Claims Analysis
Total Claims: 12
Claim 1
Independent Claim
171 words
A Sialon-base ceramic material consisting essentially of: (a) 1-40 percent by volume at least one dispersed phase-forming component selected from the group consisting of carbide of Ti, Zr, or Hf, nitride thereof, carbo-nitride thereof, and carbo-oxi-nitride thereof; (b) 1-20 percent by volume at least one combined phase-forming component selected from the group consisting of oxide of Li, Na, Ca, Mg, Y, any rare earth element, Ti, Zr, Hf, Si, or Al, and nitride thereof; and (c) the balance of β-Sialon expressed by a 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 a 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/the β-Sialon is within a range from 25/75 to 95/5 in volume.
Claim 2
Dependent Claim
171 words
A Sialon-base ceramic material consisting essentially of: (a) 1-40 percent by volume at least one dispersed phase-forming component selected from the group consisting of carbide of Ti, Zr, or Hf, nitride thereof, carbo-nitride thereof, and carbo-oxi-nitride thereof; (b) 1-20 percent by volume at least one combined phase-forming component selected from the group consisting of oxide of Li, Na, Ca, Mg, Y, any rare earth element, Ti, Zr, Hf, Si, or Al, and nitride thereof; and (c) the balance of β-Sialon expressed by a 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 a 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/the β-Sialon is within a range from 25/75 to 95/5 in volume.
Claim 3
Dependent Claim
26 words
The Sialon-base ceramic material as claimed in claim 1, wherein the ratio of the α-Sialon/the β-Sialon is within a range from 30/70 to 85/15 in volume.
Claim 4
Dependent Claim
20 words
The Sialon-base ceramic material as claimed in claim 1, wherein z is larger than 0 but not more than 2.0.
Claim 5
Dependent Claim
29 words
The Sialon-base ceramic material as claimed in claim 1, wherein said at least one disperse phase-forming component is contained in an amount from 5 to 30 percent by volume.
Claim 6
Dependent Claim
28 words
The Sialon-base cermaic material as claimed in claim 1, wherein said at least one combined phase-forming component is contained in amount from 2 to 10 percent by volume.
Claim 7
Dependent Claim
232 words
The Sialon-base ceramic material consisting essentially of: (a) 1-40 percent by volume at least one dispersed phase-forming component (hereinafter referred to as S1) selected from the group consisting of carbide of Ti, Zr, or Hf, nitride thereof, carbo-nitride thereof, and carbo-oxi-nitride thereof, and at least one disperse phase-forming component (hereinafter referred to as S2) selected from the group consisting of carbide of V, Nb, Ta, or Cr, carbo-nitride thereof, carbo-oxi-nitride thereof, carbide of Mo, and carbide of W, wherein the ratio S2/(S1+S2) is within a range from 0.01 to 0.5 in volume; (b) 1-20 percent by volume at least one combined phase-forming component selected from the group consisting of oxide of Li, Na, Ca, Mg, Y, any rare earth element, Ti, Zr, Hf, V, Nb, Ta, Cr, Mo, W, Si, or Al, and nitride thereof; and (c) the balance of β-Sialon expressed by a 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 a 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/the β-Sialon is within a range from 25/75 to 95/5 in volume.
Claim 8
Dependent Claim
232 words
The Sialon-base ceramic material consisting essentially of: (a) 1-40 percent by volume at least one dispersed phase-forming component (hereinafter referred to as S1) selected from the group consisting of carbide of Ti, Zr, or Hf, nitride thereof, carbo-nitride thereof, and carbo-oxi-nitride thereof, and at least one disperse phase-forming component (hereinafter referred to as S2) selected from the group consisting of carbide of V, Nb, Ta, or Cr, carbo-nitride thereof, carbo-oxi-nitride thereof, carbide of Mo, and carbide of W, wherein the ratio S2/(S1+S2) is within a range from 0.01 to 0.5 in volume; (b) 1-20 percent by volume at least one combined phase-forming component selected from the group consisting of oxide of Li, Na, Ca, Mg, Y, any rare earth element, Ti, Zr, Hf, V, Nb, Ta, Cr, Mo, W, Si, or Al, and nitride thereof; and (c) the balance of β-Sialon expressed by a 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 a 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/the β-Sialon is within a range from 25/75 to 95/5 in volume.
Claim 9
Dependent Claim
26 words
The Sialon-base ceramic material as claimed in claim 6, wherein the ratio of the α-Sialon/the β-Sialon is within a range from 30/70 to 85/15 in volume.
Claim 10
Dependent Claim
20 words
The Sialon-base ceramic material as claimed in claim 6, wherein z is larger than 0 but not more than 2.0.
Claim 11
Dependent Claim
28 words
The Sialon-base ceramic material as claimed in claim 6, wherein said S1 and S2 are contained in an amount from 5 to 30 percent by volume in total.
Claim 12
Dependent Claim
29 words
The Sialon-base ceramic material as claimed in claim 6, wherein said at least one combined phase-forming component is contained in an amount from 2 to 10 percent by volume.