Apparatus of this class is Characterized by the following: (1) Specialized to the use of electricity as the heat source; (2) heating within a chamber, enclosure, or other holding means; (3) melting of a charge (e.g., materials such as crushed ore or scrap), or preserving a melted charge in a molten state; and (4) manipulated, or operated in an industrial environment.
Processes of Operating the Apparatus of the above paragraph, per se, which do not recite a specific metallurgical treatment step.
Residual Industrial Electric Furnace Processes not elsewhere classifiable.
Industrial Electric Furnaces not elsewhere classifiable.
Apparatus used to simulate electric furnace operations and that is not elsewhere classifiable.
SUBCOMBINATIONS OF INDUSTRIAL ELECTRIC FURNACES PROVIDED FORIN THIS CLASS
Any subcombination within the purview of the Statement of Class Subject Matter, above, and disclosed as having primary utility as part of an industrial electric furnace apparatus. Other subcombinations (e.g., charge stirring apparatus) either claimed in conjunction with nominally disclosed industrial furnace apparatus, or disclosed as having primary utility in an industrial furnace apparatus except as enumerated by Exclusions, below.
COMBINATIONS OF OTHER APPARATUS WHICH INCLUDES APPARATUS OFTHIS CLASS
Control Systems, or disparate device regulators not elsewhere classifiable are classified in this class.
Noninteractive combinations where the industrial electric furnace apparatus is more than nominally claimed, or where the combination is not elsewhere classifiable are classified in this class.
EXCLUSIONS
(1) An Industrial Electric Furnace which is a subcombination of a claimed encompassing system;
(2) Residential, or home heating furnace systems, or devices;
(3) Electrical Heating Apparatus with Furnacelike Enclosure, or holding means where: (a) there is no disclosure of utility relating to charge melting, or preserving in a molten state, or (b) any utility requiring melting is incorporated in a specific metallurgical treatment step (e.g., welding) which is elsewhere classifiable;
(4) Furnace apparatus powered by electricity whose primary principle of operation is unrelated to heating (e.g., electrolytic furnaces).
(5) Furnace apparatus of the charging and discharging type, wherein the furnace is only nominally recited. For example, a furnace apparatus of the aforementioned type only nominally reciting an electric furnace having a heating element will be found with the particular charging and discharging type.
REFERENCES TO OTHER CLASSES
SEE OR SEARCH CLASS 65, Glass Manufacturing, appropriate subclasses for nonelectric glass furnaces and furnace devices.
75, Specialized Metallurgical Processes, Compositions for use
Therein, Consolidated Metal Powder Compositions, and Loose Metal Particulate Mixtures, appropriate subclasses for processes of consolidating metalliferous material or extracting, refining, or melting metals and
10.1+, for electric reduction processes not directed merely to processes of operation or manipulation of the furnace.
110, Furnaces, appropriate subclass, for furnaces of general utility, especially
235+, for incinerators for the disposal of waster material, which incinerators may have structure to render a molten material, including metals, disposable.
117, Single-Crystal, Oriented-Crystal, and Epitaxy Growth Processes; Non-Coating Apparatus Therefor, for non-coating apparatus for growing therein-defined single-crystal of all types of materials, including those having means for zone melting.
118, Coating Apparatus,
58+, for coating apparatus combined with heating means for drying the coating, or for effecting a metallurgical treatment, e.g., annealing, of a coated article, or of an article which is about to be coated, and subclasses 726+ for details of crucible structures which contain coating material during vaporization.
126, Stoves and Furnaces, appropriate subclasses for structural features peculiar to stoves and furnaces, see particularly
343.5, for melting furnaces, or domestic utility.
159, Concentrating Evaporators, appropriate subclasses for electrically heated furnaces for vaporizing liquid for the specific purpose of concentrating attendant solids. 164, Metal Founding, appropriate subclasses for metal casting apparatus which may employ electric heating means.
175, Boring or Penetrating the Earth,
16, for an electrical heating process, or device for forming a hole in the earth by directly applying heat to fluidize, or comminute the material forming the earth.
196, Mineral Oils: Apparatus,
121, for vaporizing devices with electric heating means.
204, Chemistry: Electrical and Wave Energy, appropriate subclasses for electrical furnaces and electrical processes for electrolysis, or for using electrical energy to cause chemical change as distinguished for its use for mere
heating.
219, Electric Heating, which is the generic class for heating electrically, as welding, metal heating, domestic heating, heating articles, or fluids.
222, Dispensing,
591+, especially subclasses 592+ for ladles, or tundishes used to dispense molten metals. Such dispensing vessels may include means to treat the molten metal where such a treatment is solely ancillary to and supportive of the dispensing operation, e.g., spout heaters to prevent clogging of the vessel outlet.
236, Automatic Temperature and Humidity Regulation,
15, for automatic temperature, or humidity control in combustion furnaces. 237, Heating Systems,
48, for furnace heating system ventilation.
241, Solid Material Comminution or Disintegration, appropriate subclass, especially
65+, for comminuting, or disintegrating means, per se, or combined with heating means which do not effect a change in the chemical nature of the material being treated.
250, Radiant Energy,
251, for molecular, or atomic beam devices for producing and propagating an unidirectional stream of neutral molecules, or atoms through a vacuum, usually at thermal velocity, subclasses 324+ for methods and apparatus to irradiate materials by corona radiation, subclass 423 for methods and apparatus to generate ions, subclasses 428+ for methods and apparatus to support, contain, or transfer fluent material with, or without an irradiating source, subclasses 453.1+ for methods and apparatus including supports for objects to be irradiated with, or without an irradiating source, subclasses 458.1+ for methods and apparatus to irradiate luminophors, subclass 492.1+ for methods and apparatus to irradiate objects, or materials generally, and subclasses 472.1+ for invisible radiation generation and sources, particularly subclasses 493.1+ for neutron generators.
264, Plastic and Nonmetallic Article Shaping or Treating: Processes,
30, for methods of forming, or repairing furnace linings by shaping, e.g., molding, fluent refractory material.
266, Metallurgical Apparatus, for electric, or nonelectric features of metallurgical furnaces not limited to
characteristics of an electric furnace (except electric heating or pouring spout, or material at discharge area when only disclosed in an electric furnace).
313, Electric Lamp and Discharge Devices,
327, for self-baking electrode structures, per se. 315, Electric Lamp and Discharge Devices: Systems, appropriate subclasses for systems for supplying electric current to arc furnaces provided that the arc furnace is only nominally disclosed.
323, Electricity: Power Supply or Regulation Systems, for electrical power supply, or regulating systems with nominally disclosed electric furnace devices.
327, Miscellaneous Active Electrical Nonlinear Devices, Circuits, and Systems,
365+, for miscellaneous gating circuits, subclasses 509+ for miscellaneous externally effected circuits, subclasses 518+ for miscellaneous control circuits, and subclasses 538+ for miscellaneous bias circuits with regulating.
336, Inductor Devices, for inductive devices, per se.
376, Induced Nuclear Reactions: Processes, Systems, and Elements,
107, 121+ and 144 for means utilizing an electrically controlled plasma to produce a thermonuclear reaction.
414, Material or Article Handling,
147+, for furnace charging apparatus, or for furnace chargers combined with that specific furnace structure which is solely for facilitating the movement of the material into the furnace.
432, Heating, appropriate subclass, for heating apparatus of general utility.
501, Compositions: Ceramic, appropriate subclasses for furnace lining compositions.
GLOSSARY:ARC
A prolonged electrical discharge, or series of prolonged discharges between two electrodes, or between an electrode and a current carrying material.
CHANNEL
A hollow loop, or ring which will contain material to be
heated, and which permits the insertion of a core of iron to improve the coupling between a primary coil and a secondary in the loop, or ring.
CHARGE
The material heated by the furnace.
CHARGING
The function of supplying a charge to a furnace.
CRUCIBLE
A component of the furnace which holds, or otherwise contains the charge.
DISCHARGING The function of removing a charge from a furnace.
ELECTRODE
An electrical conducting element that emits, or collects electrons, or ions, or controls their movement by means of an electric field on it.
ELECTRON BEAM
A narrow stream of electrons moving in the same direction under the influence of an electric, or magnetic field.
ELECTROSLAG DEVICE
Apparatus enabling one, or more electrodes to be immersed in a slag layer which floats on top of the melt.
FILAMENT
A slender thread of material.
FURNACE
A chamber, enclosure, or other holding means for heating materials therein.
GLOW DISCHARGE The phenomenon of electrical conduction in gasses shown by a slight luminosity, without great hissing, or noise, and without appreciable heating, or volatilization of the electrode, when the electrostatic pressure exceeds a certain value.
HEARTH
The part of the furnace upon which the charge is placed and
melted down, or refined.
INDUCTION HEATING
The method of producing heat in a charge by placing it in a electromagnetic relationship with an inducing winding, the charge forming the secondary.
INGOT
The casting obtained when molten metal is poured into a mold with the expectation that it be further processed.
PLASMA
A wholly, or partially ionized gas in which the positive ions and the negative electrons are roughly equal in number.
ROOF
A cover, or lid for the furnace. SLAG
A more, or less completely fused and vitrified material separated during the reduction of a metal from its ore which generally floats on top of the molten metal during the heat reduction processes found in this class.
ZONE MELTING
A process where a selected area of a charge is heated in liquification.