Apparatus for making alloy power
US5263689A · kind A · utility
Assignee
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | Feb 11, 1992 |
| Grant date | Nov 23, 1993 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Feb 11, 2012 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC B)Performing Operations; Transporting
- CPC primaryB22F2009/0856
- WIPO fieldMaterials, metallurgy
- WIPO sectorChemistry
Abstract
Apparatus for producing a metal powder includes a cooled hearth structure in which a metallic alloy is melted and a heat source above the hearth positioned to heat the melt in the hearth. The cooling of the hearth causes a protective hearth skull to form between the melt and the hearth itself. The hearth is placed within an environmental control chamber. A supply structure provides a continuous supply of the metallic alloy to the hearth structure from the exterior of the chamber. A metal powder producer is positioned to receive molten metal from the hearth, and a continuous stream of the molten alloy from the hearth is transferred to the metal powder producer. The transfer is accomplished by tipping the hearth or by teeming through an opening in the bottom of the hearth. The hearth structure can utilize two individual hearths, controllably arranged so that molten metal is drawn from one hearth while the other is recharged.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.