Induction heating apparatus and method
US5257281A · kind A · utility
Assignee
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | Jan 31, 1990 |
| Grant date | Oct 26, 1993 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Jan 31, 2010 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC H)Electricity
- CPC primaryH05B6/36
- WIPO fieldElectrical machinery, apparatus, energy
- WIPO sectorElectrical engineering
Abstract
An induction melting vessel comprising a refractory crucible having an opened top end and closed bottom end, with a substantially continuous side wall. A substantially continuous metallic shell surrounds and generally conforms to the side wall and extends for at least a majority of the height of the side wall from the bottom end to the top end. The shell has a bottom end corresponding to the bottom end of the crucible and a top end corresponding to the top end of the crucible. A portion the shell adjacent the top end thereof and a portion of the shell adjacent the bottom end thereof have discrete physically integral but electrically isolated regions therein for limiting the flow of electric current in the shell. In one embodiment of the invention, the regions are defined by a plurality of slits through the shell and extending from the top and bottom ends thereof toward the respective opposite ends. The slits have a length not exceeding have the distance to the respective opposite end. In an alternate embodiment of the invention, the regions are defined by a plurality of electrically isolated laminations arranged generally perpendicularly to the shell side wall.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.