US1407525A - Platinum alloy - Google Patents

and were.

FRANK B. FRY, OF NEWARK, NEW JERSEY, ASSIGNOR TO THE H. A. WILSON COM- IPANY, A CORPORATION OF NEW JERSEY.

PLATINUM ALLOY.

No Drawing. Application filed April 2,

To all whom it may concern? Be it known that I, FRANK B. FRY, a citizen of the United States, residing at Newark, in the county of Essex, State of New Jersey, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Platinum Alloys; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact "description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

This invention relates to a novel alloy of platinum. The object of the invention is to provide an alloy which may be used for the purposes for which alloys of platinum and iridium have been used, heretofore but which is less expensive than alloys of platinum and iridiumby reason of the fact that no iridium is employed in its composition.

The new alloy consists of platinum and a relatively small proportion of either or both tungsten and molybdenum, molybdenum only being preferably used. The alloy should consist of platinum to the ex- 'tent of from 85% to 95% and the molybdenum or tungsten from 15% to 5%. Theroportions of the elements which I find to be productive of the best results are 93% platinum and 7% molybdenum.

Great care must be exercised in conducting the treatment incident to alloying the two components. Generally speaking, the platinum should be raised to a temperature substantially above its melting point and it should be held at the high temperature for a substantial period so as to insure that the molybdenum will be thoroughly absorbed by the platinum. I

Such an alloy is as hard as platinum or a platinum iridium alloy and has a melting point which for practical purposes is substantially as high as that of platinum. Also i the new alloy will not oxidize or corrode. The alloy is, therefore, well adapted for the uses to which platinum iridium alloys have been put heretofore, )articularly for use in electrrcal contacts. lontacts made of the new alloy will not draw a heavy spark which is so objectionable in magnetos and similar electrical devices.

I am aware that it has been proposed Specification of Letters Patent.

heretofore to alloy tungsten and platinum, with the pro ortion of tungsten substantially equa to or even greater than that of the platinum. Such an alloy would possess considerable ductility and therefore might be used in making relatively inexpensive jewelry but it would not be serviceable 1n making electrical contacts of good quality. It would be liable to oxidation when subjected to high temperatures as it would be in electrical contacts and contacts made of such an allo would draw a heavy spark. The new aliby forming the subject matter of this invention is distinguished from that which has been proposed heretofore in that its platinum content is 85% or more and its tungsten or molybdenum content is not in excess of 15%. Only when this relatively small proportion of tungsten or molybdenum is employed in conjunction with the relatively large proportion of platinum are the advantages characteristic of the new alloy attained in a marked degree.

In the claims annexed hereto I have defined my invention as an alloy of platinum and molybdenum as molybdenum is the metal which I prefer to use in combination with the platinum, but I wish it un-' derstood that tungsten may be employed instead of molybdenum or in combination with molybdenum in the same proportions and attaining the same results and for this reason I wish the claims to be understood as covering my new alloy when tungsten is used as a substitute in whole or in part for the molybdenum.

I claim: I 1. An alloy of platinum and molybdenum In which the proportion of platinum is in excess of 85% and the proportion of molybdenum is less than 15%.

2. An alloy of platinum and molybdenum in which the proportion of platinum is from 85% to 95% and the proportion of the molybdenum is from 15% to 5%.

3. An alloy consisting of substantially 93% of platinum and substantially 7% of molybdenum.

In testimony'whereof I affix my signature.

FRANK B. FRY.