Abstract:
Furnace furniture ( 10 ) comprising a modular assembly of cast link parts ( 20 ) arrayed in rows and cast connector parts ( 30 ) mechanically connecting the cast link parts ( 20 ) together. The metal for the cast parts can be formulated to accommodate particular thermal-treatment circumstances. 
     And the modular assembly method allows the fabrication of many furnace-furniture designs from a standard inventory of cast metal parts.

Description:
RELATED APPLICATION 
       [0001]    This application claims priority under 35 U.S.C. §119(e) to U.S. Patent Application No. 61/381,649 filed on Sep. 10, 2010. The entire disclosure of this provisional patent application is hereby incorporated by reference. To the extent that any inconsistencies exist between the provisional patent application and the present disclosure, the latter governs for the purposes of resolving indefiniteness issues. 
     
    
     BACKGROUND 
       [0002]    Furnace furniture is used to hold, position, or otherwise support workpieces while they are subjected to thermal treatment steps. The workpieces, and thus also the furnace furniture, have typically and traditionally encountered intense temperature swings during treatment cycles. And the relatively recent advents of vacuum chambers and gas quenching steps have further exaggerated such swings, as well as reducing cycle times. 
       SUMMARY 
       [0003]    The present invention provides furnace furniture which comprises an assembly of cast metal parts mechanically connected together (e.g., with threaded cast connector parts). When compared to, for example, furnace-furniture assemblies comprising wrought parts, the furniture of the present invention needs to make much few thermal-expansion concessions, resulting in diminished distortion and deterioration. It can be made rigid, dimensionally stable, and still relatively lightweight, whereby the overall workpiece process is blessed with enhanced robotic compatibility and improved energy efficiency. And with cast parts, the metal can be formulated to accommodate particular thermal-treatment circumstances. Moreover, the associated assembly method allows the fabrication of many furnace-furniture designs from a standard inventory of cast metal parts. 
     
    
     
       DRAWINGS 
         [0004]      FIGS. 1A-1B ,  2 A- 2 B,  3 A- 3 B,  4 A- 4 B,  5 A- 5 B,  6 A- 6 B, and  7 A- 7 B show some of the possible forms of the furnace furniture  10 . 
           [0005]      FIGS. 8A-8B ,  9 A- 9 B,  10 A- 10 B,  11 A- 11 B,  12 A- 12 B,  13 ,  14 ,  15 , and  16  show cast link parts  20 . 
           [0006]      FIGS. 17A-17B  and  18 A- 18 B show cast connector parts  30 . 
           [0007]      FIGS. 19A-19C ,  20 A- 20 C,  21 ,  22 , and  23  show cast rail parts  40 . 
           [0008]      FIGS. 24A-24B  show cast post parts  50 . 
           [0009]      FIGS. 25A-25B  show cast bracket parts  60 . 
           [0010]      FIG. 26  shows an inventory  70  of cast parts for making the furnace furniture. 
       
    
    
     DESCRIPTION 
       [0011]    Referring now to the drawings, and initially to  FIGS. 1A-1B ,  2 A- 2 B,  3 A- 3 B,  4 A- 4 B,  5 A- 5 B,  6 A- 6 B, and  7 A- 7 B, various forms of furnace furniture  10  are shown. The furnace furniture  10  includes a modular assembly of cast parts which can include cast link parts  20 , cast connector parts  30 , and other cast parts, such as cast rail parts  40 , cast post parts  50 , and/or cast bracket parts  60 . 
         [0012]    The modular assembly method allows the fabrication of many furnace-furniture designs from the same cast metal parts. For example, the furniture  10  can take the form of a tray comprising a floor  11  on which workpieces can be placed. ( FIGS. 1A-1B ,  2 A- 2 B,  3 A- 3 B,  4 A- 4 B, and  5 A- 5 B.) The floor  11  can comprise a single-level array ( FIGS. 1A-1B  and  2 A- 2 B) or it can comprise a multiple-level array ( FIGS. 3A-3B ,  4 A- 4 B, and  5 A- 5 B). 
         [0013]    The furniture  10  can also take the form of a basket in which workpieces can be placed. ( FIGS. 6A-6B  and  7 A- 7 B.) The basket can comprise a floor  11  and sides  12  extending upward from the edges thereof. The sides  12  can comprise a single row or plural rows of the cast link parts  20  to tailor them to a desired height. 
         [0014]    The furnace furniture  10  can be characterized by an absence of wrought parts. By constructing the assembly only from cast parts, issues with distortion and deterioration are dramatically decreased. And the furniture  10  can be fabricated at about the same cost, and often more economically, than an analogous assembly comprising both cast and wrought parts. 
         [0015]    The cast metal parts can be made from iron-based heat resistant alloys and/or iron-based corrosion resistant alloys. At least some of the cast metal parts can be made from the same alloy and/or at least some of the cast metal parts can be made from different alloys. For example, all of the cast link parts  20  can be made from the same alloy, all of the cast connector parts  30  can be made from the same alloy, and/or all of the cast rail parts  40  can be made from the same alloy, these alloys being the same or different. 
         [0016]    Alternatively, the cast parts can be made from different alloys, so as to customize the furniture  10  for its intended thermal conditions and/or load requirements. For an example, the cast link parts  20  in a load-supporting region of the furniture  10  may be made of more corrosion-resistant alloy than surrounding link parts  20 . 
         [0017]    Referring to  FIGS. 8A-8B ,  9 A- 9 B,  10 A- 10 B,  11 A- 11 B,  12 A- 12 B,  13 ,  14 ,  15  and  16 , some possible forms of the cast link parts  20  are shown. The cast link parts  20  each include a wall structure  21  surrounding a compartment  22 . The wall structures  21  can have any suitable shape, such as the illustrated polygonal (e.g., octagonal) profile. A cast link part  20  can have a single wall structure  21  surrounding a single compartment  22  ( FIGS. 8A-8B  and  10 A- 10 B), two wall structures  21  surrounding dual compartments  22  ( FIGS. 9A-9B , and  11 A- 11 B), or more wall structures  21  and/or compartments  22  ( FIGS. 12A-12B ). 
         [0018]    At least some of the cast link parts  20  include a lateral wall  23  having an opening  24  extending transversely therethrough for receipt of one of the cast connector parts  30 . If the cast link parts  20  are to be used with cast rail parts  40 , the openings  24  can be between, within, and/or on platforms  25  ( FIGS. 10A-10B ,  11 A- 11 B, and  12 A- 12 B). The platforms  25  can prevent rotation and/or provide appropriate spacing relative to the cast rail parts  40 . 
         [0019]    If the cast link parts  20  are to be used with cast post parts  50 , such as is shown in  FIGS. 3A-3B  and  4 A- 4 B, they can comprise a pedestal  26  having a post-receiving channel  27  extending therethrough ( FIGS. 13-14 ). The channels  27  can be threaded ( FIG. 15 ) or unthreaded ( FIG. 16 ) depending upon the post design. The pedestal  26  can be located within the compartment  22  of the wall structure  21  and connected thereto by spokes  28  ( FIG. 13 ). Alternatively, the pedestal  26  can be located adjacent to, but outside of, the compartment  22  of the wall structure  21  ( FIG. 14 ). 
         [0020]    Referring to  FIGS. 17A-17B  and  18 A- 18 B, the connector parts  30  can comprise bolts  31  with external threads  32  and/or nuts  33  with internal threads  34 . The bolt  31  has a hexagonal head  35  and is adapted for insertion through the openings  24  in the cast link parts  20  and/or analogous openings in the cast rail parts  40  (namely openings  44 , introduced below). The nut  32  has a hexagonal rim  36  and is adapted to mate with the external threads  32  of a bolt  31 . 
         [0021]    While the illustrated connector parts  30  comprise mating components, this need not be the case. Bolt-like shafts with external threads could be incorporated into other cast parts (e.g., the link parts  20  and/or the rail parts  30 ) whereby the connector parts  30  could comprise internally threaded parts  33 . Alternatively, internal threads could be integrated into the other cast parts whereby the connector parts could comprise just externally threaded parts  32 . 
         [0022]    Referring now to  FIGS. 19A-19C  and  20 A- 20 C, the cast rail parts  40  can each comprise a beam  41 . The beam  41  can comprise, for example, a web  42  that resists shear forces and flanges  43  that resist bending moment. Openings  44  are provided in the beams  41  (e.g., the web  42 ), for receipt of a cast connector part  30 . The cast rail parts  40  can comprise I-beams  41  situated, for example, between adjacent link-part rows, and/or U-beams  41  situated, for example, along outside link-part rows. If the rail link parts  40  are to be used with cast post parts  50  such as shown in  FIGS. 5A-5B , they can comprise a pedestal  46  having a post-receiving channel  47  extending therethrough ( FIG. 21 ). The channels  47  can be threaded ( FIG. 22 ) or unthreaded ( FIG. 23 ) depending upon the post design. 
         [0023]    Referring to  FIGS. 24A-24B , the cast post parts  50  can each comprise an elongated rod  51  having a suitable shape, such as the illustrated crucible cross section. The lower end portion  52  is adapted for insertion into the channels  27  of the cast link parts  20  and/or the channels  47  of the cast rail parts  40  are shown. Accordingly, this end portion  52  can be threaded or unthreaded. Radial flanges  53  and/or a top cap  54  can also be provided. 
         [0024]    Referring to  FIGS. 25A-25B , the cast bracket parts  60  can each comprise a first leg  61  and a second leg  62  extending perpendicular therefrom, either or both of which can have an opening  64  for receipt of a cast connector part  40 . As is best seen by referring briefly back to  FIG. 1F-1G , the cast bracket parts  60  can be used to construct floor-side corners with basket furniture  10 . 
         [0025]    Referring to  FIG. 26 , an inventory  70  of cast parts for making the furnace furniture  10  is shown. The inventory  70  can comprise, for example, cast link parts  20 , cast connector parts  30 , cast rail parts  40 , cast post parts  50 , and/or cast bracket parts  60 . In any event, the modularity the cast parts permits fabrication of many furnace-furniture designs from such a standard inventory. 
         [0026]    One may now appreciate that the furnace furniture  10  comprises an assembly of cast metal parts mechanically connected together. Although the furniture  10  and the cast parts have been shown and described with respect to certain embodiments, various modifications and additional configurations will be apparent to those skilled in the art. 
       REFERENCE NUMBERS 
       [0000]    
       
           10 =furnace furniture 
           11 =floor 
           12 =sides 
           20 =cast link parts 
           21 =wall structure 
           22 =compartment 
           23 =lateral wall 
           24 =connector openings 
           25 =platform 
           26 =pedestal 
           27 =channel 
           28 =spokes 
           30 =cast connector parts 
           31 =bolt 
           32 =external threads 
           33 =nut 
           34 =internal threads 
           35 =hexagonal bolt head 
           36 =hexagonal rim 
           40 =cast rail parts 
           41 =beam 
           42 =web 
           43 =flanges 
           44 =connector openings 
           46 =pedestal 
           47 =channel 
           50 =cast post parts 
           51 =rod 
           52 =end portion 
           53 =radial flanges 
           54 =top cap 
           60 =cast bracket parts 
           61 =leg 
           62 =leg 
           64 =connector openings 
           70 =inventory