Metal melting and temperature-raising supply system and molten metal supply apparatus

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-2025207859-A1
Application number	US-202418991812-A
Country	US
Kind code	A1
Filing date	Dec 23, 2024
Priority date	Dec 26, 2023
Publication date	Jun 26, 2025
Grant date	—

Abstract

In a metal melting and temperature-raising supply system, a melting apparatus heats a metal material that is in a solid state and changes the metal material to a molten metal that is in a liquid state. A temperature raising apparatus includes a heat-resistant container that houses the molten metal produced by the melting apparatus and a temperature-raising heating unit that heats the molten metal housed in the heat-resistant container. A molten metal supply apparatus provides the molten metal to an external processing equipment in a state in which a temperature of the molten metal heated by the temperature raising apparatus is maintained. A control apparatus controls an amount of metal material in the solid state changed to the molten metal by the melting apparatus and supplied to the heat-resistant container, based on an amount of molten metal supplied to the external processing equipment from the molten metal supply apparatus.

First claim

1 . A metal melting and temperature-raising supply system that melts a metal material that is in a solid state, raises a temperature of the metal material, and supplies the metal material to an external processing equipment, the metal melting and temperature-raising supply system comprising:
a melting apparatus that heats the metal material and changes the metal material to a molten metal that is in a liquid state; a temperature raising apparatus that includes a heat-resistant container that houses the molten metal produced by the melting apparatus and a temperature-raising heating unit that heats the molten metal housed in the heat-resistant container; a molten metal supply apparatus that supplies the molten metal to the external processing equipment in a state in which the temperature of the molten metal heated by the temperature-raising heating apparatus is maintained; and a control apparatus that controls an amount of metal material in the solid state changed to the molten metal by the melting apparatus and supplied to the heat-resistant container, based on an amount of molten metal supplied to the external processing equipment from the molten metal supply apparatus.

2 . The metal melting and temperature-raising supply system according to claim 1 , wherein:
the melting apparatus has an induction heating unit that heats the metal material by electromagnetic induction and is configured to change the metal material to molten metal and directly supply the molten metal to the heat-resistant container; and the control apparatus is configured to control a melting speed of the metal material by adjusting output of the induction heating unit and adjust the amount of molten metal produced in the melting apparatus.

3 . The metal melting and temperature-raising supply system according to claim 2 , wherein:
the melting apparatus has a molten-metal amount detecting unit that detects the amount of molten metal housed in the heat-resistant container; and the control apparatus is configured to control the melting speed of the metal material by adjusting the output of the induction heating unit based on the amount of molten metal detected by the molten-metal amount detecting unit, and adjust the amount of molten metal produced in the melting apparatus.

4 . The metal melting and temperature-raising supply system according to claim 3 , wherein:
the molten-metal amount detecting unit is a molten-metal surface detecting unit that detects a molten-metal surface height of the molten metal housed in the heat-resistant container; and the control apparatus is configured to control the melting speed of the metal material by adjusting the output of the induction heating unit based on the molten-metal surface height of the molten metal detected by the molten-metal surface detecting unit, and adjust the amount of molten metal produced in the melting apparatus.

5 . The metal melting and temperature-raising supply system according to claim 1 , wherein:
the temperature-raising heating unit is configured to heat the molten metal housed in the heat-resistant container with a fixed amount of heating energy.

6 . The metal melting and temperature-raising supply system according to claim 1 , wherein:
the temperature raising apparatus has a plurality of heat-resistant containers and a plurality of temperature-raising heating units respectively provided in the plurality of heat-resistant containers.

7 . The metal melting and temperature-raising supply system according to claim 1 , wherein:
the temperature raising apparatus has a cleaning processing unit that performs a cleaning process by fixed operations on the molten metal supplied to the heat-resistant container.

8 . The metal melting and temperature-raising supply system according to claim 7 , in which:
the cleaning processing unit is provided with a gas pipe that supplies inert gas to the molten metal from an arbitrary position between a center in a depth direction of the molten metal supplied to the heat-resistant container and a bottom inner wall of the heat-resistant container.

9 . The metal melting and temperature-raising supply system according to claim 1 , wherein:
the molten metal supply apparatus has a molten metal supply container o which the molten metal is removed from the heat-resistant container and held in a sealed space, and a weight measuring unit that measures weight of the molten metal supply container in three axial directions in an orthogonal coordinate system set in the molten metal supply container; and the control apparatus calculates an amount of molten metal removed from the heat-resistant container to the molten metal supply container based on the weight of the molten metal supply container measured by the weight measuring unit before the molten metal is removed from the heat-resistant container to the molten metal supply container and the weight of the molten metal supply container measured by the weight measuring unit after the molten metal is removed from the heat-resistant container to the molten metal supply container.

10 . The metal melting and temperature-raising supply system according to claim 9 , wherein:
the control apparatus is configured to suction the molten metal at a required amount from the heat-resistant container to the molten metal supply container while continuously measuring the weight of the molten metal supply container by the weight measuring unit when the molten metal is suctioned from the heat-resistant container to the molten metal supply container.

11 . The metal melting and temperature-raising supply system according to claim 9 , wherein:
the molten metal supply apparatus has a molten-metal temperature detecting unit that detects a temperature of the molten metal held in the molten metal supply container and a molten metal supply heating unit that heats the molten metal held in the molten metal supply container; and the control apparatus is configured to adjust energy with which the molten metal is heated in the molten metal supply heating unit based on the temperature of the molten metal detected by the molten-metal temperature detecting unit.

12 . The metal melting and temperature-raising supply system according to claim 9 , wherein:
the molten metal supply apparatus has a thermal insulation wall provided on an outer side of the molten metal supply container, and the thermal insulation wall is composed of a material having lower thermal conductivity than the molten metal supply container, whereby heat dissipation of the molten metal held in the molten metal supply container can be suppressed.

13 . The metal melting and temperature-raising supply system according to claim 9 , wherein:
a bottom inner wall of the molten metal supply container has a tapered shape at an angle exceeding 0° in relation to a virtual plane perpendicular to an axis of the molten metal supply container.

14 . A molten metal supply apparatus that supplies a molten metal obtained by melting a metal material to an external processing equipment, the molten metal supply apparatus comprising:
a molten metal supply container to which the molten metal is removed from a heat-resistant container that houses the molten metal, and held in a sealed space; a weight measuring unit that measures weight of the molten metal supply container, and a control apparatus that calculates an amount of molten metal removed from the heat-resistant container to the molten metal supply container, based on a difference between the weight of the molten metal supply container measured by the weight measuring unit before the molten metal is removed from the heat-resistant container

Assignees

• Denso Corp

Inventors

• Ozeki Yasuhito
• Kawabata Yuki
• Inoue Takaya
• Arai Tsuyoshi

Classifications

• C22C1/026

  Alloys based on aluminium · CPC title

• Y02P10/25

  Process efficiency · CPC title

• C22C21/00

  Alloys based on aluminium · CPC title

• C22C1/12

  by processing in a semi-solid state, e.g. holding the alloy in the solid-liquid phase · CPC title

• F27D11/00

  Arrangement of elements for electric heating in or on furnaces · CPC title