Granted in the Metal Finishing Field Compiled by Anselm Kuhn. Printed copies of U.S. Patents are furnished by the Patent and Trademarks Offlice for $3.00 each. Address orders to: Commissioner of Patents and Trademarks, Washington, D.C. 20231

METHOD FOR PRODUCING

CATALYSTS CONSISTING OF METAL

OF THE PLATINUM GROUP BY

MEANS OF ELECTROLESS

DEPOSITION

DE 10048844 (7) 2003 T Butz, M. Fischer (BASTAG) Supported catalyst consisting of metal of the platinum group. Said catalyst can be obtained by means of controlled electroless deposition of at least one metal of the platinum group from a precip- itation solution containing i) at least one homogeneously dis- solved compound consisting of metal of the platinum group, ii) a reducing agent, and iii) at least one collagen selected from isopoly acids and heteropoly acids of nio- bium, tantalum, molybdenum, tungsten and vanadium or the salts of the same. The invention also relates to a method for hydro- genating inorganic or organic compounds using the catalyst which is produced by means of controlled electroless deposition, especially for the direct synthesis of hydrogen peroxide.

LASER NITRIDING OF ALUMINIUM-

BASED COMPOSITES

DE 10202184 (7) 2003 B. Otte, S. Reichstein (Federal Mogul Nuernberg GmbH)

ANODIZATION DEVICE AND

ANODIZATION METHOD

WO 03062505 (7) 2003 K. Aoki, Y Yagi, (Tokyo Electron Ltd) An anodization device and an anodization method for electro- chemically processing a substrate to be processed by using it as the anode and irradiating it with light, enabling the processing of a

large-sized substrate to be processed with a smaller-sized constituent element. The electri- cal contact by with the substrate is effected by a plurality of con- tact members or by moving a con- tact member while changing the position. The substrate is so fabri- cated that the conductive layers of the portions to be processed of the substrate are connected to the respective contact portions of the contact members. The combina- tion of this substrate and the con- tact members is used to energize only a part of the contact mem- bers by means of a switch. Alternatively, the contact mem- bers are energized to a part of the conductive layers of the substrate by the movement of the contact members. Thus, the current required for the anodization can be the one required for only a part of the portions to be processed.

LIQUID TREATING DEVICE, AND

LIQUID TREATING METHOD

WO 03062504 (7) 2003 K. Aoki, Y Yagi (Tokyo Electron Ltd) A liquid treating device having a light source comprises a base plate holding block for holding a base plate, and a frame body forming a liquid treating tank connected to the base plate, and a frame body forming a liquid treat- ing tank connected to the base plate and opened at the upper end and having an inner wall surface inclined with respect to the verti- cal direction of the base plate sur- face. Since the frame body has the inclined inner wall surface, the radiation light directed from the light source to the base plate can be prevented from casting a shad-

ow over the base plate as it is obstructed by the inner wall sur- face or the radiated light reflected by this inner wall surface can be prevented from falling on the base plate or from having its uni- formity impaired.

HOLLOW INORGANIC MEMBRANES

PRODUCED BY METAL OR

COMPOSITE ELECTRODEPOSITION

WO 03062503 (7) 2003 I? Sarkar (Berta Research Council Inc) Producing a hollow inorganic membrane that is particularly suitable for solid oxide fuel cell applications, as well as producing hollow inorganic composite lami- nated membranes having at least one such hollow inorganic mem- brane. The method comprises electrodepositing an inorganic material that includes at least some electrically conductive metal and some ionically conduc- tive ceramic onto an electrically conductive combustible core, dry- ing the core bearing the deposited inorganic material, then, sinter- ing the core bearing the deposited inorganic material such that the core cornbusts,. thereby producing a hollow inorganic membrane. The method may further com- prise electrophoretically deposit- ing a ceramic composition onto the hollow inorganic membrane, to produce an assembly of hollow inorganic composite laminated membranes.

METHOD FOR FORMING RHENIUM -

CHROMIUM ALLOY COATING FILM

THROUGH ELECTROPLATING USING CRLV-CONTAINING BATR

WO 03062502(7)2003 S. Hayashi, T Yoshioka (Ebara Carp)

76 Metal Finishing

A method for forming a Re-Cr alloy coating film through electro- plating, wherein a Re-Cr alloy coating film containing Re in an amount of 60 to 90 atomic % and Cr and inevitable impurities in the balanced amount is formed by the use of an electrolytic plating bath comprising an aqueous solu- tion containing a perrhenate ion and a chromium IV ion. The for- mation of a coating film of a Re- Cr alloy being used as a corrosion- resistant alloy coating film for a member of a high temperature device through an electroplating using an aqueous solution has allowed the impartation of high heat resistance and corrosion resistance also to a member of a device having a complicated shape, with ease and at a low cost.

ALLOY COATING FILM HAVING

HlGH RE CONTENT THROUGH

ELECTROPLATING

WO 03062501 (7) 2003 S. Hayashi, T Yoshioka, et al. (Ebara Carp) A method for forming a Re alloy coating film having a high Re con- tent such as a Re coating film having a Re content of 98 atomic % or more, an alloy coating film containing Re in a content of 65%.

CORROSION RESISTANCE OF HIGH

TEMPERATURE ALLOYS

LLS. 2,002,079,023 (8) 2003 Al&-up, I; Chorkendorff; I. (Topsoe

Haldor AS) A method for enhancing the pro- tection of high temperature alloys containing iron, nickel and chromium against high tempera- ture corrosion by carburization or

METHOD FOR FORMING RHENIUM metal dusting

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is achieved by

depositing a thin layer of a metal selected from one or more of the noble metals, precious metals, metals from groups IVA, IVB, and group VA, VB of the Periodic Table and mixtures thereof with a thickness in the range of from 0.01 to 10pm on the surface to be protected, and annealing the treated surface in an inert atmos- phere at a predetermined temper- ature for a sufficient time to ren- der the treated surface resistant to carburization or metal dusting.

ELECTROLYTIC MACHINING

METHOD AND APPARATUS

US. 2,002,033,343 (9) 2003 Kobata, Z; Mori, x et al. An anode as a workpiece, and a cathode opposed to the anode with a predetermined spacing are placed in ultrapure water. A cat- alytic material promoting dissoci-

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November 2003 77

ation of the ultrapure water and having water permeability is dis- posed between the workpiece and the cathode. A flow of the ultra- pure water is formed inside the catalytic material, with a voltage being applied between the work- piece and the cathode, to decom- pose water molecules in the ultra- pure water into hydrogen ions and hydroxide ions, and supply the resulting hydroxide ions to a surface of the workpiece, thereby performing removal processing of or oxide film formation on the workpiece through a chemical dissolution reaction or an oxida- tion reaction mediated by the hydroxide ions. Thus, clean pro- cessing can be performed by use of hydroxide ions in ultrapure water, with no impurities left behind on the processed surface of the workpiece.

CERAMIC TURBINE BLADE

ATTACHMENT HAVING HIGH

TEMPERATURE, HIGH STRESS

COMPLIANT LAYERS AND METHOD

OF FABRICATION THEREOF

US. 2,002,197,507 (8) 2003 Eagan, M; Narasimhan, D; et al. (Honeywell Int Znc) A nickel base single crystal com- pliant layer on a ceramic blade has the capability to sustain high stresses and high operating tem- perature. Layers of nickel and platinum bonded on a single crys- tal superalloy over a sputtered gold-chromium layer support the high stress levels at elevated tem- perature without extrusion of the soft platinum or nickel layer and without destruction of an NiO compliant surface. The compliant layers have survived stress and temperature conditions without failure to the ceramic blade and

the system can be stressed/heated and unloaded/cooled repeatedly without damage to the ceramic blades. A single crystal nickel base superalloy (i.e., SClSO) has high strength properties at ele- vated temperature. Thin layers of chromium followed by gold are e- beam evaporated on one side of a polished surface of the alloy. Pure nickel is electroplated over this e- beam gold-chromium layer. Platinum is either electroplated or plated electrolessly over the nickel layer. The structure is annealed in vacuum or inert atmosphere to allow the diffusion of gold-chromium alloy into the superalloy and permit the nickel layer and diffusion of nickel into platinum to form a multilayer structure which is metallurgically bonded. The sheet is oxidized in air to allow diffusion of the nickel

78 Metal Finishing

layer through the platinum to come to the surface and oxidize, forming nickel oxide. This nickel oxide layer acts as the load distri- bution layer which does not extrude and the structural integrity of the compliant layer is maintained by the high-strength single crystal superalloy.

METHOD FOR LOCALIZED SURFACE

TREATMENT OF METAL

COMPONENT BY DIFFUSION

ALLOYING

US. 6,602,550 (8) 2003 (Arapahoe Holdings LLC) Grant, H A; Stewart, J P

PURIFICATION, ANALYSIS AND

DEPOSITION OF TITANIUM AMIDES

US. 6,602,783 (8) 2003 Riahi, S; Jahl, M J; et al.

METHOD FOR APPLYING A

LUBRICATING LAYER ON AN

OBJECT AND OBJECT WITH AN

ADHESIVE LUBRICATING LAYER

US. 6602829 (8) 2003 Ruesser, H J. (Daimler Chrysler AG) Application of a lubricant layer to a frictionally stressed surface of an object, and to a corresponding object, the lubricant layer, in use, containing boric acid. For produc- tion, the object is introduced into a reactor and the reactor is evac- uated. Then, to produce an adhe- sion-promoter layer, a process gas is introduced, which contains boron, nitrogen and/or carbon at least in the form of a compound or releases the corresponding ele- ment under process conditions, and penetrates into the region of the surface of the object, in partic- ular by diffusion. To produce an intermediate layer containing boron and oxygen, a second pre- cursor material, which contains boron at least in the form of a compound and releases the boron under process conditions, and a first precursor material, which contains oxygen at least in the

form of a compound and releases the oxygen under process condi- tions, are introduced into the depositing gas phase. At the lat- est in use, the boron and the oxy- gen of the intermediate layer are at least partially converted, at least in the region of their freely accessible surface, into boric acid as dry lubricant with the aid of hydrogen.

METHOD AND DEVICE FOR HEAT

TREATMENT OF METAL

WORKPIECES

US. 2,003,145,907 (8) 2003 Edenhofer, B. A process for heat treating metal workpieces, especially for the combined carburizing, boriding and hardening of ferrous prod- ucts, contains with respect to an efficient process control the fol- lowing successive operations fol- lowing directly one after the other; a) a heating phase; b) an enrichment phase; c) a first cool- ing phase); d) a boriding phase; e) a second cooling phase and f) a concluding quenching phase. Workpieces processed by a method of this type are distin- guished by a comparatively great fatigue limit and fatigue strength with simultaneous high resistance to wear and tear on the zinc or zinc alloy layer; forming a silane-coupling- agent-adsorbed layer on the electrodeposited chromate layer without causing the electrode- posited chromate layer of the nodular-treated surface to dry; and drying.

PROCESS FOR PRODUCING PART

MADE OF MAGNESIUM AND/OR

MAGNESIUM ALLOY

U.S. 2003145908 (812003 Fukumura, K; Sakane, K. A process for preparing a treat- ed magnesium and/or magne- sium alloy component compris- ing (A) treating the magnesium

and/or magnesium alloy compo- nent with a surface treating agent containing a phosphate, (B) treating the component with a pre-treating agent used before a corrosion inhibition treat- ment, (C) treating the compo- nent, as required, with a clean- ing agent containing surfactant and at least one compound selected from among aromatic carboxylic acids and salts there- of, and thereafter (D) treating the component further as required, with a corrosion inhibitor for magnesium.

TRIVALENT CHROMATE

CONVERSION COATING

US 2003145909 (8) 2003 Diaddario, L L; Marzano, M. (Pavco Inc) Conversion coating composition comprising chromium (III) ions, cobalt (II) ions, and nitric acid. The coating composition is sub- stantially free of chromium (VI) ions and substantially free of an oxidizing agent. This trivalent chromium based conversion coating provides corrosion pro- tection equal to or greater than most hexavalent chromium con- version coatings.

CONTROL METHOD FOR PLATING

AREA, PROGRAM, RECORDING

MEDIUM, CONTROL APPARATUS

AND PLATING METHOD

US 2003146101 (8) 2003 Nii, M. (Fujitsu Ltd) The plating method comprises the steps of dividing a region to be plated, into a group of mesh- like zones, measuring a plating area of each of the zones, com- paring the measurement values of the plating areas and judging whether or not the plating area has any variance, and conduct- ing a design change, on patterns contained in this zone, to elimi- nate the variance.

November 2003 79