Patents by Inventor THOMAS KOLL

THOMAS KOLL 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: 11795535
    Abstract: An aluminum-based coating of a flat steel product is applied in a hot-dipping method and comprises a mass percentage of silicon within a given range. The coating for a flat steel product, in particular for press mold hardening components, offers a shortened required minimum oven dwell time and a sufficiently large processing window when heating in an oven. This is achieved in that the surface of the coating has a degree of absorption for thermal radiation ranging between 0.35 and 0.95 prior to an annealing treatment, where the degree of absorption relates to an oven temperature ranging from 880 to 950° C. during the austenitizing annealing treatment. The invention additionally relates to an improved method for producing a flat steel product with an aluminum-based coating, to an inexpensive method for producing press-hardened components from such flat steel products, and to a press-hardened component made of such flat steel products.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 27, 2019
    Date of Patent: October 24, 2023
    Assignee: Salzgitter Flachstahl GmbH
    Inventors: Marc Debeaux, Friedrich Luther, Thomas Koll
  • Patent number: 11339479
    Abstract: In a component made of press-form-hardened, aluminium-based coated steel sheet, the coating has a covering which contains aluminum and silicon applied in the hot-dip process. The press-form-hardened component in the transition region between steel sheet and covering has an inter-diffusion zone I, wherein, depending on the layer application of the covering before heating and press hardening, the thickness of the inter-diffusion zone I obeys the following formula: I [?m]<(1/35)×application on both sides [g/m2]+(19/7). Formed on the inter-diffusion zone I is a zone having various intermetallic phases having an average total thickness between 8 and 50 ?m, on which zone there is in turn arranged a covering layer containing aluminum oxide and/or hydroxide having an average thickness of at least 0.05 ?m to at most 5 ?m.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 13, 2017
    Date of Patent: May 24, 2022
    Assignees: SALZGITTER FLACHSTAHL GMBH, VOLKSWAGEN AKTIENGESELLSCHAFT
    Inventors: Thomas Koll, Marc Debeaux, Friedrich Luther, Christian Fritzsche, Stefan Mütze, Frank Beier, Matthias Graul, Jan-Frederik Lass, Haucke-Frederik Hartmann
  • Publication number: 20220090250
    Abstract: An aluminum-based coating of a flat steel product is applied in a hot-dipping method and comprises a mass percentage of silicon within a given range. The coating for a flat steel product, in particular for press mold hardening components, offers a shortened required minimum oven dwell time and a sufficiently large processing window when heating in an oven. This is achieved in that the surface of the coating has a degree of absorption for thermal radiation ranging between 0.35 and 0.95 prior to an annealing treatment, where the degree of absorption relates to an oven temperature ranging from 880 to 950° C. during the austenitizing annealing treatment. The invention additionally relates to an improved method for producing a flat steel product with an aluminum-based coating, to an inexpensive method for producing press-hardened components from such flat steel products, and to a press-hardened component made of such flat steel products.
    Type: Application
    Filed: December 27, 2019
    Publication date: March 24, 2022
    Inventors: Marc Debeaux, Friedrich Luther, Thomas Koll
  • Patent number: 10876195
    Abstract: In an aluminium-based coating for steel sheets or steel strips, the coating includes an aluminium-based coat applied in a hot-dip coating method, a covering layer containing aluminium oxide and/or hydroxide being arranged on the coat. The covering layer is produced by plasma oxidation and/or hot water treatment at temperatures of at least 90° C., advantageously at least 95° C., and/or steam treatment at temperatures of at least 90° C., advantageously at least 95° C. Alternatively, the covering layer containing aluminium oxide and/or hydroxide can be produced by anodic oxidation, the coat being produced in a molten bath with a Si content of between 8 and 12 wt. %, and an Fe content of between 1 and 4 wt. %, the remainder being aluminium.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 2, 2017
    Date of Patent: December 29, 2020
    Assignees: Salzgitter Flachstahl GmbH, Volkswagen Aktiengesellschaft
    Inventors: Thomas Koll, Marc Debeaux, Friedrich Luther, Haucke-Frederik Hartmann, Jan-Frederik Lass, Matthias Graul
  • Publication number: 20200308708
    Abstract: In a component made of press-form-hardened, aluminium-based coated steel sheet, the coating has a covering which contains aluminum and silicon applied in the hot-dip process. The press-form-hardened component in the transition region between steel sheet and covering has an inter-diffusion zone I, wherein, depending on the layer application of the covering before heating and press hardening, the thickness of the inter-diffusion zone I obeys the following formula: I [?m]<( 1/35)×application on both sides [g/m2]+( 19/7). Formed on the inter-diffusion zone I is a zone having various intermetallic phases having an average total thickness between 8 and 50 ?m, on which zone there is in turn arranged a covering layer containing aluminum oxide and/or hydroxide having an average thickness of at least 0.05 ?m to at most 5 ?m.
    Type: Application
    Filed: April 13, 2017
    Publication date: October 1, 2020
    Applicants: SALZGITTER FLACHSTAHL GMBH, VOLKSWAGEN AKTIENGESELLSCHAFT
    Inventors: THOMAS KOLL, MARC DEBEAUX, FRIEDRICH LUTHER, CHRISTIAN FRITZSCHE, STEFAN MÜTZE, FRANK BEIER, MATTHIAS GRAUL, JAN-FREDERIK LASS, HAUCKE-FREDERIK HARTMANN
  • Publication number: 20190040513
    Abstract: in an aluminium-based coating for steel sheets or steel strips, the coating includes an aluminium-based coat applied in a hot-dip coating method, a covering layer containing aluminium oxide and/or hydroxide being arranged on the coat. The covering layer is produced by plasma oxidation and/or hot water treatment at temperatures of at least 90° C., advantageously at least 95° C., and/or steam treatment at temperatures of at least 90° C., advantageously at least 95° C. Alternatively, the covering layer containing aluminium oxide and/or hydroxide can be produced by anodic oxidation, the coat being produced in a molten bath with a Si content of between 8 and 12 wt. %, and an Fe content of between 1 and 4 wt. %, the remainder being aluminium.
    Type: Application
    Filed: February 2, 2017
    Publication date: February 7, 2019
    Applicants: Salzgitter Flachstahl GmbH, Volkswagen AG
    Inventors: THOMAS KOLL, MARC DEBEAUX, FRIEDRICH LUTHER, HAUCKE-FREDERIK HARTMANN, JAN-FREDERIK LASS, MATTHIAS GRAUL