Crucible Or Hearth Patents (Class 373/163)
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Patent number: 8323981Abstract: An analytical induction furnace and method for combusting conductive sample materials (500) utilizing a crucible for holding a sample within the induction furnace. Less than one gram of accelerator material is then inserted into the crucible with the sample and the induction furnace is activated for a predetermined time period (503) for thoroughly combusting the sample and accelerator. In some instances, no accelerator is required with the sample at frequencies of approximately 4.5 MHz. The invention provides for the induction furnace that is actuated in an RF frequency range between 2-9 MHz with little to no accelerator for thoroughly melting the sample for use in an analytical instrument.Type: GrantFiled: September 30, 2010Date of Patent: December 4, 2012Assignee: Leco CorporationInventors: Jason Griesbach, Ted Casper
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Patent number: 8192544Abstract: Disclosed herein is an apparatus for manufacturing a polycrystalline silicon ingot for solar batteries having a door control device using a hinge. The apparatus includes a vacuum chamber, a crucible, a susceptor which surrounds the crucible, a heater which heats the crucible, and an insulation plate which is disposed below the susceptor and has an opening therein. The apparatus further includes a cooling plate which moves upwards through the opening of the insulation plate and comes into close contact with or approaches the lower end of the susceptor, a cooling plate moving unit which actuates the cooling plate, a temperature sensor which measures the temperature of the crucible, and a control unit which controls the temperature in the crucible and the cooling plate moving unit. Furthermore, a door is provided on the insulation plate to open or close the opening of the insulation plate. The hinge is provided between the door and the insulation plate.Type: GrantFiled: October 4, 2008Date of Patent: June 5, 2012Assignee: Korea Research Institute of Chemical TechnologyInventors: Jong-Won Gil, Sang-Jin Moon, Won-Wook So
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Patent number: 8110019Abstract: The present invention is based on a novel electric induction furnace design that enables the removal of zinc-containing filter dust (FD) originating from the production of steel (alloy or non-alloy) and the production of cast iron with galvanized steel scrap, using a novel process based on the carbothermal reduction of the metal oxides present in the FD, performed at the temperature at which the materials are melted inside the electric induction furnace. The electric induction furnace of the invention incorporates an electric arc or plasma beam generator to melt all the inorganic non-metallic material. The incorporation of this generator also enables the use of large volumes of molten slag.Type: GrantFiled: October 3, 2008Date of Patent: February 7, 2012Assignee: Consejo Superior De Investigaciones CientificasInventor: Miguel Fernández López
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Publication number: 20090090296Abstract: Disclosed herein is an apparatus for manufacturing a polycrystalline silicon ingot for solar batteries having a door control device using a hinge. The apparatus includes a vacuum chamber, a crucible, a susceptor which surrounds the crucible, a heater which heats the crucible, and an insulation plate which is disposed below the susceptor and has an opening therein. The apparatus further includes a cooling plate which moves upwards through the opening of the insulation plate and comes into close contact with or approaches the lower end of the susceptor, a cooling plate moving unit which actuates the cooling plate, a temperature sensor which measures the temperature of the crucible, and a control unit which controls the temperature in the crucible and the cooling plate moving unit. Furthermore, a door is provided on the insulation plate to open or close the opening of the insulation plate. The hinge is provided between the door and the insulation plate.Type: ApplicationFiled: October 4, 2008Publication date: April 9, 2009Inventors: Jong-Won Gil, Sang-On Moon, Won-Wook So
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Patent number: 7000678Abstract: Disclosed is an electromagnetic continuous casting apparatus for a material having a low electric conductivity. The casting apparatus includes a crucible having a vertical axis. The crucible comprises an upper hot crucible and a lower cold crucible. The crucible is surrounded with an induction coil. The hot crucible is formed of a non-metallic material having a high electric conductivity and is not water-cooled. The cold crucible has a cooling structure and is formed of a metallic material having a high thermal conductivity and a high electric conductivity.Type: GrantFiled: April 11, 2005Date of Patent: February 21, 2006Assignee: Korea Institute of Industrial TechnologyInventors: Byoung Moon Mon, Sang Mok Lee, Je Sik Shin
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Patent number: 6819705Abstract: An induction-heated furnace having a shell with at least a portion lined with refractory material having walls and a floor. At least one induction heater is mounted to the floor of the furnace refractory material that communicates with the interior of the furnace through a throat. The throat length is substantially longer than the throat length of the induction heater to aid the distribution of molten metal in the furnace.Type: GrantFiled: December 20, 2002Date of Patent: November 16, 2004Inventor: Louis Johannes Fourie
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Patent number: 6393044Abstract: An induction melting system uses a crucible formed from a material that has a high electrical resistivity or high magnetic permeability and one or more inductor coils formed from a wound cable consisting of multiple individually insulated copper conductors to form an induction furnace that, along with its associated power supply, provides a compact design. The system components are air-cooled; no water-cooling is required. The induction melting system is particularly useful for separating metal from scrap, casting molds directly from the induction furnace, and providing a continuous supply of molten metal.Type: GrantFiled: April 14, 2000Date of Patent: May 21, 2002Assignee: Inductotherm Corp.Inventors: Oleg S. Fishman, John H. Mortimer, Joseph T. Belsh, Richard A. Ranlof, Aurelian Mavrodin
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Patent number: 6159884Abstract: A method and crucible for annealing SiC at high temperatures. The crucible s a vessel having a peripheral wall, at least two compartments separated by an inner wall within the peripheral wall and a lid which separates the compartments from the crucible surroundings while providing a passageway between the compartments. The peripheral wall, inner wall and lid are composed of materials capable of withstanding annealing temperatures. The process disposes an SiC wafer in one of the compartments and SiC powder disposed in another of the compartments. The SiC powder is present to hinder SiC wafer decomposition during annealing of the SiC wafer. The crucible is then heated to a temperature sufficient anneal the SiC wafer, preferably after evacuating air and flowing an inert gas in and around the crucible.Type: GrantFiled: July 19, 1999Date of Patent: December 12, 2000Assignee: The United States of America as represented by the Secretary of the ArmyInventors: Joseph R. Flemish, Honghua Du
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Patent number: 5981900Abstract: A method and crucible for annealing SiC at high temperatures. The crucible is a vessel having a peripheral wall, at least two compartments separated by an inner wall within the peripheral wall and a lid which separates the compartments from the crucible surroundings while providing a passageway between the compartments. The peripheral wall, inner wall and lid are composed of materials capable of withstanding annealing temperatures. The process disposes an SiC wafer in one of the compartments and SiC powder disposed in another of the compartments. The SiC powder is present to hinder SiC wafer decomposition during annealing of the SiC wafer. The crucible is then heated to a temperature sufficient anneal the SiC wafer, preferably after evacuating air and flowing an inert gas in and around the crucible.Type: GrantFiled: June 3, 1996Date of Patent: November 9, 1999Assignee: The United States of America as represented by the Secretary of the ArmyInventors: Joseph R. Flemish, Honghua Du
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Patent number: 5571320Abstract: The invention defines an apparatus for controlling oxygen content in Czochralski silicon crystal pullers in which silicon is melted in a quartz crucible. The apparatus includes a susceptor 10, a quartz crucible 12 in said susceptor, a cable 16 for lowering a seed crystal 14 into silicon melted in said crucible, and a combination spiral heater/magnetic coil 25 for heating and melting silicon in said crucible, and for producing a magnetic field around the crucible.Type: GrantFiled: June 7, 1995Date of Patent: November 5, 1996Assignee: Texas Instruments IncorporatedInventors: H. Michael Grimes, Farouk A. Hariri
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Patent number: 5469461Abstract: An electric induction furnace for heating various electrically conductive materials includes a pair of concentric crucibles disposed at a predetermined angle relative to a horizontal axis. The orientation of the crucibles enables the induction furnace to be directly coupled to a horizontal mold while at the same time allows venting of trapped gases and impurities in the conductive material. The configuration of the furnace further enables the casting mold to be partially inserted into the furnace, reducing heat losses of the furnace and, in turn, operating costs and also enabling the temperature of the molten material at the mold entry point to be relatively accurately controlled in order to provide castings having relatively uniform mechanical properties. The double crucible design minimizes risk of damage to the surrounding electric induction coil and further reduces the cost of replacement of a worn crucible.Type: GrantFiled: April 1, 1993Date of Patent: November 21, 1995Inventor: Martin Andrea
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Patent number: 5272720Abstract: Induction heating vessels and methods are disclosed. One embodiment of an induction heating vessel is a bottom pouring vessel with a crucible for containing a molten metal to be heated and having an outlet in the bottom. A metallic shell with integral current limiters surrounds the crucible. A stopper is provided for selectably controlling the flow of molten metal through the outlet. A method of preheating an induction heating vessel comprises placing a susceptor inside the vessel prior to charging the vessel with material to be heated and inductively heating the susceptor by an induction coil.Type: GrantFiled: June 1, 1990Date of Patent: December 21, 1993Assignee: Inductotherm Corp.Inventors: Nicolas P. Cignetti, Richard U. Swaney, John H. Mortimer
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Patent number: 4923508Abstract: The crucible includes an upstanding sidewall formed of a plurality of internally cooled, metal segments arranged in side-by side relation to form a crucible chamber for receiving the metal to be melted. The segments are separated from one another by longitudinal gaps that communicate on the inside with the crucible chamber and extend outwardly to the exterior of the sidewall. The gaps are free of packing material that could constitute a potential source of melt contamination and are so sized in a width dimension where the gap and the chamber communicate as to substantially prevent penetration of molten metal into the gaps when the metal charge is initially melted in the crucible chamber prior to the development of a solidified metal skull. Upper portions of the crucible segments are restrained against outward spreading during use to provide a crucible durable enough for use in production melting applications. The crucible eliminates the need for a CaF.sub.Type: GrantFiled: May 8, 1989Date of Patent: May 8, 1990Assignee: Howmet CorporationInventors: Randall S. Diehm, Blake K. Zuidema
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Patent number: 4888242Abstract: A refractory heat-insulating graphite sheet material characterized in that the material comprises a graphite sheet.Type: GrantFiled: May 26, 1987Date of Patent: December 19, 1989Assignee: Toyo Tanson Co., Ltd.Inventors: Koichiro Matsuo, Kazuhiro Maekawa, Teruhisa Kondo
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Patent number: 4668481Abstract: A compound-semiconductor single-crystal-manufacturing apparatus comprises a crucible for holding a molten raw material of GaAs and a liquid capsule element of B.sub.2 O.sub.3, a crucible holder, a heat element concentrically surrounding the crucible, and a heat-shielding unit surrounding the heat element, for use in manufacturing a GaAs single crystal by progressively pulling it up from the raw molten material held in the crucible by the liquid encapsulated Czochralski (LEC) process. The heat-shielding unit and crucible holder are formed by molding a sintered aluminum nitride (AlN) element.Type: GrantFiled: March 4, 1985Date of Patent: May 26, 1987Assignee: Kabushiki Kaisha ToshibaInventors: Masayuki Watanabe, Sadao Yashiro
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Patent number: 4613306Abstract: Evaporator crucible for vacuum depositing systems, having a crucible bottom with at least one bottom opening for the introduction of material in rod form for evaporation. At a distance from the bottom opening there is provided at least one metal crucible rim which preferably is provided with a coolant passage. To solve the problem of reducing the heat losses, the crucible rim is provided internally on at least a part of its depth with a lagging comprising ceramic material. This lagging preferably comprises individual ceramic building blocks which are preferably compressed from magnesium oxide.Type: GrantFiled: May 2, 1985Date of Patent: September 23, 1986Assignee: Leybold-Heraeus GmbHInventors: Volker Bauer, Albert Feuerstein, Horst Ranke
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Patent number: 4559632Abstract: A channel-type induction furnace of the teapot type comprising a crucible having a bottom, a channel-type inductor in the bottom and having a partially semi-circular channel opening into said bottom, and straight inlet and outlet melt conduits respectively extending to and from the bottom and positioned substantially tangentially with respect to said channel so as to extend straight into and from the channel.Type: GrantFiled: June 26, 1984Date of Patent: December 17, 1985Assignee: Asea AktiebolagInventor: Kare Folgero
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Patent number: 4441191Abstract: A horizontally elongated furnace to contain a molten metal flow having one end provided with an inlet and the other with an outlet for the flow. An AC powered channel-type inductor is connected to the furnace side wall at an opening below the level of the metal flow. The inductor may be removably mounted to the furnace.Type: GrantFiled: October 14, 1981Date of Patent: April 3, 1984Assignee: Asea ABInventors: Bengt Fredrikson, Bertil Hans
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Patent number: H520Abstract: A glass crucible (30) for containing a material from which a silicon crystal melt is produced, wherein the inside surface area of the crucible is increased to react with the silicon melt (31) to increase the oxygen content thereof. The inside surface area may be increased by incorporating inwardly directed silica ribs (40) or concentric, hollow silica cylinders (32) as well as forming corrugations (45) or undulations on the inside surface thereof.Type: GrantFiled: December 6, 1985Date of Patent: September 6, 1988Inventors: David L. Johnson, Robert J. Lavigna, Wen Lin, Raymond J. Newman, Subramani Rajaram, Joseph C. Veshinfsky, George Williams