Patent ID: 8571396

Claim:
An improved IR lamp heated furnace having a continuous longitudinal product treatment path through contiguous multiple processing zones, comprising in operative combination: a. at least one of said zones configured as a firing zone module which includes a high reflectance alumina ceramic element oriented to span a lateral width of said processing path, said high reflectance element having at least one face directed toward said path configured as a flat, rippled or channelled surface, said ripples or channels of said surface being oriented to span said lateral width of said processing path; b. an array of tubular IR lamps disposed in said firing zone module spaced from said high reflectance element configured face, and where said face is configured with ripples or channels, a center line of each said lamp of said array is centered in and parallel to a center line of said ripples or channels to extend across said lateral width of said processing zone; c. means for retaining said lamps in said firing zone module in spaced relationship from said high reflectance element to effectively direct IR light from said lamps into said process zone uniformly onto an exposed face of products being transported through said processing zone; d. a continuous conveyor belt for transporting products to be processed continuously through said zones; and e. a cooling system for cooling at least one annealing zone downstream of said firing zone module.