Claims Analysis
Total Claims: 20
Claim 1
Independent Claim
254 words
A surface coated sialon-base ceramic material for wear resistant tools, comprising: a sialon-base ceramic matrix which consists essentially of (a) 3-30 percent by volume of at least one selected from the group consisting of the carbide of each of the metals exclusive of Cr in the groups 4a, 5a, and 6a of the periodic table of elements, nitride thereof, oxide thereof, and solid solution of at least two of said carbide, said nitride, and said oxide; (b) 1-20 percent by volume at least one combined phase-forming component selected from the group consisting of the oxide of Li, Na, Ca, Mg, Y, any rare earth element, Si, and Al, and nitride thereof; and (c) the balance of β-sialon expressed by the chemical formula Si 6-z Al z O z N 8-z , z being larger than 0 but not more than 4.3, and α-sialon expressed by the chemical formula M x (Si,Al) 12 (O,N) 16 , x being larger than 0 but not more than 2, M representing at least one selected from the group consisting of Li, Na, Ca, Mg, Y, and any rare earth element, and inevitable impurities, wherein the ratio of the α-sialon/β-sialon is within a range from 5/95 to 95/5 in volume; and at least one hard first coating layer formed on a surface of said matrix, said at least one hard coating layer being formed of at least one selected from the group consisting of carbide of Ti, Zr, and Hf, nitride thereof, carbo-nitride thereof, carbo-oxide thereof, and carbo-nitro-oxide thereof.
Claim 2
Dependent Claim
254 words
A surface coated sialon-base ceramic material for wear resistant tools, comprising: a sialon-base ceramic matrix which consists essentially of (a) 3-30 percent by volume of at least one selected from the group consisting of the carbide of each of the metals exclusive of Cr in the groups 4a, 5a, and 6a of the periodic table of elements, nitride thereof, oxide thereof, and solid solution of at least two of said carbide, said nitride, and said oxide; (b) 1-20 percent by volume at least one combined phase-forming component selected from the group consisting of the oxide of Li, Na, Ca, Mg, Y, any rare earth element, Si, and Al, and nitride thereof; and (c) the balance of β-sialon expressed by the chemical formula Si 6-z Al z O z N 8-z , z being larger than 0 but not more than 4.3, and α-sialon expressed by the chemical formula M x (Si,Al) 12 (O,N) 16 , x being larger than 0 but not more than 2, M representing at least one selected from the group consisting of Li, Na, Ca, Mg, Y, and any rare earth element, and inevitable impurities, wherein the ratio of the α-sialon/β-sialon is within a range from 5/95 to 95/5 in volume; and at least one hard first coating layer formed on a surface of said matrix, said at least one hard coating layer being formed of at least one selected from the group consisting of carbide of Ti, Zr, and Hf, nitride thereof, carbo-nitride thereof, carbo-oxide thereof, and carbo-nitro-oxide thereof.
Claim 3
Dependent Claim
73 words
A surface material of claim 1, further including at least one second hard coating layer formed on a surface of said first hard coating layer, said second hard coating layer consisting essentially of at least one selected from the group consisting of the oxide of Al and nitro-oxide thereof, and wherein said first hard coating layer is an intermediate layer between said matrix and said second hard coating layer as a surface layer.
Claim 4
Dependent Claim
21 words
The material of claim 2, wherein said second hard coating layer has a mean thickness of from 0.5 to 5 μm.
Claim 5
Dependent Claim
21 words
The material of claim 2, wherein said first hard coating layer has a mean thickness of from 0.5 to 10 μm.
Claim 6
Dependent Claim
21 words
The material of claim 4, wherein said second hard coating layer has a mean thickness of from 0.5 to 5 μm.
Claim 7
Dependent Claim
69 words
The material of claim 2, wherein in the component (a), said at least one metal selected from the groups 4a, 5a, and 6a of the periodic table of elements is selected from the group consisting of Ti, Zr, Ta, V, Nb, W, Mo and Hf; and wherein the metal of said phase-forming component (b) is selected from the group consisting of Na, Mg, Ca, Li, Y, La and Er.
Claim 8
Dependent Claim
46 words
The material of claim 6, wherein said component (a) is selected from the carbide of each of said metals, nitride thereof, and solid solution of said carbide and said nitride and wherein said phase-forming component (b) is selected from the oxide of each of said metals.
Claim 9
Dependent Claim
30 words
The material of claim 7, wherein said first coating layer is selected from the group consisting of the carbide of Ti, nitride thereof, carbo-nitride thereof, carbo-oxide thereof, and carbo-nitro-oxide thereof.
Claim 10
Dependent Claim
50 words
The material of claim 8, wherein the ratio of the α-sialon/β-sialon is from 25/75 to 95/5 by volume, wherein z is larger than 0 but not more than 2.0, and wherein said at least one combined phase-forming component is contained in an amount from 2 to 10 percent by volume.
Claim 11
Dependent Claim
38 words
The material of claim 9, wherein said first hard coating layer has a mean thickness of from 0.5 to 10 μm; and wherein said second hard coating layer has a mean thickness of from 0.5 to 5 μm.
Claim 12
Dependent Claim
83 words
The material of claim 6, wherein the ratio of the α-sialon/β-sialon is from 25/75 to 95/5 by volume, wherein z is larger than 0 but not more than 2.0, and wherein said at least one combined phase-forming component is contained in an amount from 2 to 10 percent by volume; wherein said first hard coating layer has a mean thickness of from 0.5 to 10 μm; and wherein said second hard coating layer has a mean thickness of from 0.5 to 5 μm.
Claim 13
Dependent Claim
30 words
The material of claim 11, wherein said first coating layer is selected from the group consisting of the carbide of Ti, nitride thereof, carbo-nitride thereof, carbo-oxide thereof, and carbo-nitro-oxide thereof.
Claim 14
Dependent Claim
21 words
The material of claim 1, wherein said first hard coating layer has a mean thickness of from 0.5 to 10 μm.
Claim 15
Dependent Claim
21 words
The material of claim 13, wherein said second hard coating layer has a mean thickness of from 0.5 to 5 μm.
Claim 16
Dependent Claim
18 words
The material of claim 1, wherein the ratio of the α-sialon/β-sialon is from 25/75 to 95/5 by volume.
Claim 17
Dependent Claim
16 words
The material of claim 1, wherein z is larger than 0 but not more than 2.0.
Claim 18
Dependent Claim
25 words
The material of claim 1, wherein said at least one combined phase-forming component is contained in an amount from 2 to 10 percent by volume.
Claim 19
Dependent Claim
69 words
The material of claim 1, wherein in the component (a) said at least one metal selected from the groups 4a, 5a, and 6a of the periodic table of elements is selected from the group consisting of Ti, Zr, Ta, V, Nb, W, Mo and Hf; and wherein the metal of said phase-forming component (b) is selected from the group consisting of Na, Mg, Ca, Li, Y, La and Er.
Claim 20
Dependent Claim
46 words
The material of claim 18, wherein said component (a) is selected from the carbide of each of said metals, nitride thereof, and solid solution of said carbide and said nitride and wherein said phase-forming component (b) is selected from the oxide of each of said metals.