Patent 7288303 was granted and assigned to NGK Insulators on October, 2007 by the United States Patent and Trademark Office.
A structure 26 of brittle material and metal has brittle materials 24, 25 and a plate-shaped metal piece 21. The plate-shaped metal piece 21 has a clamped portion 22 pressed and clamped with the brittle material and a non-clamped portion 23 not clamped with the brittle material. The deformation of the plate-shaped metal piece relaxes stress generated along an interface where the clamped portion 23 and brittle materials 24, 25 contact each other.