Claims Analysis
Total Claims: 10
Claim 1
Independent Claim
67 words
A cutting tool comprising a polycrystalline cubic boron
nitride (CBN) cutting tool containing less than 70 volume-% CBN and
being coated with a layer of hard refractory material which: (a) forms a stable chemical bond with CBN, (b) is inert to ferrous metals, (c) will not promote back-conversion of CBN, and (d) will form a continuous coating on CBN under conditions
which are not detrimental to CBN.
Claim 2
Dependent Claim
30 words
The cutting tool of claim 1, wherein said hard refractory
material is one or more of a boride, carbide, nitride, or silicide of a
transition metal, mixtures or alloys thereof.
Claim 3
Dependent Claim
43 words
The cutting tool of claim 2, wherein said hard refractory
material is one or more of a boride of Ti, Zr, V, Ta, Cr; a carbide of Zr, Ti,
V; a nitride of Cr, Ta, Ti, Si, Al; and a silicide of Mo.
Claim 4
Dependent Claim
13 words
The cutting tool of claim 3, wherein said hard refractory
material is TiN.
Claim 5
Dependent Claim
22 words
The cutting tool of claim 1, wherein said layer of said hard
refractory material is at least about 0.25 microns in thickness.
Claim 6
Dependent Claim
19 words
The cutting tool of claim 5, wherein said layer ranges in
thickness from between about 0.25 and 30 microns.
Claim 7
Dependent Claim
19 words
The cutting tool of claim 6, wherein said layer ranges in
thickness from between about 1 and 12 microns.
Claim 8
Dependent Claim
33 words
The cutting tool of claim 1, wherein said layer of said hard
refractory material was applied by a technique selected from chemical
vapor deposition, plasma activated vapor deposition, sputtering
techniques, and vacuum plating.
Claim 9
Dependent Claim
24 words
The cutting tool of claim 1, wherein the CBN content of said
cutting tool ranges from between about 30 volume-% up to 70 volume-%.
Claim 10
Independent Claim
92 words
A method for improving the cutting performance of a
polycrystalline cubic boron nitride (CBN) cutting tool used in cutting
ferrous materials, which comprises the steps of: (a) restricting the CBN cutting tool to contain less than 70
volume-% CBN; and (b) coating said CBN cutting tool with a layer of hard refractory
material which: (1) forms a stable chemical bond with CBN, (2) is inert to ferrous metals, (3) will not promote back-conversion of CBN, and (4) will form a continuous coating on CBN under
conditions which are not detrimental to CBN.