Patent Application
20120270425
The present disclosure relates to an electrical grounding component and more specifically to a ground metallic boss.
Ground bosses having a stainless steel plate welded atop the ground boss are known to be used in a variety of applications. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,934,952 relates to a bonding and electrical grounding assembly for interconnecting dissimilar metallic components. The assembly includes a flexible first metal strap and a first metal lug for mechanical fastening to a boss. The bosses are each bimetallic, such that the two dissimilar metals of each boss are directly bonded together by explosive cladding, roll-bonding, friction welding or any process which renders the bimetallic interface impervious to corrosion.
In one aspect of the present disclosure a bi-metallic boss is provided. The bi-metallic boss includes a first portion and a second portion. The first portion is made of a first metal powder. The second portion is integrated with the first portion. Moreover, the second portion made of a second metal powder, such that the second metal powder is different from the first metal powder.
In another aspect, a method for manufacturing a bi-metallic boss is provided. The method provides a second metal powder corresponding to a second portion of a bi-metallic boss. Also, the method provides a first metal powder corresponding to a first portion of the bi-metallic boss. The first metal powder is layered over the second metal powder. The first metal powder is different from the second metal powder. Further, the method heats the first and second metal powders to a pre-determined temperature to form the bi-metallic boss.
Other features and aspects of this disclosure will be apparent from the following description and the accompanying drawings.
As shown in
Referring to
Moreover, a bottom face 110 of the second portion 104 may be configured to be welded to any surface. For example, the bi-metallic boss 100 may be utilized in various locations on any construction machine. It should be noted that the welding may be performed by known methods. Additionally, since the second portion 104 of the bi-metallic boss 100 is made of powdered carbon steel, a standard mild steel wire rod may be used to weld the bottom face 110 to the welding surface.
A person of ordinary skill in the art will appreciate that the first and second portions 102, 104 of the bi-metallic boss 100 may be considered as a single consolidated or integrated structure. Hence, the use of any external joining process such as, for example, welding, may be eliminated. An exemplary process 400 of manufacturing the bi-metallic boss 100 will be described in connection with
Typically, ground bosses are made of carbon steel such that a stainless steel plate is welded onto the ground boss. Currently used welding rods are especially made for mild steel welding. Different type of wire rods need to be used for stainless steel welding. To this end, the welding rods may need to be changed in order to weld the stainless steel plate onto the ground boss. A change in set up for special stainless steel welding can drive significant time and cost to the process. This may primarily be attributed to the fact that using a carbon steel rod for welding a stainless steel plate may result in poor adherence between the stainless steel plate and the ground boss.
As stated above, changing of the welding rods may be a time consuming and inconvenient activity. Hence, in order to avoid changing the welding rods, one possible solution may include having a boss made of carbon steel. However, such bosses may rust easily, resulting in loss of electrical contact.
The present disclosure provides the bi-metallic boss 100 having the first and second portions 102, 104 made of dissimilar metals integrated with each other. It should be understood that since the first and second portions 102, 104 of the bi-metallic boss 100 are integrated, the previously used welding operation for joining the stainless steel plate may be eliminated. Additionally, since the bi-metallic boss 100 may include a relatively larger quantity of carbon steel as compared to that of stainless steel, the cost of production of the bi-metallic boss 100 is low. Further, the use of a special welding rod may be avoided with this design.
In step 402, the second metal powder corresponding to the second portion 104 of the bi-metallic boss 100 may be provided. In step 404, the first metal powder corresponding to the first portion 102 of the bi-metallic boss 100 may be provided. More specifically, the first metal powder may be layered over the second metal powder. Also, the first metal powder may be different from the second metal powder. In one embodiment, the first metal powder may include powdered stainless steel, whereas the second metal powder may include powdered carbon steel.
Thereafter, at step 406, the first and second metal powders may be heated to a pre-determined temperature to form the bi-metallic boss 100. The heating may cause consolidation of the first and second metal powders. Typically, the pre-determined temperature may be the minimum re-crystallization temperature of the first and second metal powders. It should be understood that the first and second metal powders may be placed in molds or any other similar structure known in the art to hold and shape the metal powders. In one embodiment, the central cavity 106 and/or cylindrical shape of the bi-metallic boss 100 may be provided using any suitable cutting method known in the art. Further, the inner diameter D1 of the bi-metallic boss 100 may vary according to the application. In one embodiment, the threads may be provided on the inner surface 302 of the bi-metallic boss 100 in order to mate with the corresponding threads on the bolt.
It should be noted that the method of manufacturing the bi-metallic boss 100 described herein is on an exemplary basis and does not limit the scope of the present disclosure. A person of ordinary skill in the art will appreciate that the shape, size and other related parameters of the bi-metallic boss 100 may vary based on the application. Also, the bi-metallic boss 100 may be welded to a variety of flat or curved surfaces without any limitation. Further, one of ordinary skill in the art will appreciate that the term “made of metal powder” used herein does not restrict the scope of this disclosure to merely the formation of the bi-metallic boss 100 according to the method 400. Even after formation of the bi-metallic boss 100, if the bi-metallic boss 100 is re-heated, the re-heated metal may still be considered to be “made of metal powder”.
While aspects of the present disclosure have been particularly shown and described with reference to the embodiments above, it will be understood by those skilled in the art that various additional embodiments may be contemplated by the modification of the disclosed machines, systems and methods without departing from the spirit and scope of what is disclosed. Such embodiments should be understood to fall within the scope of the present disclosure as determined based upon the claims and any equivalents thereof.
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 60839333 | Aug 2006 | US | |
| 60897543 | Jan 2007 | US | |
| 60905624 | Mar 2007 | US | |
| 60922246 | Apr 2007 | US |
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Parent | 11809887 | May 2007 | US |
| Child | 13542969 | US |
