Patents Assigned to ALD Vacuum Technologies AG
  • Patent number: 6973116
    Abstract: The invention relates to a method and a device for equalizing the pressures in the melting chamber and in the cooling water system of a special melting unit, for example a pressure electroslag remelting (PESR) unit having a copper ingot mold, or a pressure induction furnace having an induction coil and a cooling water system, designed as a closed, separate pressure circuit.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 30, 2004
    Date of Patent: December 6, 2005
    Assignee: Ald Vacuum Technologies AG
    Inventors: Ivaylov Popov, Arno Niebling
  • Patent number: 6913449
    Abstract: In an apparatus for the treatment of metallic workpieces (4) with cooling gas, having a cylindrical housing (3) with an opening at the end face for introducing and removing the workpieces (4), two support plates (6, 7) extending in parallel planes vertically in the housing (3) and two air-guiding plates (14, 15) are provided, the workpiece batch (4) being held between the support plates (6, 7), and the air-guiding plates (14, 15) each forming, with the adjacent support plates (6, 7) and with the respectively adjacent inner wall of the housing, shafts (16, 17 and 26, 27, respectively) through which the cooling gas conveyed by blowers held on the housing (3) flows, controlled by reversing flaps (18, 19, 20, 21) arranged at the upper and lower ends of the air-guiding plates (14, 15).
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 6, 2003
    Date of Patent: July 5, 2005
    Assignee: ALD Vacuum Technologies AG
    Inventors: Klaus Loeser, Georg Stueber, Gerhard Welzig, Volker Heuer
  • Patent number: 6725902
    Abstract: To produce precision castings from a melt, use is made of a metallic casting wheel (1) which has an annular distribution channel (4) and a plurality of interchangeable casting moulds (6), each having at least one filling opening (6a). The melt quantity per casting operation is chosen here such that the casting moulds (6) and the distribution channel (4) are filled with the melt upon the rotation of the casting wheel (1) about its axis (A—A), in such a way that after the solidification of the melt the precision castings are held together by a ring of the casting material which is formed in the distribution channel (4), the so-called circulating material for new casting processes, and are removed from the casting wheel (1) together with the casting moulds (6), whereupon the precision castings are separated from the ring.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 19, 2002
    Date of Patent: April 27, 2004
    Assignee: Ald Vacuum Technologies AG
    Inventors: Matthias Blum, Georg Jarczyk, Hans-Günther Fellmann, Peter Busse
  • Patent number: 6689995
    Abstract: The invention relates to an apparatus and a method for heating a workpiece of an inductively heatable material, for example a turbine blade. Such a turbine blade consists of a massive blade base and a low-mass blade leaf. To enable the blade base and blade leaf to be heated in a manner appropriate to each an induction coil is provided, which surrounds the blade base and the blade leaf. By suitable choice of the alternating currents which flow through the induction coil and/or through the interposition of a susceptor between turbine blade and induction coil, the blade base and blade leaf can be heated in an appropriate manner.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 25, 2003
    Date of Patent: February 10, 2004
    Assignee: ALD Vacuum Technologies AG
    Inventors: Helmut Eberhardt, Karl-Heinz Grosse, Karl Herchenröther, Jürgen Lemke
  • Patent number: 6677560
    Abstract: The invention relates to an apparatus and a method for heating a workpiece of an inductively heatable material, for example a turbine blade. Such a turbine blade consists of a massive blade base and a low-mass blade leaf. To enable the blade base and blade leaf to be heated in a manner appropriate to each an induction coil is provided, which surrounds the blade base and the blade leaf. By suitable choice of the alternating currents which flow through the induction coil and/or through the interposition of a susceptor between turbine blade and induction coil, the blade base and blade leaf can be heated in an appropriate manner.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 6, 2001
    Date of Patent: January 13, 2004
    Assignee: Ald Vacuum Technologies AG
    Inventors: Helmut Eberhardt, Karl-Heinz Grosse, Karl Herchenröther, Jürgen Lemke
  • Patent number: 6554922
    Abstract: Method and apparatus for determining the cooling action of a flowing gas atmosphere on workpieces by a measuring body with at least on temperature sensor and heated to workpiece temperature and is exposed to the gas atmosphere. The method and apparatus are particularly useful in hardening steel.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 31, 2001
    Date of Patent: April 29, 2003
    Assignee: Ald Vacuum Technologies AG
    Inventor: Kalus Loeser
  • Patent number: 6540012
    Abstract: In an electroslag remelting point with a mold (4) for forming an ingot from the remelted material of at least one consumable electrode (33), with a body (6) having at least one vertically driven electrode rod (15) for advancing a respective consumable electrode (33), and with a hood (19) which is disposed above the mold (4) and has at least one opening (18) which is concentric with the respective electrode axis (A), a pot-shaped boiler (20) is provided which accommodates the mould (4) and can be joined to the hood (19) to form a chamber (34) which is closed all round, completely encompasses the mould (4, 28) and can be connected via pipelines (22, 23) to a vacuum pump and/or a gas source, so that the chamber (34) can be evacuated or filled with an inert gas.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 8, 2000
    Date of Patent: April 1, 2003
    Assignee: ALD Vacuum Technologies AG
    Inventors: Harald Scholz, Arno Niebling, Ulrich Biebricher
  • Patent number: 6533990
    Abstract: In the apparatus for distilling molten baths, substantially comprising a two-part vacuum tank (2), a melting crucible (5) disposed in the bottom housing part (3) of the vacuum tank and surrounded by a heating coil (4), a hat-shaped metal vapor condenser (8) held in the top housing part (6) of the vacuum tank (2), and a draining channel (10) disposed between the melting crucible (5) and the metal vapor condenser (8), a filter element (16) penetrated by a metal vapor thermometer (19) plus probe (20) is provided above the metal vapor condenser (8) in an opening (15) of the top housing part (6), wherein both the filter pot (17) surrounding the filter element (16), as well as the space (22) behind the coil, as well as the top housing part (6) are connected by separate individual vacuum lines (18, 23, 25) to a vacuum source (7).
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 26, 2002
    Date of Patent: March 18, 2003
    Assignee: Ald Vacuum Technologies AG
    Inventors: Ivaylo Popov, Hans-Jürgen Kemmer, Harald Scholz
  • Patent number: 6443212
    Abstract: Molds (1) with annular mold parts (2, 3) divided by at least one plane of division (E—E) and forming a plurality of cavities (8) disposed at least substantially radially to a centrifugation axis (A—A), serve for the production of precision castings by centrifugal casting, especially of parts made of materials containing titanium for internal combustion engines, the molds (1) and a casting system being contained in a closed chamber. To automate production, at least one mold part (2, 3) is made to rotate in its own rotational guide, and two mold parts (2, 3) together with the corresponding rotational guides are brought to a closed position for the casting and solidification and to an open position for the removal of the precision castings. When cast, the precision castings are preferably joined together at their radially inward pointing ends by a circumferential ring of the solidified metal and thus a circle of castings can be removed from the opened mold by a manipulating system.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 1, 1999
    Date of Patent: September 3, 2002
    Assignee: Ald Vacuum Technologies AG
    Inventors: Alok Choudhury, Matthias Blum, Harald Scholz, Georg Jarczyk, Franz Hugo, Hans Günther Fellmann, Peter Busse, Thomas Ruppel, Alfred Henn
  • Patent number: 6408929
    Abstract: In the production of precision castings by centrifugal casting with controlled solidification, a melt is cast under vacuum or shield gas into a pre-heated mold (15) with a central gate (19) and several mold cavities proceeding from the gate toward the outer circumference (Da) of the mold (15). To prevent the formation of shrinkholes and porous areas in the castings, to save energy, and to increase the production rate, the mold (15) is operated at temperatures which decrease from the inside toward the outside. The mold consists of a material or material combination with a coefficient of thermal conductivity lower than that of copper. Before the melt is poured, the mold (15) is heated, starting from the gate (19), by a heating device (20), which projects into the gate, so that the gate (19) reaches a temperature which is a function of the material being cast. Heating is carried out at a rate sufficient to produce a temperature Gradient of at least 100° C., preferably of 200-600° C.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 4, 2001
    Date of Patent: June 25, 2002
    Assignees: Ald Vacuum Technologies AG, W. C. Heraeus GmbH & Co. KG
    Inventors: Alok Choudhury, Harald Scholz, Matthias Blum, Georg Jarczyk, Marek Gorywoda, David Francis Lupton
  • Publication number: 20010045267
    Abstract: In the production of precision castings by centrifugal casting with controlled solidification, a melt is cast under vacuum or shield gas into a preheated mold (15) with a central gate (19) and several mold cavities proceeding from the gate toward the outer circumference (Da) of the mold (15). To prevent the formation of shrinkholes and porous areas in the castings, to save energy, and to increase the production rate, the mold (15) is operated at temperatures which decrease from the inside toward the outside. The mold consists of a material or material combination with a coefficient of thermal conductivity lower than that of copper. Before the melt is poured, the mold (15) is heated, starting from the gate (19), by a heating device (20), which projects into the gate, so that the gate (19) reaches a temperature which is a function of the material being cast. Heating is carried out at a rate sufficient to produce a temperature gradient of at least 100° C., preferably of 200-600° C.
    Type: Application
    Filed: May 4, 2001
    Publication date: November 29, 2001
    Applicant: ALD Vacuum Technologies AG
    Inventors: Alok Choudhury, Harald Scholz, Matthias Blum, Georg Jarczyk, Marek Gorywoda, David Francis Lupton
  • Patent number: 6207931
    Abstract: An apparatus for the heat treatment of workpieces comprising comprising a plurality of evacuable chambers connected through airlocks, a conveyor, preferably a circular chain conveyor for the transport of the workpieces along a path through the chambers, an electric resistance heating device, a cooling blower, and a heat exchanger, a plurality of workpieces of equal size and configuration, in particular backsaw blades, are placed tightly one on top of another and form a stack which is placed into a frame made of profile cuts, whereby the frame is capable of being coupled to a conveyor by means of suspension elements.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 31, 2000
    Date of Patent: March 27, 2001
    Assignee: ALD Vacuum Technologies AG
    Inventors: Klaus Löser, Wilfried Zenker
  • Patent number: 6147328
    Abstract: An apparatus for the heat treatment of work pieces comprising comprising a plurality of evacuable chambers connected through airlocks, a conveyor, preferably a circular chain conveyor for the transport of the workpieces along a path through the chambers, an electric resistance heating device, a cooling blower, and a heat exchanger, a plurality of workpieces of equal size and configuration, in particular hacksaw blades, are placed tightly one on top of another and form a stack which is placed into a frame made of profile cuts, whereby the frame is capable of being coupled to a conveyor by means of suspension elements.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 23, 1998
    Date of Patent: November 14, 2000
    Assignee: ALD Vacuum Technologies AG
    Inventors: Klaus Loser, Wilfried Zenker
  • Patent number: 6109926
    Abstract: A current connection suitable for transferring high-frequency, high-amp current consists of a stationary feed line part (2) and a rotational part (4), each of which is connected to paired conductor rails (6, 8; 6', 8'). The conductor rails (6, 8; 16, 18), connected at one end to a power generator and at the other end to the stationary feed line part (2), consist essentially of at least two parallel conductor rails, which are kept a certain distance apart by means of an insulator (5a). As a result of flexible power conductors (10, 10'), electrically conductive manner to the circular periphery of the outer conductor ring (14), the other end to inner conductor ring (15), the rotational part (4) can be rotated with respect to the stationary feed line part (2) in correspondence with the length of the current conductors (10, 10', . . . ; 11, 11', . . . ).
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 25, 1997
    Date of Patent: August 29, 2000
    Assignee: ALD Vacuum Technologies AG
    Inventors: Matthias Blum, Wilfried Goy, Hilmar Lippert, Bernd Sitzmann
  • Patent number: 6109992
    Abstract: Apparatus and method for removing metal bases from glass bulbs such as fluorescent lamps for the salvaging of raw materials therein for reuse. The method comprises providing an inductive field coil about at least one end of the glass bulb having the metal base, heating the metal base by induction to expand and loosen the same, then gripping and pulling the metal base from the bulb. The bulb is kept intact for later salvaging operations such that the removed bases are uncontaminated by mercury. The apparatus can include non-magnetic grippers such as ceramic jaws for the gripping of the metallic bases.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 10, 1998
    Date of Patent: August 29, 2000
    Assignees: ALD Vacuum Technologies AG, Paul Frankenbach
    Inventors: Albrecht Melber, Erwin Wanetzky, Paul Frankenbach
  • Patent number: 6101212
    Abstract: A sealed evacuatable crucible (1) for inductive melting of metals or other electrically conductive materials, including a plurality of palisades (2,2', . . . ) which are arranged parallel to one another, and for enclosing the melt and forming the crucible wall, and having a crucible base part (3) which carries the palisades (2,2', . . . ), and having an induction coil (18) which is wound around the palisades (2,2', . . .
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 12, 1999
    Date of Patent: August 8, 2000
    Assignee: Ald Vacuum Technologies AG
    Inventors: Franz Hugo, Thomas Ruppel, Hans-Gunther Fellmann