Endless belt seed crystal gripping and pulling means

Claim 2

Apparatus according to claim 1 wherein said means supporting said carriage for vertical movement comprises at least two vertically extending guide rods, and further including a bed plate through which said guide rods extend, and releasable clamp means carried by said bed plate for releasably locking said guide rods to said bed plate.

Claim 3

Apparatus according to claim 1 wherein said first drive means comprises a stationary vertically extending gear rack and means including a gear in engagement with said rack and carried by said carriage driving said gear along said rack so as to move said carriage vertically at a rate determined by the rate of travel of said gear along said rack.

Claim 4

Apparatus according to claim 1 wherein said first and second drive means includes fiRst and second clutches, and further wherein said control means includes means for selectively operating said clutches.

Claim 5

Apparatus according to claim 1 further including means for urging said vertical belt runs toward each other whereby to maintain said belts in tight gripping relation with an elongate crystalline body interposed between said vertical runs.

Claim 6

Apparatus for the continuous growth of a crystalline material from a melt comprising means for supporting a crucible for containing a melt of said material, heating means for controlling the temperature of a melt of said material contained in a crucible supported by said support means, a carriage means mounting said carriage for reciprocal vertical movement above a crucible supported by said support means, selectively operable first drive means for moving said carriage upwardly relative to a crucible supported by said support means, first and second sprocket means carried by said carriage, first and second endless belts mounted for endless movement on said first and second sprocket means respectively with the path of movement of each belt including a vertical run, the vertical run of said second belt being adjacent to but spaced horizontally from the vertical run of said first belt, said belts also being mounted so that the space between their vertical runs is aligned with a crucible supported by said support means, for urging the vertical runs of said belts toward each other so as to grip therebetween an elongate crystal issuing from said crucible, selectively operable second drive means connected to said sprocket means for causing movement of said belts so that said vertical runs are upward, and means for selectively operating said first and second drive means.

Claim 7

Apparatus according to claim 7 further including means for preventing movement of said belts when said carriage is being moved by operation of said first drive means.

Claim 8

Apparatus according to claim 7 further including selectively disengageable brake means adapted when engaged to lock said carriage against vertical movement.

Claim 9

Apparatus according to claim 9 further including means for disengaging said brake means when said first drive means is operated and reengaging said brake means when said second drive means is operated.

Claim 10

Apparatus according to claim 7 wherein said first drive means comprises a rack and pinion mechanism.

Claim 11

Apparatus according to claim 11 wherein said rack and pinion mechanism comprises a stationary vertically extending rack and a pinion gear which travels along said rack, and further wherein said first drive means includes powered means carried by said carriage for rotatably driving said pinion gear along said rack.

Claim 12

Apparatus according to claim 12 further including a motor carried by said carriage, and further wherein said powered means includes a drive gear driven by said motor and coupled to said pinion gear.

Claim 13

Apparatus according to claim 13 further including a selectively releasable clutch connected between said drive gear and said pinion gear.

Claim 14

Apparatus according to claim 13 wherein said second drive means is connected to and powered by said motor.

Claim 15

Apparatus according to claim 7 wherein said second drive means includes a selectively engageable clutch.

Claim 16

Apparatus according to claim 7 further including means for counterbalancing said carriage.

Claim 17

Apparatus for pulling an extended crystal from a melt comprising a horizontal bed, means supporting said bed, a furnace mounted on said bed, said furnace having a chamber with an opening at its top end for withdrawing a crystalline body issuing from a melt in said chamber, an elongate guide structure for a carriage extending up from said bed, means releasably clamping said guide structure in fixed relation to said bed, and a crystal-pulling mechanism for pulling a crystal issuing from a melt in said chamber, said crystal-pulling mechanism comprising a carriage slidably mounted on said guide structurE for reciprocal vertical movement relative to said bed, means for raising and carriage along said guide structure, and crystal-gripping means mounted on said carriage for pulling a crystalline body from a melt contained in said furnace chamber, said crystal-gripping means including horizontally opposed first and second resilient means and pressure-exerting means for forcing said first and second resilient means into tight gripping relation with a crystalline body interposed between said resilient means.

Claim 18

Apparatus according to claim 18 wherein said first and second resilient means are portions of first and second endless belts.

Claim 19

Apparatus according to claim 19 wherein said pressure-exerting means comprise first and second movable jaws which bear against said endless belt portions.

Claim 20

Apparatus according to claim 19 wherein said pressure-exerting means comprise means for directing a pressurized fluid against said endless belt portions.

Claim 21

Apparatus according to claim 18 further including means supporting said belts and defining endless paths of movement for said belts, said endless paths including vertical runs and said portions constituting at least part of said endless runs, and means for preventing movement of said belts along said endless paths while said carriage is moving along said guide structure.

Claim 22

Apparatus according to claim 22 further including drive means for causing movement of said belts along said endless paths while said carriage is stationary, whereby to effect pulling of said issuing crystalline body by said belts while said carriage is stationary.

Claim 23

Apparatus according to claim 18 wherein said chamber has an opening at its bottom end for introduction of a crucible for containing said melt, a crucible carriage below said bed, and means mounting said crucible carriage for movement toward and away from said bed.

Claim 24

Apparatus according to claim 24 further including means for counterbalancing said crucible carriage.

Claim 25

A mechanism for pulling a continuous crystal issuing from a melt contained in a crucible, said mechanism comprising a carriage having crystal-gripping means, means supporting said carriage for vertical movement, selectively operable drive means for raising said carriage so as to effect pulling of a crystal gripped by said gripping means, said crystal-gripping means comprising a pair of endless belts, means on said carriage mounting said belts for movement along endless paths with each path having a vertical leg, said vertical legs being adjacent to but spaced from each other, selectively operable drive means for moving said belts along said endless paths so as to move in an upward direction along said vertical legs, means for pressing those portions of said belts travelling along said vertical legs into gripping relation with a crystal interposed between said legs, and means for selectively operating one or the other of said carriage and belt drive means so that a continuous crystal issuing from a melt and gripped by said belts may be pulled by raising said carriage or moving said belts.

Claim 26

Apparatus according to claim 26 wherein said carriage and belt drive means are adapted to raise said carriage and move said belts at substantially the same speed.