System, process and related sintered article

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-11952285-B2
Application number	US-202318225758-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Jul 25, 2023
Priority date	Jan 26, 2016
Publication date	Apr 9, 2024
Grant date	Apr 9, 2024

Abstract

A process of forming a sintered article includes heating a green portion of a tape of polycrystalline ceramic and/or minerals in organic binder at a binder removal zone to a temperature sufficient to pyrolyze the binder; horizontally conveying the portion of tape with organic binder removed from the binder removal zone to a sintering zone; and sintering polycrystalline ceramic and/or minerals of the portion of tape at the sintering zone, wherein the tape simultaneously extends through the removal and sintering zones.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A process of making a sintered article, comprising:
conveying a portion of a tape through a sintering zone, wherein the tape comprises ceramic grains;
sintering the ceramic grains at the sintering zone; and
tensioning the tape during the sintering,
wherein the tape contemporaneously extend to, through, and from the sintering zone.

2. The process of claim 1 , wherein the portion consists essentially of the ceramic grains.

3. The process of claim 1 , wherein the sintering is at a temperature greater than 800 degrees Celsius.

4. The process of claim 1 , wherein length of the tape is at least 100 times greater than width of the tape, and wherein the width is at least 10 times greater than thickness of the tape, and wherein the thickness is no more than 500 micrometers.

5. The process of claim 1 , wherein the conveying is horizontally conveying.

6. The process of claim 1 , wherein, during the sintering, density of the tape increases.

7. The process of claim 1 , wherein, during the sintering, width of the tape decreases.

8. The process of claim 1 , further comprising cooling the portion of the tape to a temperature below 150 degrees Celsius.

9. The process of claim 8 , further comprising wrapping the portion around an uptake reel following cooling.

10. The process of claim 1 , wherein the tensioning flattens the tape.

11. The process of claim 10 , wherein surfaces of the tape, after the sintering, have a flatness from 0.1 μm to 50 μm over a distance of 1 cm along a length of tape.

12. The process of claim 1 , wherein the tensioning comprises 75 kPa of tension.

13. The process of claim 1 , wherein the tape, after the sintering, has a total transmittance of at least 30% at wavelengths from 300 nm to 800 nm.

14. The process of claim 1 , wherein the tape is continuously conveyed through the sintering zone during the sintering.

15. The process of claim 1 , further comprising unwinding the tape from a reel during the conveying.

16. A process of making a sintered article, comprising:
conveying a portion of a tape through a sintering zone, wherein the tape comprises ceramic grains;
sintering the ceramic grains at the sintering zone; and
tensioning the tape during the sintering,
wherein, in a processing direction, the tape is longer than the sintering zone.

17. The process of claim 16 , wherein the conveying is horizontally conveying.

18. The process of claim 16 , wherein the tensioning flattens the tape.

19. The process of claim 18 , wherein surfaces of the tape, after the sintering, have a flatness from 0.1 μm to 50 μm over a distance of 1 cm along a length of tape.

20. The process of claim 16 , wherein the tape is continuously conveyed through the sintering zone during the sintering.

Assignees

• Corning Inc

Inventors

• Badding Micheal Edward
• Bouton William Joseph
• Brackley Douglas Edward
• Kester Lanrik Wayne
• Ketcham Thomas Dale
• Miller Eric Lee
• Tanner Cameron Wayne
• Zimmermann James William

Classifications

• C01F7/441 Primary

  by calcination · CPC title

• C01G25/02

  Oxides · CPC title

• C03B19/06

  by sintering, {e.g. by cold isostatic pressing of powders and subsequent sintering, by hot pressing of powders, by sintering slurries or dispersions not undergoing a liquid phase reaction} · CPC title

• C03B29/12

  being in a horizontal position on a fluid support, e.g. a gas or molten metal · CPC title

• C03B35/246

  Transporting continuous glass ribbons · CPC title