Patent ID: 7293986

Claim:
A forced-air cooling process chamber for heat treating a product, the forced-air cooling process chamber comprising: a housing; a flow passage disposed about a periphery of the housing, the flow passage allowing for a flow of a temperature adjusting medium about the periphery of the housing; and a vestibule assembly disposed at a first end of the housing, the vestibule assembly being in fluid communication with the flow passage, the vestibule assembly comprising: an axially outer ring, the axially outer ring having a first groove, the first groove being formed in an axially inwardly facing surface of the axially outer ring, the first groove having at least a portion being open in both a radially outer direction and an axially inner direction; and an axially inner ring, the axially inner ring having a second groove, the second groove being formed in an axially outwardly facing surface of the axially inner ring and open in an axially inner direction where the first groove and the second groove form a passageway when the first groove and the second groove are placed in an axially superimposed relationship, the passageway having a radially outwardly open end formed by the first groove and an axially inwardly facing end formed by the second groove, the passageway being in fluid communication with the flow passage thereby allowing passage of the temperature adjusting medium wherein the flow passage and the vestibule assembly provide low particulate contamination within the forced-air cooling process chamber.