External Cooling System for Transportable Metal Thermal Treatment Bell
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current vacuum furnaces for metal thermal treatment are large in size, making them non-transportable and inefficient for processing small quantities of metal, as they require extensive dimensions for cooling systems that integrate within the bell, complicating reduction in size and increasing costs.
Innovation Solution
The cooling system is relocated externally to the bell, forming a closed circulation path for a cooling fluid that circulates through a thermal exchanger, allowing for reduced bell dimensions while maintaining efficient cooling, and enabling the equipment to be mobile and easily transported.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If the cooling system is integrated within the bell, then the cooling function is provided, but the bell dimensions become very big and the equipment becomes non-transportable
Solution Approach 1:
The cooling system is extracted from the bell structure and placed externally. The patent describes a cooling system with a heat exchanger, pump, and reservoir that operates outside the bell, connected through fluid conduits. This extraction removes the bulky cooling components from the bell, significantly reducing its dimensions while maintaining the cooling function through the external system.
2Volume of moving object
If the bell dimensions are reduced for transportability, then the equipment becomes mobile, but the cooling system becomes inefficient and hard to realize
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces an external cooling system as an intermediary between the bell and the cooling function. The cooling system includes a heat exchanger that receives hot fluid from the bell through conduits, cools it externally, and returns the cooled fluid to the bell. This intermediary external system allows the bell to be small and transportable while maintaining efficient cooling through the dedicated external cooling infrastructure.
3Reliability
If the cooling system is integrated within the bell, then the cooling function is provided, but the equipment becomes fixed and installation costs increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the thermal treatment equipment into separate functional modules: the bell for thermal treatment, an external cooling system with heat exchanger and pump, and a fluid circulation system connecting them. This segmentation allows each component to be manufactured, tested, and installed independently, reducing overall installation complexity and enabling the equipment to be assembled in different locations without moving the entire integrated system.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
This configuration allows for efficient cooling without increasing the bell's size, making the equipment compact, transportable, and cost-effective for thermal treatment of limited metal pieces, reducing installation time and costs.
Implementation Method 1
an assembly of thermal exchange (100; 200; 300) to lower the temperature reached in the receiving cavity (20)
Implementation Method 2
a closed circulation path for a cooling fluid injected in the receiving cavity (20), in such a way as to be able to operate the lowering of temperature on the pieces internally arranged
Data Source
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AI summary
The present invention concerns an equipment for the thermal treatment of metal pieces. The equipment comprises : - A bell (10) provided with a receiving cavity (20) into which to be able to position one or more than one metal pieces to be thermally treated; - Heating means to raise the internal temperature of the receiving cavity (20) to a pre-established value and; - An assembly of thermal exchange (100; 200; 300) to lower the temperature reached in the receiving cavity (20) in such a way as to operate the pre-established thermal treatment on the pieces. In accordance with the invention, the assembly of thermal exchange (100; 200; 300) is arranged externally to the bell (10) in such a way as to allow a reduction of the overall dimensions of the said bell.