US1022600A - Alloys of the precious metals and method of increasing hardness of such alloys. - Google Patents

Description

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AUGUSTE J. ROSSI, OF NIAGARA FALLS, NEW YORK, ASSIGNOR, TO THE TITANIUM ALLOY MANUFACTURING MAINE.

COMPANY, OF. NEW YORK, N. -Y.., A CORPORATION OF ALLOYS'OF THE PRECIOUS METALS 'AND METHOD OF INCREASING HARDNESS OF SUCH ALLOYS.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Apr. 9, 1912.

No Drawing. Original application filed May 6,1910, serial No. 559,656. Divided and this application filed January 25, 191

2. Serial No. 673,358.

T all whom it may concern:

- citizen of the United States, and a resident be added .tlie present usual, conv of Niagara Falls, in the county of Niagara and State of New York, have invented certain new and useful lmprovements in Alloys of the Precious Metals and Methods'of Increasing Hardness of Such Alloys, of which the following is a specification.

My present application is a division 0 my ending application Serial Number 559,656, filed May 6, 1910.

My present invention relates to the hardening of such alloys including particularly such as'used incoinage, jewelry and the like, and has for its objectthe imparting to such alloys so employed and containing present conventional proportions of copper, such novel increased hardness as will enable them to better resist frictional wear to which they may be subjected.

As well understood, the preciousmetals i. 6. gold and silver, are inherently so soft weight by the wear to which subjected when employed in coins,'jewelry, or the like. It has therefore from time immemorial been the practice to alloy for such uses one of the said precious metals with various proportions of a harder metal,'as copper, the gold and silver coinage of most countries being correspondingly debased by intentional additions of copper varying from 9 to 10% or thereabout, and the said alloys intended for commercial uses. and commonly known as sterling gold or sterling silver containing as high as 25% -of copper. Notwithstanding these admixtures of the baser metal, 'the resulting coinage, money, bars, jewelry, etc., are 'still nevertheless subject to important undesired losses from friction and wear in use, and the object of my presto provide means for pre-f the production; of;v

ent invention is said precious metals, while molten,

proportions of'a copper previousl fied by, or alloyed with, tit-anium-=as"respectively per Letters Patent No. 905,232, granted to me December 1, 1908, and Letters Patas to. lose important proportions of their,

. ent No. 935,863, granted to me October 5, 1909, or there be added to such'precious metal, when molten together with the desired percent. of previously unpurified or unalloyed copper, a small amount of titanium, or of my said alloy of copper with titanium, the final resulting alloy of said precious metal with copper will be so hardened .as to substantially reslst, without loss f of'weight, substantially all wear incident to ordinary usage.

Mylinvent-ion may be practiced asfollows: The copper intended for use in hardening the p ecious metal whether gold or silver as af resaid is first melted and to the molten bath whereof is added and melted therewith some of my alloy or compound of copper and titanium for. which reissued Letters Patent No. 12,764 were on March 17, 1908, granted to me, the amount of said alloy so added being preferably proportioned to insure in the'bath the metallic titanium to combine with undesired elements andv compounds present and leave a final copper product containing substantiallyno titanium, or, if desired, notto exceed 1% of titanium as per my said Letters Patent No; 905,232. The resulting purified copper pro uct is then added to a bath of the molten precious 'metal 2'. 6. gold or silver as the case may be'and in such proportion as to secure in the final product or alloythe desired roportion of copper. The said resulting nal product being an alloy of gold or silver with copper should contain not to exceed tracesof titanium and Will therefore be of substantially the same purity .as' formerly required ,for coinage and commercial presence of sufficient uses aforesaid, but its resistance to abrasion will be found much "greater than that of a' corresponding 'allo to which, or its constituents, the titanium has not been added. It will be obvious that substantially the same -results may be attained-by adding to a bath of either molten gold, or molten silver, a certain amount of copper not previously also adding sufiicient ofmy said alloy of copper and titanium, containing a sufficient treated with titanium as aforesaid and then exceed traces of titanium.

pounds present in said bath and leave .in the product thereof substantially no tita- -added so as to insure its action thereon as well as on undesired elements, compounds and impurities imported into the bath by the copper thereto added.

It will be understood that my invention, IS herein claimed, is limited to methods of treatment of silver or its alloys, in which the titanium employed is so proportioned as to leave in the final resulting product not to What I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is the following, vi. z

1. As a new .article a metallic substance composed principally of silver, a harder metal therewith alloyed and containing also not to exceed traces of titanium.

2. As a new article ofmetallic substance composed principally of silver, copper there- I believe, beneficially affected with alloyed and containing also not to ex: ceed traces of titanium.

3. The metallurgical method which comprises bringing together in molten state silver, a harder metal, and titanium proportioned ,to combine with undesired elements and compounds and secure a final product containing not to exceed traces of titanium.

4. The metallurgical method which comprises bringing together in molten state silver, copper, and titanium proportioned to combinewith undesired elements and compounds and secure a final product contain ing not to exceed traces of titanium.

5. The method of producing an alloy of silver with a harder metal which comprises bringing together in molten state silver and an alloy of said harder metal with titanium,

said titanium being proportioned to combine with undesired elements and compounds and secure a final product containing not to exceed traces of titanium.

6. The method of producing an alloy of silver with copper which comprises bringing together in molten state silver and an alloy of copper with titanium, said titanimn being proportioned to combine with undesired eleinents and compounds and secure a final product containing not to exceed traces of titanium.

AUGUsTE J. nossi. Witnesses \VALTER D. EnMo ns, PHILIP C. Peon.