Claims Analysis
Total Claims: 5
Claim 1
Independent Claim
168 words
A PROCESS FOR IMPREGNATING A MASS OF CARBON PARTICLES WITH AN ALLOY OF ALUMINUM, SILICON AND AT LEAST ONE OTHER METAL COMPRISING THE STEPS OF MELTING A QUANTITY OF SAID ALLOY, PLACING A MASS OF CARBON PARTICLES IN A POROUS CRUCIBLE FORMED FROM A REFRACTORY MATERIAL, SAID PARTICLES BEING SMALLER THAN 40 MICRONS AND HAVING A POROSITY RANGE OF 30 TO 60 PERCENT BY VOLUME, THE POROSITY OF THE POROUS CRUCIBLE BEING AT LEAST 20 PERCENT BY VOLUME, PLACING THE POROUS CRUCIBLE IN AN IMPERMEABLE CRUCIBLE, POURING THE MOLTEN ALLOY OVER SAID POROUS CRUCIBLE AND INTO SAID IMPERMEABLE CRUCIBLE, EQUALIZING THE TEMPERATURE BETWEEN SAID MOLTEN ALLOY AND SAID CRUCIBLES, SUBJECTING SAID CRUCIBLES, CARBON PARTICLES AND MOLTEN ALLOY TO A GAS PRESSURE OF BETWEEN 2,000 PSI AND 4,500 PSI FOR FROM ONE TO FIVE MINUTES TO FORCE SAID MOLTEN ALLOY TO PENETRATE THE POROUS CRUCIBLE AND IMPREGNATE THE CARBON PARTICLES, RAPIDLY COOLING THE POROUS CRUCIBLE TO ROOM TEMPERATURE, AND THEN REMOVING THE THUS FORMED BILLET OF ALLOY-IMPREGNATED CARBON PARTICLES.
Claim 2
Dependent Claim
168 words
A PROCESS FOR IMPREGNATING A MASS OF CARBON PARTICLES WITH AN ALLOY OF ALUMINUM, SILICON AND AT LEAST ONE OTHER METAL COMPRISING THE STEPS OF MELTING A QUANTITY OF SAID ALLOY, PLACING A MASS OF CARBON PARTICLES IN A POROUS CRUCIBLE FORMED FROM A REFRACTORY MATERIAL, SAID PARTICLES BEING SMALLER THAN 40 MICRONS AND HAVING A POROSITY RANGE OF 30 TO 60 PERCENT BY VOLUME, THE POROSITY OF THE POROUS CRUCIBLE BEING AT LEAST 20 PERCENT BY VOLUME, PLACING THE POROUS CRUCIBLE IN AN IMPERMEABLE CRUCIBLE, POURING THE MOLTEN ALLOY OVER SAID POROUS CRUCIBLE AND INTO SAID IMPERMEABLE CRUCIBLE, EQUALIZING THE TEMPERATURE BETWEEN SAID MOLTEN ALLOY AND SAID CRUCIBLES, SUBJECTING SAID CRUCIBLES, CARBON PARTICLES AND MOLTEN ALLOY TO A GAS PRESSURE OF BETWEEN 2,000 PSI AND 4,500 PSI FOR FROM ONE TO FIVE MINUTES TO FORCE SAID MOLTEN ALLOY TO PENETRATE THE POROUS CRUCIBLE AND IMPREGNATE THE CARBON PARTICLES, RAPIDLY COOLING THE POROUS CRUCIBLE TO ROOM TEMPERATURE, AND THEN REMOVING THE THUS FORMED BILLET OF ALLOY-IMPREGNATED CARBON PARTICLES.
Claim 3
Dependent Claim
37 words
A process as defined in claim 1 wherein said metal comprises a hyper-eutectic aluminum-silicon alloy, said particles comprise calcined coconut shell char, and said alloy is at a temperature of about 1,100*F. when the pressure is applied.
Claim 4
Dependent Claim
43 words
A process as defined in claim 1 wherein the billet is annealed for from 6 to 10 hours at 900* to 1,000*F. and then further held for from 3 to 5 hours at 400* to 500*F. and then rapidly cooled to room temperature.
Claim 5
Dependent Claim
30 words
A process as defined in claim 1 wherein the porous crucible is made of a non-graphitized carbon and the billet is removed from the crucible by breaking away the crucible.