Metal fusion bonding – Process – Plural diverse bonding
Reexamination Certificate
1999-11-29
2001-04-10
Shaw, Clifford C. (Department: 1725)
Metal fusion bonding
Process
Plural diverse bonding
C228S262300, C228S262710, C351S041000, C351S178000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06213383
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a method of consolidating some parts made of an appropriate “Ni—Ti alloy” with other constituent members so as to form a pair of spectacles, wherein the “Ni—Ti alloy” parts may include a bridge, a cross bar, temples (or earpieces) and the like desired to have a property of shape memory. The other members may be skeleton members such as lens rims, hinge webs or the like that are made of a “titanium material” not being of such a shape memory property. The “Ni—Ti alloys” are substantially composed each of nickel and titanium and are of the so-called “super-elastic” property. The other term “titanium material” defines herein a material selected from the group consisting of pure titanium and its alloys that are weldable and/or brazeable depending on conditions employed.
2. Prior Art
Generally, it is difficult for articles made of Ni—Ti alloys or some titanium materials to be brazed in a simple manner to each other or to any other metallic article. Therefore, some cylindrical joint pieces
22
made of a weldable metal (such as pure titanium) as shown in
FIG. 8
have been used to get around such a difficulty. In the illustrated example, a bridge
21
is a Ni—Ti alloy part included in the framework of a pair of spectacles. One end of this bridge
21
is fitted in a bore
23
of the joint piece
22
, with this bore having a blind bottom. Subsequently, a cylindrical wall of the joint piece
22
will be pressed or ‘caulked’ strongly in a centripetal direction to set the bridge end in place. Such a caulked cylindrical joint piece
22
may then be resistance-spot or butt resistance-welded to a lens rim
24
or the like made of a titanium material.
However, it is inevitable that small crevices or interstices exist between the Ni—Ti alloy part
21
and the inner periphery of the caulked joint piece
22
which is being resistance-welded to the lens rim
24
. A high voltage will be applied to and through the part
21
and the piece
22
across the interstices, thus resistance welding them together at an elevated temperature. Electric sparks are likely to be emitted in the interstices due to the high voltage, thereby bringing about deformation of or cracks
25
in the joint piece. As a result, connection strength of the caulked members has often been impaired to an intolerable degree.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The present invention was made in view of the described drawbacks or inconvenience inherent in the prior art. An object of the present invention is therefore to provide a novel and improved method of consolidating Ni—Ti alloy parts with other spectacles frame-constituting members made of a titanium material, such that they may firmly and permanently be fixed to each other so as to build a reliable and defect-free framework for the pair of spectacles.
This object is solved by the method of claim
1
. Further advantageous features, aspects and details of the invention are evident from the dependent claims.
In detail, the method proposed herein does comprise the steps of: preparing a Ni—Ti alloy part, a joint piece and a skeleton member, all constituting a framework for a pair of spectacles, wherein both the joint piece and the skeleton member are made of the same or different titanium materials that are fusion-bondable, and wherein the joint piece has at one end thereof a bore surrounded by a peripheral wall, the joint piece having the other end serving as a fusion-bondable portion that is located remote from the one end, next fitting an end of the Ni—Ti alloy part in the bore of the joint piece, subsequently sequently caulking the peripheral wall onto the end of the Ni—Ti alloy part, and finally fusion bonding the other end of the joint piece to the skeleton member.
The fusion-bondable portion is either a resistance-weldable portion or a resistance-brazeable portion, and the step of fusion bonding is either the step of resistance welding or resistance brazing the joint piece to the skeleton member.
Preferably, the joint piece may be a cylindrical article and the bore thereof may have a blind bottom, and the fusion-bondable portion of the joint piece may be after-treated into such a shape as facilitating the final step of resistance welding or resistance brazing the joint piece to the skeleton member, after the Ni—Ti alloy part has been inserted in the bore and the peripheral wall thereof has subsequently been caulked.
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patent: 4432616 (1984-02-01), Kurosaka
patent: 4450210 (1984-05-01), Takamura et al.
patent: 4466713 (1984-08-01), Tanaka
patent: 4494831 (1985-01-01), Yaguchi et al.
patent: 4952044 (1990-08-01), Murai
patent: 5150136 (1992-09-01), Nakanishi
patent: 6077368 (2000-06-01), Nakamura et al.
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patent: 358179819 (1983-10-01), None
patent: 361173217 (1986-08-01), None
patent: 361206579 (1986-09-01), None
patent: 000450225A2 (1991-10-01), None
patent: 405257090 (1993-10-01), None
patent: 409005675 (1997-01-01), None
patent: 10-282458 (1998-10-01), None
Antonelli Terry Stout & Kraus LLP
Nakanishi Optical Corporation
Shaw Clifford C.
Stoner Kiley
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