×

Casting gap control system

  • US 4,399,861 A
  • Filed: 12/22/1980
  • Issued: 08/23/1983
  • Est. Priority Date: 09/11/1979
  • Status: Expired due to Term
First Claim
Patent Images

1. In an improved apparatus for flow casting metal strip of the type that includes, in combination:

  • a crucible for holding molten metal;

    a movable chill body, providing a chill surface for deposition thereon of the molten metal for solidification; and

    a generally rectangular orifice, through which the molten metal may pass across a gap defined by the distance from the crucible to the chill surface, long sides of the orifice oriented generally perpendicular to the direction of motion of the chill surface, the improvement comprising;

    (a) means for setting a desired value for the gap;

    (b) gap measurement means, including a light source for providing a focused light beam at each of two short sides of the orifice, beam-shifting means for continually scanning the beam across the gap at the short sides of the orifice, and detection means associated with the beam shifting means for sensing time-varying intensities of the light beams after they have passed through the gap;

    (c) means associated with said detection means for comparing measured values of the time varying intensities of the light beams with desired values and for generating deviation signals in response to a comparison of the measured values with desired values that indicate any differences; and

    (d) means associated with said comparison means for translating the crucible perpendicular to the direction of travel of the chill surface in response to one deviation signal and for rotating the crucible, about an axis parallel to the direction of travel of the chill surface, in response to an other deviation signal, so as to minimize the differences.

View all claims
  • 2 Assignments
Timeline View
Assignment View
    ×
    ×