| INDUCTOTHERM CORP. Patent applications |
| Patent application number | Title | Published |
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| 20140339221 | ELECTRIC INDUCTION GAS-SEALED TUNNEL FURNACE - A reinforced electric induction gas sealed tunnel furnace is provided. The assembled tunnel furnace has a tunnel wall that has the exterior wall transversely surrounded by structural reinforcing elements that give the tunnel structural strength to withstand a pressure differential between the interior and exterior of the tunnel, for example, when the tunnel interior environment is a vacuum and the tunnel exterior environment is at atmospheric pressure. One or more inductors form the induction coil system for the N tunnel furnace and can be located external to the tunnel wall, but within or adjacent to, the structural reinforcing elements. In alternative arrangements the structural reinforcing elements may be oriented with the length of the tunnel and installed either within or external to the tunnel. The tunnel and the structural reinforcing elements are sufficiently electromagnetically transparent to not interfere with inductive heating of a strip passing through the tunnel. | 11-20-2014 |
| 20140254621 | Electric Induction Heating and Stirring of an Electrically Conductive Material in a Containment Vessel - Apparatus and method are provided for electric induction heating and/or stirring of a molten electrically conductive composition in a containment vessel with the apparatus being removably insertable in the molten composition. An induction coil embedded in refractory or a coating is submerged in the composition and used to heat and/or stir the molten composition either externally or internally to the refractory or coating. | 09-11-2014 |
| 20140250950 | Purification of Silicon by Electric Induction Melting and Directional Partial Cooling of the Melt - The present invention is apparatus for, and method of, purification of silicon by electric induction heating and melting of silicon in a crucible or susceptor vessel, with subsequent directional partial cooling of the silicon melt to an initial amorphous-to-crystalline (solidification) temperature to produce a directionally solidified purified quantity of silicon and a separate quantity of high impurity silicon. The quantity of high impurity silicon is removed from the vessel and the purified quantity of silicon at solidification temperature is remelted in the vessel for removal from the vessel or further processing. | 09-11-2014 |
| 20140041414 | Remote Cool Down of a Purified Directionally Solidified Material From an Open Bottom Cold Crucible Induction Furnace - Solid or semi-solid feedstock is melted in an open bottom electric induction cold crucible furnace. Directionally solidified multi-crystalline solid purified material continuously exits the bottom of the furnace and may optionally pass through a thermal conditioning chamber before being gravity fed into a transport mold where an ingot of the purified multi-crystalline solid material is transported to a remote holding area after the transport mold is filled with the multi-crystalline material and cut from the continuous supply of material. Cool down of the ingot is accomplished remote from the open bottom of the electric induction cold crucible furnace. | 02-13-2014 |
| 20140029644 | Melting and Mixing of Materials in a Crucible by Electric Induction Heel Process - Apparatus and method are provided for electric induction heating and melting of a transition material that is non-electrically conductive in the solid state and electrically conductive in the non-solid state in an electric induction heating and melting process wherein solid or semi-solid charge is periodically added to a heel of molten transition material initially placed in a refractory crucible. Induction power is sequentially supplied to a plurality of coils surrounding the exterior height of the crucible at high power level and high frequency with in-phase voltage until a crucible batch of transition material is in the crucible when the induction power is reduced in power level and frequency with voltage phase shifting to the induction coils along the height of the crucible to induce a unidirectional electromagnetic stir of the crucible batch of material. | 01-30-2014 |
| 20130008888 | Electric Induction Impeder - An impeder for use in an electric induction welding process is provided. Optionally the impeder does not require internal forced cooling. In embodiments using internal forced cooling a high efficiency cooling system is provided. | 01-10-2013 |
| 20130001219 | Electric Induction Impeder - An impeder for use in an electric induction welding process is provided. Optionally the impeder does not require internal forced cooling. In embodiments using internal forced cooling a high efficiency cooling system is provided. | 01-03-2013 |
| 20120192392 | Compression Clamping of Semiconductor Components - The present invention relates to a method of clamping a semiconductor assembly with a desired compression force equally distributed across the opposing surfaces of the devices and associated components of the semiconductor assembly. | 08-02-2012 |
| 20100301038 | Induction Heat Treatment of Workpieces - An apparatus and process are provided for induction heating of a workpiece. The workpiece is moved through an inductor to inductively heat treat the workpiece with electric power of varying frequency and duty cycle or amplitude control to control the magnitude of electric power as the frequency changes. Alternatively the workpiece may be stationary and the inductor can be moved along the workpiece, or combined and coordinated movement of both the workpiece and inductor can be used. | 12-02-2010 |
| 20090314768 | Gradient Induction Heating of a Workpiece - An apparatus and process are provided for gradient induction heating or melting of a workpiece with a plurality of induction coils, each of the plurality of induction coils is connected to a power supply that may have a tuning capacitor connected across the input of an inverter. The plurality of induction coils are sequentially disposed around the workpiece. The inverter has a pulse width modulated ac power output that may be in synchronous control with the pulse width modulated ac power outputs of the other power supplies via a control line between the controllers of all power supplies. | 12-24-2009 |
| 20090291320 | Bonding of Materials with Induction Heating - An apparatus and process are provided for forming a two-metal flat bonded article. A flat metal sheet in solid form is placed in the indention of a heat resistant plate. A second heat resistant plate is placed over the flat metal sheet in the indentation to form a flat metal sheet enclosure. The flat metal sheet enclosure is placed in a U-shaped inductor assembly embedded with a solenoidal induction coil. Supply of alternating current to the solenoidal induction coil inductively heats the flat metal sheet after which the sheet is withdrawn from the inductor assembly. The second heat resistant plate is removed and a bond metal in liquid form is placed over the top surface of the flat metal sheet in the indentation so that the two-metal flat bonded article is formed as the bond metal solidifies. | 11-26-2009 |
| 20090230121 | Electric Induction Impeder - An impeder for use in an electric induction welding process is provided. Optionally the impeder does not require internal forced cooling. In embodiments using internal forced cooling a high efficiency cooling system is provided. | 09-17-2009 |
