The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document.
The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge covers the following: Patent number, Date patent was issued, Date patent was filed, Title of the patent, Applicant, Inventor, Assignee, Attorney firm, Primary examiner, Assistant examiner, CPCs, and Abstract. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document (in Adobe Acrobat format, aka pdf). To download or print any patent click here.
Patent No.:
Date of Patent:
Sep. 11, 2001
Filed:
Dec. 08, 1998
Bryan P. Tipton, Johnstown, PA (US);
Russell S. Corrente, Portage, PA (US);
Chris C. Alexion, Baltimore, MD (US);
Mark C. Waterbury, Johnstown, PA (US);
Thomas P. Creeden, Windber, PA (US);
Concurrent Technologies Corporation, Johnstown, PA (US);
Abstract
An environmentally controlled heating system for heating metal alloy billets wherein a trolley system carries the billets through the chambers of the induction heating system in crucibles that are pushed or pulled by actuators. The billets enter the system through a load-chamber and travel through a main chamber to a heating area where the loaded crucibles pass through a series of induction heating coils. The heated billets leave the heating area through a dump-chamber where they are delivered to a forming system. The empty crucibles reenter the main chamber and travel back to the loading area to receive another billet. The heating system is controlled through a computing device for monitoring and controlling the system, preferably a programmable logic controller. A vacuum system evacuates air from the chambers, and an inert gas system back-fills the chambers with an inert gas. A gettering system continually cleans the inert gas. Vacuum gates around the load and dump chambers isolate the induction heating system from ambient air and allow for air evacuation and back-filling of the load and dump chambers with the inert gas whenever a billet enters or leaves the induction heating system.