Process for providing protective metal coatings

Claim 1

IN A PROCESS FOR PROVIDING A PROTECTIVE METAL COATING ON AN ALKALINE-EARTH METAL SELECTED FROM THE GROUP CONSISTING OF STRONTIUM AND BARIUM, THE STEPS OF PROVIDING A SOURCE OF A METAL BEARING HEAT DECOMPOSABLE GAS, THE METAL CONSTITUENT OF WHICH IS A PROTECTOR FOR THE ALKALINEEARTH METAL, ESTABLISHING A SOURCE OF THE ALKALINE-EARTH METAL IN POWDER FORM, REDUCING THE PRESSURE WITHIN A METALLIZING SYSTEM BY EVACUATING AIR THEREFROM, FLOWING AN INERT GAS THROUGH THE SYSTEM TO SUBSTANTIALLY FREE THE CLOSED SYSTEM OF NITROGEN AND OXYGEN AND TO PROVIDE A PRESSURE OF THE INERT GAS WITHIN THE SYSTEM, INTRODUCING INTO THE SYSTEM AND THE FLOW OF INERT GAS FROM THE ESTABLISHED SOURCE THE ALKALINE-EARTH METAL POWDER WHICH IS TO BE COATED, FLOWING THE INERT GAS SUFFICIENTLY TO SUPPORT THE ALKALINE-EARTH METAL POWDER AND TO INTIMATELY MIX AND MOVE THE POWDER WITH THE INERT GAS FLOW, HEATING THE ALKALINE-EARTH META POWDER AS THE POWDER IS MOVED UPWARDLY IN THE STREAM OF THE INERT GAS, HEATING THE ALKALINE-EARTH METAL POWDER IN THE FLOW OF INERT GAS TO THE DECOMPOSITION TEMPERATURE OF THE META BEARING GAS, INTRODUCING THE METAL BEARING GAS INTO THE HEATED FLOWING INERT GAS AND POWDER TO EFFECT CONTACT OF THE METAL BEARING GAS WITH THE HEATED POWDER TO OCCASION THERMAL DECOMPOSITION OF THE METAL BEARING GAS AND DEPOSITION OF METAL ON THE ALKALINE-EARTH POWDER, SEPARATING THE METAL COATED ALKALINE-EARTH POWDER FROM THE INERT GAS AND UNDECOMPOSED METAL BEARING GAS, AND THEREAFTER REMOVING THE COATED ALKALINE-EARTH METAL POWDER FROM THE SYSTEM.