System for maintaining interior volume integrity in an induction vacuum furnace and method of making same

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9657992-B2
Application number	US-201314422524-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	May 3, 2013
Priority date	Aug 30, 2012
Publication date	May 23, 2017
Grant date	May 23, 2017

Abstract

An induction furnace for heating a workpiece includes a chamber and an insulation cylinder positioned therein, with the insulation cylinder including a base cover movable between first and second positions, and the first position positioning the workpiece within a heating zone and the second position positioning the workpiece within a cooling zone. A translation system in the furnace includes a first member coupled to the base cover of the insulation cylinder and extending through a wall of the chamber, an actuator coupled to the first member, the actuator configured to translate the first member to move the base cover of the insulation cylinder between the first and second positions, and an expansion member encircling a portion of the first member and configured to hermetically seal an interior volume of the chamber from an environment volume external to the chamber.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. An induction furnace for heating a workpiece, the induction furnace comprising:
a chamber;
an insulation cylinder positioned within the chamber, the insulation cylinder including a base cover that is selectively movable between a first position and a second position, wherein the first position is configured to position the workpiece within a heating zone of the induction furnace and wherein the second position is configured to position the workpiece within a cooling zone of the induction furnace;
a cylindrically shaped cooling manifold positioned in the cooling zone, the cylindrically shaped cooling manifold constructed to surround the base cover when the base cover is in the second position within an inner wall of the cylindrically shaped cooling manifold;
a heat exchanger configured to draw hot air from the chamber;
a blower configured to blow cooled air that has passed through the heat exchanger into the cooling zone via the cooling manifold; and
a translation system comprising:
a first member coupled to the base cover of the insulation cylinder and extending through a wall of the chamber;
an actuator coupled to the first member, the actuator configured to translate the first member to move the base cover of the insulation cylinder between the first and second positions; and
an expansion member encircling a portion of the first member and configured to hermetically seal an interior volume of the chamber from an environment volume external to the chamber.

2. The induction furnace of claim 1 wherein the expansion member comprises a first bellows encircling the first member and configured to:
elongate when the first member moves the base cover of the insulation cylinder toward the open position; and
shorten when the first member moves the base cover of insulation cylinder toward the closed position.

3. The induction furnace of claim 2 further comprising a coupling device configured to couple the first bellows to the wall of the chamber, wherein the first member is configured to extend through an interior volume of the coupling device.

4. The induction furnace of claim 1 further comprising a vacuum pump configured to create a vacuum within the chamber.

5. The induction furnace of claim 4 wherein the expansion member is configured to maintain a vacuum pressure in the chamber during movement of the base cover of the insulation cylinder from the closed position toward the open position.

6. The induction furnace of claim 1 wherein the actuator is coupled to the wall of the chamber external to an interior volume of the chamber.

7. The induction furnace of claim 6 further comprising a plate configured to couple the actuator to one of the expansion member and the first member.

8. The induction furnace of claim 1 wherein the actuator comprises one of a pneumatic piston, a hydraulic piston, an electro-mechanical piston, and a manual actuator.

9. The induction furnace of claim 1 further comprising a conduction member configured to conductively transfer heat away from the workpiece when the workpiece is positioned within the cooling zone.

10. The induction furnace of claim 1 wherein the cylindrically shaped cooling manifold comprises:
a plurality of walls configured to define a hollow interior volume of the the cylindrically shaped cooling manifold, the plurality of walls including the inner wall an outer wall and top and bottom walls;
an air port formed in the outer wall of the cylindrically shaped cooling manifold, the air port being connectable to the blower; and
a plurality of gas ports formed in the inner wall of the cylindrically shaped cooling manifold so as to be spaced apart around a perimeter of the inner wall of the cylindrically shaped cooling manifold;
wherein cooled air received from the blower is passed through the hollow interior volume of the cylindrically shaped cooling manifold and exits the plurality of gas ports so as to provide a distributed and uniform airflow across a workpiece supported by the base cover.

11. The induction furnace of claim 1 further comprising:
an induction coil positioned to surround at least a portion of the insulation cylinder; and
a susceptor positioned within the insulation cylinder, the susceptor being inductively heated by the induction coil when a current is provided to the induction coil.

12. An induction furnace for cooling a workpiece, the induction furnace comprising:
a chamber having a susceptor positioned therein, wherein an interior volume of the susceptor defines a heating zone located within the chamber configured to be inductively heated by an induction coil when a current is provided to the induction coil and wherein the chamber has a cooling zone positioned therein outside of the interior volume of the susceptor;
a support system coupled to a base of the susceptor, the support system extending through the wall of the chamber;
an actuator coupled to the support system and configured to selectively translate the support system to move the base of the susceptor to translate a workpiece tray supported by the base of the susceptor between a first position in the heating zone and a second position in the cooling zone;
a cylindrically shaped cooling manifold positioned in the cooling zone, the cylindrically shaped cooling manifold constructed to surround the workpiece tray when the workpiece tray is in the second position within an inner wall of the cylindrically shaped cooling manifold;
a heat exchanger configured to draw hot air from the chamber;
a blower configured to blow cooled air that has passed through the heat exchanger into the cooling zone via the cylindrically shaped cooling manifold; and
an expansion system configured to surround a portion of the support system to hermetically seal the heating and cooling zones from an environment volume external to the chamber.

13. The induction furnace of claim 12 wherein the actuator and the expansion system are positioned within the environment volume.

14. The induction furnace of claim 13 wherein the actuator is coupled to the support system via a plate.

15. The induction furnace of claim 14 wherein the actuator is configured to translate the support system via translation of the plate.

16. The induction furnace of claim 12 wherein the support system comprises a first support and a second support; and wherein the expansion system comprises a first bellows and a second bellows configured to respectively surround a portion of the first support and a portion of the second support.

17. A method of making an induction furnace comprising:
coupling an insulation cylinder within a chamber;
providing the insulation cylinder with a heating chamber and a cooling chamber, the insulation cylinder including a base cover that is selectively movable between a first position in the heating chamber and a second position in the cooling chamber, wherein the second position is configured to seal an interior volume of the insulation cylinder;
coupling a cylindrically shaped cooling manifold in the cooling zone, the cylindrically shaped cooling manifold constructed to surround the base cover when the base cover is positioned in the second position within an inner wall of the cylindrically shaped cooling manifold;
providing a heat exchanger configured to draw hot air from the chamber;
providing a blower configured to blow cooled air that has passed through the heat exchanger into the cooling zone via the cylindrically shaped cooling manifold;
coupling an induction coil to surround at least a portion of the insulation cylinder;
coupling

Assignees

• Gen Electric
• Gh Induction Atmospheres Llc

Inventors

• Steinlage Gregory Alan
• Szugye Michael Louis
• Poquette Ben David
• Vansumeren Mark Andrew
• Wilcox Dale R
• Costantino Peter M
• Turnia Timothy C
• Dallicardillo Giovanni A

Classifications

• F27B5/14

  Arrangements of heating devices · CPC title

• F27B2005/062

  Cooling elements · CPC title

• F27B14/061

  Induction furnaces · CPC title

• Y10T29/49826

  Assembling or joining · CPC title

• F27D11/06

  Induction heating, i.e. in which the material being heated, or its container or elements embodied therein, form the secondary of a transformer · CPC title