Patent ID: 9504098
Filing Date: 2016-11-22
CPC Classification: H05B

Claim Text:
1. A furnace system for hybrid microwave and radiant heating of workpieces transported through a furnace chamber, the system comprising: a housing having an inlet end and an outlet end; a chamber having a width and a length in the housing disposed between the inlet end and outlet end and having one or more zones; a conveyor for transporting workpieces through the furnace chamber from the inlet end to the outlet end; a plurality of susceptor rods each composed of high temperature microwave absorptive material, the susceptor rods being disposed across the width of the chamber in at least one zone thereof, and spaced along the length of the chamber in the at least one zone thereof and positioned above the conveyor to define a chamber through which the workpieces are transported; a plurality of microwave transparent elements each disposed between adjacent ones of the spaced susceptor rods across the width of the chamber to maintain the spacing of the susceptor rods along the length of the chamber; a plurality of microwave sources arranged to provide uniform microwave radiation in the chamber to uniformly heat workpieces transported through the chamber by the conveyor and to provide uniform heating of the plurality of susceptors; the plurality of susceptors upon microwave heating by the plurality of microwave sources providing uniform radiant heating of the workpieces transported through the chamber by the conveyor; a controller operative to control the power of the plurality of microwave sources to provide an intended thermal profile in the chamber; a microwave choke at the inlet end of the furnace chamber and a microwave choke at the outlet end of the furnace chamber and operative to minimize microwave leakage from the furnace chamber.