ALEXANDRIA, Va., July 30 -- United States Patent no. 12,371,774, issued on July 29, was assigned to SWAGELOK COMPANY (Solon, Ohio).

"Enhanced activation of self-passivating metals" was invented by Peter C. Williams (Cleveland Heights, Ohio), Steven V. Marx (University Heights, Ohio), Frank Ernst (Cleveland Heights, Ohio) and Anna V. Agaponova (Beachwood, Ohio).

According to the abstract* released by the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office: "A workpiece made from a self passivating metal and having one or more surface regions defining a Beilby layer as a result of a previous metal shaping operation is activated for subsequent low temperature gas hardening by exposing the workpiece to the vapors produced by heating an oxygen-free nitrogen halide...