US PATENT SUBCLASS 428 / 546
.~ Having metal particles

Current as of: June, 1999
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428 /   HD   STOCK MATERIAL OR MISCELLANEOUS ARTICLES

544  DF  ALL METAL OR WITH ADJACENT METALS {31}
546.~ Having metal particles {4}
547  DF  .~.~> Having composition or density gradient or differential porosity
548  DF  .~.~> Composite; i.e., plural, adjacent, spatially distinct metal components (e.g., layers, etc.) {5}
566  DF  .~.~> Interconnected void structure (e.g., permeable, etc.)
567  DF  .~.~> Continuous interengaged phases of plural metals, or oriented fiber containing {2}

DEFINITION

Classification: 428/546

(under subclass 544) Subject matter which contains free (elemental) metal particles.

(1) Note. This and its indented subclasses include stock-material* made by sintering, that is, a process in which a portion of a metal particle is alloyed, bonded, brazed, coalesced, partly fused or welded to a portion of an adjacent metal particle due to the application of heat, or heat and pressure. Reference: Everhart, J. L., et al, "Mechanical Properties of Metals and Alloys", Circular of the National Bureau of Standards, C447, 1943, p, 16.

(2) Note. The particulate metal component may contain particles of nonmetal material and a component is deemed to contain metal particles if made from a starting mixture of metal and nonmetal particles, even though all of the metal may have melted in the process. Thus, "cemented" carbides are assumed to contain metal particles.

(3) Note. In this and its indented subclasses, the particulate nature of the metal in the product may not always be explicit. When the product is manufactured from metal powder, it is presumed that some of the particulate nature of the starting material is preserved, at least in the grain structure of the product. This presumption holds even where the shape of the particles is changed, e.g., from rounded to flattened. Where the particles are disclosed as being fully molten during the process, and solidified in a mass, e.g., as in conventional metal spray coating, this presumption does not hold.

(4) Note. Mere mention of the grain structure or crystalline configuration or a metal component does not justify placement in these subclasses (544+).

(5) Note. Mere porosity, even when a percentage figure is claimed, or reference to an ingredient as a metal powder, is not sufficient for classification as stock-material*, recitation of an interconnected void structure in an article is sufficient. See subclass 566. (6) Note. The metal particles need not be joined, or even adjacent, to one another; rather, when a product is defined as having a portion or component which has a metal matrix, that is, continuous phase of free (elemental) metal, next to a portion or component which contains metal particles, even in a matrix of a nonmetal, it is assumed that metal-to-metal contiguousness exists, and the patent is properly placed here (subclasses 546+).

SEE OR SEARCH THIS CLASS, SUBCLASS:

148, 208, 309, 328, and 330, for a nonmetallic sheet or web containing particles which may be free metal.

403+, for a coated particle or a mass thereof, which particle or coating may be of free metal.

570, for a metal particle coated with a metal.

SEE OR SEARCH CLASS

75, Specialized Metallurgical Processes, Compositions for Use Therein, Consolidated Metal Powder Compositions, and Loose Metal Particulate Mixtures,

314+, for consolidated solid treating compositions for molten metal or consolidated charges that contain free metal, subclasses 228+ for metal compositions made from random mixtures which include metal powder, and subclasses 255+ for loose metal powder compositions.

100, Presses; 266, Metallurgical Apparatus; and 425, Plastic Article or Earthenware Shaping or Treating: Apparatus; for apparatus for forming compacts from powdered metal. For the line between these classes, see the class definition of Class 425.

106, Compositions: Coating or Plastic,

403+, for pigments, fillers, and aggregate containing metallic powder.

149, Explosive and Thermic Compositions or Charges, especially 37+, and 108.2 for such compositions containing particulate

metals.

204, Chemistry: Electrical and Wave Energy,

280, for an electrode which may contain particles of free metal.

252, Compositions,

63.2, for electrical resistance elements distinguished only by their composition, and subclasses 181.1+ for "getter" compositions.

264, Plastic and Nonmetallic Article Shaping or Treating: Processes,

5+, for liquid or melt comminuting of metals, and subclass 111 for processes of uniting metal particles without sintering.

310, Electrical Generator or Motor Structure,

214, for coil retainers or slot closures which may contain particles of free metal.

419, Powder Metallurgy Processes, appropriate subclasses for processes of making articles from metal particles using pressure with without heating, especially

5+, for such processes to produce composite articles which may have plural adjacent powder or solid metal layers or components. 420, Alloys or Metallic Compositions, appropriate subclasses for elemental metal or alloys in particulate form.

427, Coating Processes,

180+, for methods of applying solid particles or fibers to a base, and subclasses 202+ for application of superposed diverse coatings, one of which is particulate.

442, Fabric (Woven, Knitted, or Nonwoven Textile or Cloth, etc.),

228, and 376 for a fabric including a free metal or alloy constituent which may be metal particles.

501, Compositions: Ceramic, for ceramic compositions having metal particles in a nonmetal matrix without a continuous metal phase.

520, Synthetic Resins or Natural Rubbers, in particular, Classes 523 and 524 for a synthetic resin or natural rubber containing composition containing a nonreactant material. In these compositions, the nonreactant material may be metal particles, which are dispersed in a continuous nonmetal

phase, without a continuous metal phase.