Die oven and method of operating a die oven
AssigneeGranco-Clark, Inc.
InventorsJeffrey D. Brach, John C. Bugai
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
An infrared die oven has a die cradle for holding a die. A thermocouple is positioned within the die cradle to maintain it in direct contact with the die. A controller connected to the thermocouple continually reads the temperature of the die. When the die reaches a threshold temperature, the intensity of an infrared heating elements in the oven is reduced. When the die reaches the desired temperature, the controller continuously adjusts the intensity of the heater to maintain the die at the desired temperature.
Claims28
A die oven for heating a die comprising:
- a heater, the heater having a heating intensity;
- a die cradle for holding the die;
- a temperature gauge in physical contact with the die when the die is placed in the die oven, the temperature gauge producing a die temperature signal;
- and
- a controller coupled to the temperature gauge and the heater, the controller controlling the heater in response to the die temperature signal.
A method for operating a die oven for heating a die, the die oven having a controller, a thermocouple in direct contact with the die, a heater, the heater having an intensity, and a controller, the controller coupled to thermocouple and the infrared heating elements, comprising:
- reading the thermocouple to obtain a die temperature;
- and
- adjusting the intensity in response to the die temperature.
A method for operating a die oven for heating a die, the single cell die oven having a controller, a thermocouple in direct contact with the die, an infrared heating elements having an intensity, and a controller, the controller coupled to thermocouple and the infrared heating elements, comprising:
- energizing the infrared heating elements at a first intensity level;
- continuously reading a die temperature from the thermocouple;
- when the die temperature exceeds a threshold temperature, energizing the infrared heating elements to a second intensity level;
- and
- when the die temperature reaches a desired temperature, energizing the infrared heating elements to a third intensity level.
A die cradle for an infrared die oven comprising:
- a first mantle;
- a second mantle;
- a first rod extending laterally across the first mantle;
- a second rod extending laterally across the second mantle;
- and
- where the first mantle and the second mantle are arranged to form a “V”.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.