Abstract: An induction heating coil apparatus for heating continuous strip material comprising at least a pair of generally rectangular full-turn coils arranged in parallel relation and separated from each other to permit continuous strip material to pass axially through the open interiors of the coils. Each coil has an opening in a first end portion thereof such that continuous strip material may pass into or out of the interior of the coil apparatus. The coil apparatus further comprises a pair of shunt conductors connecting the respective coils to each other. The shunt conductors are arranged on opposite sides of the openings in the end portions of the coils for providing a continuous current path from one rectangular coil to the adjacent coil. In one preferred embodiment there is an opening in the second end portion of one coil. Two more conductors, one on each side of this opening, provide connection to the respective poles of an alternating current power source.

Abstract: A plurality of zones of an induction heating coil are individually controlled by varying the current through one or more zones of the coil to obtain a desired temperature profile in a workpiece. The current flow through a zone of the coil is determined by the conduction state of an associated saturable reactor, which is controlled in accordance with a preselected value or a variable value generated, for example, by a computer.