Railless Support of Billets within Electric Induction Heating Coils
AssigneeInductoheat, Inc.
InventorsChirag G. Sitwala, Gary A. Doyon, Doug R. Brown
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A railless billet electric induction heating apparatus and method is provided where billets are continuously or statically heated by induction by moving the billets without billet support rails through an induction coil supplied with alternating current power when the billets are in direct sliding contact with the interior surface of a clay graphite billet slider disposed within the induction coil. The clay graphite billet slider can also provide thermal insulation between the induction coil and the clay graphite billet slider to eliminate the requirement for a separate induction coil refractory.
Claims22
A clay graphite billet slider for moving a billet through an at least one induction coil supplied with an alternating current with the billet seated on the clay graphite billet slider when moving through the at least one induction coil.
A railless billet electric induction heating system comprising:
- an at least one induction coil;
- an at least one alternating current power source connected to the at least one induction coil;
- and
- a clay graphite billet slider disposed within each of the at least one induction coil, the clay graphite billet slider electrically isolated from the at least one induction coil, an interior surface region of the clay graphite billet slider forming a billet slider surface for moving a billet seated on the interior surface region of the clay graphite billet slider through the at least one induction coil to statically or continuously heat the billet to a target temperature.
A hot working process system comprising:
- a railless billet electric induction heating system comprising:
- an at least one induction coil;
- an at least one alternating current power source connected to the at least one induction coil;
- and
- a clay graphite billet slider disposed within each of the at least one induction coil, the clay graphite billet slider electrically isolated from the at least one induction coil, an interior surface region of the clay graphite billet slider forming a billet slider surface for moving a billet seated on the interior surface region of the clay graphite billet slider through the at least one induction coil to statically or continuously heat the billet to a target hot working temperature to form a heated billet at an exit from the at least one induction coil and;
- a hot working apparatus for receiving the heated billet to form a hot worked article of manufacture.
A method of forming a billet electric induction heating system, the method comprising:
- providing an at least one induction coil connected to an at least one alternating current power source;
- inserting a clay graphite billet slider within each of the at least one induction coil, the clay graphite billet slider having an interior billet through opening with an interior slider surface for sliding a billet seated on the interior slider surface through the at least one induction coil;
- and
- electrically isolating the clay graphite slider inserted within the at least one induction coil from the at least one induction coil.
A method of hot working a billet heated to a hot working target temperature, the method comprising:
- moving the billet through a clay graphite billet slider disposed within at least one induction coil supplied with an alternating current by sliding the billet from an entrance of the at least one induction coil on an interior surface of the clay graphite billet slider in a static or continuous inductive heating of the billet through the at least one induction coil to the hot working target temperature to form a heated billet at an exit of the at least one induction coil;
- transferring the heated billet from the exit of the at least one induction coil to a hot working apparatus;
- and
- hot working the heated billet in the hot working apparatus to form an article of manufacture.
A railless billet electric induction heating system comprising:
- an at least one induction coil;
- an at least one alternating current power source connected to the at least one induction coil;
- a refractory within the at least one induction coil;
- and
- a clay graphite billet carrier for moving a billet disposed in the clay graphite billet carrier through the at least one induction coil in sliding contact with the refractory.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.