[Jewelry making - Article 00318] - Re: [Orchid] Argentium patent and patent application

[James Binnion]

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>     Reread my post very carefully then, if you still can't answer your
>     question, pose a very specific scenario making sure all the needed
>     details are present and pick one specific claim and I'll give you
>     my analysis. 

    Assume that one were to manufacture a piece of jewelry using the
    method of diffusion bonding as described in claim 1. The jewelry was
    composed of alternating layers of Argentium silver the patented
    alloy and copper from claim 9. Assume that the Argentium was
    purchased from a licensed manufacturer of that alloy. 

    I do not believe that purchasing the alloy from a licensed producer
    automatically grants me the right to manufacturer a product using
    the method claimed in claim 1. Are you saying that it does? 

        1. A method for joining two elements using a silver based alloy
        having a germanium content, comprising: providing two elements to
        be joined together, at least one of the elements comprising a
        silver/copper/germanium alloy having a silver content of at least
        77% by weight, a germanium content of between 0.4 and 7% by
        weight, the remainder principally being copper apart from any
        impurities, which alloy contains elemental boron as a grain
        refiner at a concentration of greater than 0 parts per million
        and less than 20 parts per million;placing the two elements
        adjacent one another such that a portion of a free surface of
        the silver/copper/ germanium alloy contacts a portion of a free
        surface of the other element without interposing a filler
        material between the two free surfaces; and heating the two free
        surfaces where the two elements are adjacent one another to a
        temperature below that of the solidus temperature of any one of
        the constituent materials of the elements, thereby joining the
        two elements by a diffusion process. 9. A silver/germanium alloy
        having a silver content of at least 77% by weight, a germanium
        content of between 0.5 and 3% by weight, the remainder being
        copper apart from any impurities, which alloy contains boron as
        a grain refiner at a concentration of greater than 0 parts per
        million and less than about 20 parts per million.

James Binnion
jbin AT mokume-gane.com
James Binnion Metal Arts
http://www.mokume-gane.com
360-756-6550
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