Abstract: A microwave oven door aligning assembly is provided and includes a centering prong rigidly mounted on the door of the oven and projecting beyond the inside surface of the door. A clip is mounted to the oven behind the front face of the oven cavity and the clip has an opening in alignment with an opening in the front face. A centering prong receiving receptacle having a rigid square body portion is removably inserted into the clip opening and secured to the clip. The receptacle has a square opening to receive the centering prong which opening is offset from the center of the receptacle such that two opposite sides of the opening are equal distance from the center and the other two opposite sides of the opening are of unequal distance from the center. With this arrangement the receptacle may be rotatably installed to assure proper parallel alignment of the door relative to the top and bottom cabinet walls by cooperation between the centering prong and the receptacle.

Abstract: A unique design and method of construction is presented for a tank-like structure which houses an electrical component immersed within a dielectric fluid. The tank is formed by a generally cup-shaped enclosure and a cover. In one embodiment the cover carries a means for electrically connecting the interior of the tank with its exterior. The cover and the enclosure are joined by an overlapping edge means. By overlapping the marginal portions of the cover and the enclosure, such that the leading edges are disposed in the opposite direction, a joint is formed which is less likely to rupture than one formed by overlapping the marginal portions with the leading edges disposed in the same direction.

Abstract: A method for dielectric welding together of two substantially rigid thermoplastic flanged parts (or "subshells") to form a flangeless, typically thin-walled, thermoplastic shell. The method may be praticed using a pair of relatively movable, clamping electrodes, which define a shell-receiving hollowed space bounded by flange-engaging areas, operate together to create a flangeless weld. The characteristics of the dielectric field application, that is, making the dielectric field most concentrated along the line forming the proximal edge of the flanges, the clamping action, and the timing of various operations are all important features of the invention. One of the preferred embodiments utilizes a double-beveled cutting electrode.

Abstract: A ceramic encased thermocouple placed within a kiln electrically controls an array of signal classifiers which, in turn, control the operation of the kiln heating elements. The temperature value at which the classifier array terminates the whole kiln heating operation is preselected as one of a plurality of discrete predetermined values corresponding to pyrometric cone temperature values.

Abstract: A fusing machine utilizes a fusing electrode assembly and a ground electrode assembly suspended from the fusing electrode assembly. The fusing electrode assembly includes a lower fusing electrode shaft and an upper fusing electrode shaft. The lower fusing electrode shaft has an open end adapted to receive the upper fusing electrode shaft and a compression spring interposed between the shafts. An adjustable stop is threaded onto the upper fusing electrode shaft to limit the downward movement of the upper fusing electrode shaft. The lower fusing electrode shaft is keyed to a fusing electrode holder formed from a plurality of keyed members. The ground electrode assembly includes an adjusting mechanism, whereby the position of a ground electrode carried by the ground electrode assembly can be adjusted relative to a fusing electrode carried by the fusing electrode assembly. The fusing electrode assembly and the ground electrode assembly are mounted to a frame which is adjustably attached to a supporting structure.

Abstract: A contact tip (10) for a welding head (12) includes a wear-resistant member (34) and a transverse passageway (32). Wear-inducing deposits on the surface of consumable electrodes result in shortened service life of contact tips. In the contact tip (10) of the present invention, surface contaminants are removed from electrode (28) by a hard, wear-resistant member (34) and directed radially outwardly to an external surface (16) through a transverse passageway (32). The present invention is particularly useful in high duty-cycle automatic or robot-controlled welding operations.

Abstract: A thermal print head includes a pair of parallel bars of resistive material. A first set of lines is connected to one bar at equal spacings, a second set is similarly connected to the other bar. Each line of a third set of lines is connected to both bars between the connections of the lines of the other sets. From each line of the third set there are four resistance paths along the bars to adjacent lines of the first and second sets. Each of these paths can be selected to heat the bars along the selected paths to create marks on a paper sheet or web.

Abstract: A combined microwave and electric heater oven includes a fan system for cooling a magnetron, and a damper for selectively introducing a forced air flow generated by the fan system into an oven cavity. A damper cam is secured to a drive shaft of a damper motor, and a damper link is disposed between the damper cam and the damper to drive the damper. A microswitch is disposed near the damper cam so that the microswitch develops a first detection signal when the damper is tightly closed. In response to the first detection signal, the rotation of the damper motor is terminated to hold the damper in the tightly closed state. The microswitch develops a second detection signal when the damper is placed in the full-open state. In response to the second detection signal, the rotation of the damper motor is terminated to hold the damper in the full-open state.

Abstract: This invention provides a radiant heating apparatus utilizing a continuous wire and formed into accordion shaped strips. Three strips are shown and the ends of the strips have connecting end portions that are disposed in slots. The strips are carried in longitudinal grooves in a support member having electrical and heat insulating capability. This support is conventionally ceramic or the like and has the capability of withstanding up to thirty-two hundred degrees Fahrenheit. The wire strips are retained in the grooves by metal retaining members of conventional construction. The preferred retainer has a spring-like bias capability to retain the wire strip in the groove during heating and cooling. The apparatus is supported by a metal frame which carries the apparatus without affecting the strips and/or crossovers for a possibility of a short or hot spot. The back side of the apparatus has an electrical insulation board to prevent accidental contact with the metal wire retaining means.

Abstract: A method of fabricating a truss core sandwich panel of the type including first and second face sheets secured on opposite sides of a corrugated sheet. The first face sheet is welded to one side of the corrugated sheet and the second face sheet is positioned in contact with the other side of the corrugated sheet. A conductive mandrel is positioned between the first face sheet and the corrugated sheet, the height of the mandrel being less than the distance between the first face sheet and the corrugated sheet by a predetermined amount. The first and second face sheets are positioned between opposed welding electrodes, with the mandrel being coplanar with the electrodes. A welding force is applied to the first and second face sheets by means of the electrodes, the force being sufficient to deflect the first face sheet into contact with the mandrel and to bring the mandrel into contact with the corrugated sheet to permit electrical continuity between the electrodes.

Abstract: In a tubular composite electrode for depositing stainless steel or nickel-base alloy weld metal, satisfactory performance in vertical up welding is achieved through the inclusion in the electrode core of a slag mix comprising 15 to 60% weight percent zirconium dioxide.

Abstract: A monitoring circuit for an a.c. resistance welding apparatus for can bodies is arranged to produce an output signal which is representative of the integral with respect to time of the resistive or in-phase component of the welding voltage taken over the half-cycles of welding current. The output signal is representative of the energy expended during welding, and may be used for indication or control.

Abstract: A microwave leakage-preventive device for use with a high frequency heating appliance for dielectric heating of an object by high frequency energy has a choke attenuator installed in a door for attenuation of microwaves, the choke attenuator being of the type adapted to enter an oven cavity when the door is closed. A portion of the choke attenuator is received in a recess formed within the door body, so that the choke attenuator entering the oven cavity is made smaller by an amount corresponding to the dimension thereof received in the door body. The width of the recess formed within the door body is made larger than the width of the choke attenuator entering the oven cavity, thereby providing a small-thickness door which is superior in microwave leakage prevention.

Abstract: A system and method for evenly heating semiconductor wafers in a horizontal elongated reaction tube, wherein a furnace surrounding only a part of the length of the reaction tube is caused to move so as to pass along each wafer placed in the reaction tube. The system is especially useful for processing wafers at high temperatures for a short period of time.

Abstract: In an electrode mounting device having a fixed coupling member and a removable coupling member, one coupling member has positioning projections and the other coupling member has a groove or grooves for receiving the positioning projections. These positioning projections are engaged with the grooves each other keeping a line contact or a point contact therebetween. As a result, if dust or chip is placed on the positioning projections or grooves of the coupling members, the coupling members can be accurately coupled. Furthermore, high precision is not necessarily required in preparation of the coupling members.

Abstract: The frequency of an electronic oscillator is controlled by a crystal located in the oven. The heaters in the oven include resistance elements for quick warm-up, and steady state. The circuit allows the quick warm-up power to be reduced incrementally as the set temperature is approached and effects a smooth transition to the steady-state heater. This is accomplished by circuit features which reduce the control loop gain when high power is applied to the heaters and increase the gain as the warm-up power decreases.

Abstract: A high frequency heating apparatus comprising an oven for accommodating an object to be cooked, a steam generator for supplying steam into the oven, a high frequency generator for supplying high frequency waves into said oven for cooking, and wherein said high frequency generator and said steam generator are alternately driven to cook the object with alternate heating of high frequency wave and steam.

Abstract: An arc welding process is provided with a preheating step in which a consumable wire electrode is heated prior to insertion into the electrode stick-out region. This is accomplished by the circulation of current from a preheating power supply through a segment of the wire. Both gas-metal and gas-tungsten arc welding processes are disclosed, along with apparatus used in these processes.

Abstract: The induction preheating apparatus and methods of the present invention include a furnace for selectively preheating certain portions of irregularly shaped work objects prior to heating to a final uniform temperature in another furnace. The method includes selectively controlling the intensity of the induction magnetic field to provide magnetic field portions of higher intensity adjacent those portions of work objects tending to absorb less energy and magnetic field portions of lower intensity adjacent those portions of the work object tending to absorb energy at a higher rate. The method and apparatus of the present invention are used to achieve substantially uniform temperatures in irregularly shaped work objects after final heating in a main heating furnace.

Abstract: A spark perforation apparatus includes a rotary electrode assembly for effecting spark perforation of sheet material passing between the electrodes of the assembly and a suitably juxtapositioned earthed surface. The electrode assembly comprises a first set of annular electrodes for connection to a suitable power source, a second set of annular electrodes alternating with and of greater external diameter than the electrodes of the first set, and dielectrical material spacing the electrodes so as to form a series of parallel capacitors.