Transition Metal Nitride Coated File
AssigneeCooper Brands, Inc.
InventorsJames Critelli, Jonathan Beckwith
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A hand operated file is provided with a thin ceramic coating of a transition metal nitride, such as vanadium nitride and/or zirconium nitride, on its teeth. The coating may be 20 um or less, thereby not altering the macro dimensions of the file. The coating may be applied using a vapor deposition process such as physical vapor deposition, and advantageously via a physical vapor deposition process where the file body does not exceed a temperature of about 300° F. The coating helps prevent galling, thereby increasing the useful life of the file.
Claims12
A file hand tool, comprising:
- a file body having a plurality of file teeth formed thereon;
- a tang extending from said file body;
- a coating on said teeth, said coating comprising at least a material selected from the group consisting of vanadium nitride and zirconium nitride.
A method of forming a file hand tool, comprising:
- forming a file body having a surface and a tang extending from said file body;
- forming a plurality of teeth on said surface;
- applying a coating to said teeth via a physical vapor deposition process, said coating comprising at least a material selected from the group consisting of vanadium nitride and zirconium nitride.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.