Hod of converting a fuel burning batch annealing furnace to a gas plasma heat source type

Claim 1

The method of converting a batch annealing furnace of the type having fuel burning equipment, a hearth floor, an inner boxlike cover having a closed upper end and an open bottom sealable end adapted to rest about the floor and to provide a treatment chamber to enclose the charge to be annealed, an outer box-like cover having a closed upper end and an open bottom end and a refractory lining therein and being adapted to rest surrounding said inner cover, comprising the steps: a. removing such selected fuel burning equipment from the furance as is required to complete the conversion; b. installing a gas fed plasma generator with its associated electrical power and any necessary cooling supply external of the furnace and proximate the hearth floor; c. forming aperture means in the hearth floor to provide a gas path therethrough and in communication with the chamber formed by said inner cover; d. installing plasma gas supply means to feed the generator a gas suited to both plasma arc formation and to employment as a controlled atmospheric annealing gas for said inner cover chamber; e. installing temperature control means arranged to sense the furnace operaTing temperatures at appropriate sensing points and to use the sensed temperature values to control the temperature of the heated gas fed to the said inner cover chamber; f. installing auxiliary gas supply means proximate the generator to provide any auxiliary gases required to supplement for treating purposes such gas as is fed to said generator and passed to said chamber; and h. piping the heated gas output of said generator and any gas provided by said auxiliary supply through piping having control valves connected to said temperature control and having communication through said floor aperture and having communication through said floor aperture with said inner chamber whereby upon energization of said generator and appropriate control of said valves said chamber receives a heated gas mixture of predetermined temperature and comprising at least in part a portion of the gas fed to and heated by said generator.

Claim 2

The method of converting a batch annealing furnace of the type having fuel burning equipment, a hearth floor, an inner boxlike cover having a closed upper end and an open bottom sealable end adapted to rest about the floor and to provide a treatment chamber to enclose the charge to be annealed, an outer box-like cover having a closed upper end and an open bottom end and a refractory lining therein and being adapted to rest surrounding said inner cover, comprising the steps: a. removing such selected fuel burning equipment from the furance as is required to complete the conversion; b. installing a gas fed plasma generator with its associated electrical power and any necessary cooling supply external of the furnace and proximate the hearth floor; c. forming aperture means in the hearth floor to provide a gas path therethrough and in communication with the chamber formed by said inner cover; d. installing plasma gas supply means to feed the generator a gas suited to both plasma arc formation and to employment as a controlled atmospheric annealing gas for said inner cover chamber; e. installing temperature control means arranged to sense the furnace operaTing temperatures at appropriate sensing points and to use the sensed temperature values to control the temperature of the heated gas fed to the said inner cover chamber; f. installing auxiliary gas supply means proximate the generator to provide any auxiliary gases required to supplement for treating purposes such gas as is fed to said generator and passed to said chamber; and h. piping the heated gas output of said generator and any gas provided by said auxiliary supply through piping having control valves connected to said temperature control and having communication through said floor aperture and having communication through said floor aperture with said inner chamber whereby upon energization of said generator and appropriate control of said valves said chamber receives a heated gas mixture of predetermined temperature and comprising at least in part a portion of the gas fed to and heated by said generator.