melting point Tm>760° C. The wear resistant coating contains at least one second element with a melting point Tm>760° C. The wear resistant coating also includes droplets which have a diameter and which contain at least the first element, where at least 90% of the droplets have a value 1 ?m?D?10 ?m. In the method for producing a wear resistant coating using an arc evaporation techniques, the target material includes at least one first element with a melting point Tm>760° C. and at least one second element with a melting point Tm>760° C., wherein the quantity of the second material contained in the target material is such that the melting point Tm of the target material >1000° C.
    Type: Application
    Filed: March 12, 2018
    Publication date: September 13, 2018
    Inventors: RALF LAMMERS, CHRISTIANE BAUER, MANFRED FISCHER, JORG VETIER
  • Patent number: 10000840
    Abstract: The invention relates to a piston ring which is produced from a carrier material, especially steel or a cast material. The piston ring has a wear-resistant coating from a periodic multilayer system, every periodicity consisting of at least two individual metal nitride layers. The multilayer system has superlattice structures, the thickness of an individual layer being ?2 nm to <15 nm and the thickness of the multilayer system being >4.5 ?m and adjacent individual layers within the periodicity having different metallic elements.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 1, 2007
    Date of Patent: June 19, 2018
    Assignee: Federal-Mogul Burscheid GmbH
    Inventors: Manfred Fischer, Ralf Lammers, Christiane Bauer, Steffen Hoppe
  • Patent number: 9915346
    Abstract: Disclosed is a piston ring (1) having a substrate (10) to which a wear resistant coating (20) is applied that includes at least one first element with a melting point Tm?700° C. The wear resistant coating (20) contains at least one second element with a melting point Tm>760° C. The wear resistant coating also includes droplets (30) which have a diameter (D) and which contain at least the first element, wherein at least 90% of the droplets (30) have a value 1 ?m?D?10 ?m. In the method for producing a wear resistant coating (20) using an arc evaporation technique, the target material includes at least one first element with a melting point Tm?700° C. and at least one second element with a melting point Tm>760° C., wherein the quantity of the second material contained in the target material is such that the melting point (Tm) of the target material ?1000° C.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 14, 2013
    Date of Patent: March 13, 2018
    Assignee: Federal-Mogul Burscheid GmbH
    Inventors: Ralf Lammers, Christiane Bauer, Manfred Fischer, Jorg Vetter
  • Patent number: 9598763
    Abstract: The invention relates to a piston ring which is produced from a carrier material, especially steel or a cast material. The piston ring has a wear-resistant coating from a periodic multilayer system, every periodicity consisting of at least two individual metal nitride layers. Adjacent individual layers within the periodicity have different metallic elements. The thickness of an individual layer is ?15 nm.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 1, 2007
    Date of Patent: March 21, 2017
    Assignee: Federal-Mogul Burscheid GmbH
    Inventors: Manfred Fischer, Ralf Lammers, Christiane Bauer, Steffen Hoppe
  • Patent number: 9488275
    Abstract: The invention relates to a sliding element, in particular a piston ring, having at least one running surface. The running surface comprises a coating, which from the inside to the outside has at least one first adhesive layer, a hard hydrogen-free DLC layer, a second adhesive layer, a soft hydrogen-containing, metal and/or metal carbide-containing DLC layer, which is softer than the hard hydrogen-free DLC layer, and a hard hydrogen-containing DLC layer, which is harder than the soft hydrogen-containing, metal and/or metal carbide containing DLC layer.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 8, 2014
    Date of Patent: November 8, 2016
    Assignee: Federal-Mogul Burscheid GmbH
    Inventors: Yuriy Ivanov, Marcus Kennedy, Ralf Lammers, Michael Zinnabold
  • Patent number: 9488276
    Abstract: The present application relates to a sliding element, in particular a piston ring, having at least one sliding surface which has a coating which has, from the inside outwards, a metal-containing bonding layer and a DLC layer, where the DLC layer is an amorphous hydrogen-free diamond-like carbon layer which has a DLC main layer which extends from the bonding layer to an adjoining DLC covering layer and has a carbon content of more than about 98.5 at %, oxygen and/or hydrogen and/or nitrogen in a proportion of in each case less than about 0.5 at % and an sp2/sp3 ratio of the carbon in the range from about 1 to about 3, and a DLC covering layer which extends from the DLC main layer to the surface of the sliding element and has a lower carbon content and/or higher oxygen content and/or higher hydrogen content compared to the main layer and also metals and/or metal oxides and an sp2/sp3 ratio of the carbon in the range from about 1 to about 3.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 31, 2013
    Date of Patent: November 8, 2016
    Assignee: Federal-Mogul Burscheid GmbH
    Inventors: Marcus Kennedy, Ralf Lammers, Yuriy Ivanov, Michael Zinnabold
  • Patent number: 9447490
    Abstract: In order to avoid burn traces on piston rings, it is proposed to provide the piston ring with a wear-protection coating which consists of a material with a thermal conductivity of at least 180 W/(m·K). At least 5% vol. of the wear-protection coating consists of aluminum nitride.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 18, 2008
    Date of Patent: September 20, 2016
    Assignee: Federal-Mogul Burscheid GmbH
    Inventors: Steffen Hoppe, Manfred Fischer, Christiane Bauer, Ralf Lammers
  • Publication number: 20160122862
    Abstract: A piston ring is produced in which a piston ring base body made of cast iron or cast steel is coated with at least one PVD layer having a variable layer thickness, such that an increased layer thickness is present in the region of the ring ends compared to the remaining circumferential region of the piston ring base body, wherein the piston ring base body is configured so that, in the cold operating state with the engine not running, the radial pressure distribution of the piston ring base body is such that the ring ends exhibit substantially no radial pressure across a defined circumferential angle, and the variable layer thickness of the PVD layer is set so that a substantially uniform radial pressure distribution is present along the entire ring circumference of the piston ring at a piston ring temperature above 150° C.
    Type: Application
    Filed: May 10, 2014
    Publication date: May 5, 2016
    Inventors: Ralf LAMMERS, Christiane BAUER, Yurly IVANOV
  • Publication number: 20150362071
    Abstract: The invention relates to a sliding element, in particular a piston ring, having at least one running surface. The running surface comprises a coating, which from the inside to the outside has at least one first adhesive layer, a hard hydrogen-free DLC layer, a second adhesive layer, a soft hydrogen-containing, metal and/or metal carbide-containing DLC layer, which is softer than the hard hydrogen-free DLC layer, and a hard hydrogen-containing DLC layer, which is harder than the soft hydrogen-containing, metal and/or metal carbide containing DLC layer.
    Type: Application
    Filed: January 8, 2014
    Publication date: December 17, 2015
    Inventors: Yuriy Ivanov, Marcus Kennedy, Ralf Lammers, Michael Zinnabold
  • Publication number: 20150292622
    Abstract: The present application relates to a sliding element, in particular a piston ring, having at least one sliding surface which has a coating which has, from the inside outwards, a metal-containing bonding layer and a DLC layer, where the DLC layer is an amorphous hydrogen-free diamond-like carbon layer which has a DLC main layer which extends from the bonding layer to an adjoining DLC covering layer and has a carbon content of more than about 98.5 at %, oxygen and/or hydrogen and/or nitrogen in a proportion of in each case less than about 0.5 at % and an sp2/sp3 ratio of the carbon in the range from about 1 to about 3, and a DLC covering layer which extends from the DLC main layer to the surface of the sliding element and has a lower carbon content and/or higher oxygen content and/or higher hydrogen content compared to the main layer and also metals and/or metal oxides and an sp2/sp3 ratio of the carbon in the range from about 1 to about 3.
    Type: Application
    Filed: October 31, 2013
    Publication date: October 15, 2015
    Inventors: Marcus Kennedy, Ralf Lammers, Yuriy Ivanov, Michael Zinnabold
  • Publication number: 20140353923
    Abstract: Disclosed is a piston ring (1) having a substrate (10) to which a wear resistant coating (20) is applied that includes at least one first element with a melting point Tm?700° C. The wear resistant coating (20) contains at least one second element with a melting point Tm>760° C. The wear resistant coating also includes droplets (30) which have a diameter (D) and which contain at least the first element, wherein at least 90% of the droplets (30) have a value 1 ?m?D?10 ?m. In the method for producing a wear resistant coating (20) using an arc evaporation technique, the target material includes at least one first element with a melting point Tm?700° C. and at least one second element with a melting point Tm>760° C., wherein the quantity of the second material contained in the target material is such that the melting point (Tm) of the target material ?1000° C.
    Type: Application
    Filed: January 14, 2013
    Publication date: December 4, 2014
    Inventors: Ralf Lammers, Christiane Bauer, Manfred Fischer, Jorg Vetter
  • Patent number: 8857820
    Abstract: A piston ring, in particular a compression piston ring, includes a running surface, upper and lower flank areas, an inner peripheral area and a joint. The wall thickness of the piston ring is uniform over its periphery and at least the running surface is provided with a PVD coating or a CVD layer in such a manner that the running surface layer has a lesser layer thickness in the peripheral area close to the joint than in the remaining peripheral area of the running surface.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 14, 2010
    Date of Patent: October 14, 2014
    Assignee: Federal-Mogul Burscheid GmbH
    Inventors: Christian Herbst-Dederichs, Peter-Klaus Esser, Ralf Lammers, Sebastian Bresinski
  • Publication number: 20130136861
    Abstract: In a method for coating at least part of the inner face of a piston ring, said ring preferably consisting of cast iron or steel, a PVD and/or DLC coating is applied by means of at least one of the following methods: PA-CVD, glow discharge and/or HIPIMS. A piston ring has a coating that is formed at least on part of the inner face of said ring, said coating being a PVD and/or DLC coating that preferably has been applied by means of PA-CVD, glow discharge and/or HIPIMS.
    Type: Application
    Filed: February 17, 2011
    Publication date: May 30, 2013
    Inventors: Dirk Barenreuter, Marcus Kennedy, Markus Kellner, Ralf Lammers
  • Patent number: 8273469
    Abstract: Disclosed is a piston ring comprising a supporting material and a wear-resistant coating. The wear-resistant coating is composed of a ternary system A-B—N which is applied using a PVD process and in which A and B each represent an element form the group encompassing Ti, Zr, Hf, V, Nb, Ta, Cr, Mo W, Al, Si and C, wherein A?B and N represents nitrogen. The thickness of the wear-resistant coating amounts to ?3 ?m.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 12, 2008
    Date of Patent: September 25, 2012
    Assignee: Federal-Mogul Burscheid GmbH
    Inventors: Steffen Hoppe, Manfred Fischer, Christiane Bauer, Ralf Lammers
  • Publication number: 20120228831
    Abstract: A piston ring, in particular a compression piston ring, includes a running surface, upper and lower flank areas, an inner peripheral area and a joint. The wall thickness of the piston ring is uniform over its periphery and at least the running surface is provided with a PVD coating or a CVD layer in such a manner that the running surface layer has a lesser layer thickness in the peripheral area close to the joint than in the remaining peripheral area of the running surface.
    Type: Application
    Filed: October 14, 2010
    Publication date: September 13, 2012
    Inventors: Christian Herbst-Dederichs, Peter-Klaus Esser, Ralf Lammers, Sebastian Bresinski
  • Patent number: 8201831
    Abstract: A sliding element comprises at least one surface for sliding contact with a running face, wherein a wear layer and a run-in layer made from carbon are applied to the surface, and is characterized in that the run-in layer comprises hydrogen and nanocrystalline carbide phases. In a method for manufacturing a sliding element, the run-in layer is applied by means of a PVD process. A sliding system has an above-described sliding element and a body having a running face. A coating for a sliding element comprises a wear layer which can be applied to the upper side of the sliding element, and a run-in layer which is configured as a carbon layer, and is characterized in that the run-in layer comprises hydrogen and nanocrystalline carbide phases.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 30, 2006
    Date of Patent: June 19, 2012
    Assignee: Federal-Mogul Burscheid GmbH
    Inventors: Steffen Hoppe, Manfred Fischer, Ralf Lammers, Manfred Muller, Christiane Bauer, Reiner Waller, Jorg Vetter
  • Publication number: 20100187765
    Abstract: In order to avoid burn traces on piston rings, it is proposed to provide the piston ring with a wear-protection coating which consists of a material with a thermal conductivity of at least 180 W/(m.K). At least 5% vol. of the wear-protection coating consists of aluminum nitride.
    Type: Application
    Filed: July 18, 2008
    Publication date: July 29, 2010
    Inventors: Steffen Hoppe, Manfred Fischer, Christiane Bauer, Ralf Lammers