Frequency selected, variable output inductor heater system
First Claim
1. A multizone induction heating system comprising:
- a. a coil system divided into a plurality of zones, at least two of said zones having an electrical resonance frequency, said resonance frequencies having at least two different values;
b. a power supply having an output frequency; and
c. a control system to control the power delivered to each of said zones comprising a control circuit to change said output frequency of said power supply.
1 Assignment
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Accused Products
Abstract
An induction heating systems using a plurality of zones in a coil provides selective heating control for better uniformity especially for semiconductor and other thin film processing applications. By arranging the zones to have different resonance frequencies, the power supply may control the various zones by altering its frequency output. The power supply may also act to control the differential heating by switching among zones in conjunction with the frequency control, by sweeping through a variety of frequencies, by simultaneously providing power over different frequencies, by altering the residence time at each frequency, or by outputting different powers to each frequency or the like. Each zone may thus be tuned as appropriate to achieve the desired induction heating characteristic.
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Citations
48 Claims
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1. A multizone induction heating system comprising:
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a. a coil system divided into a plurality of zones, at least two of said zones having an electrical resonance frequency, said resonance frequencies having at least two different values;
b. a power supply having an output frequency; and
c. a control system to control the power delivered to each of said zones comprising a control circuit to change said output frequency of said power supply. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7)
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8. A multizone induction heating system comprising:
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a. a coil system divided into a plurality of zones, at least two of said zones having an electrical resonance frequency, said resonance frequencies having at least two different values;
b. a power supply having at least two simultaneously emitted output frequencies;
c. a control system to control the power delivered to each of said zones wherein said at least two output frequencies are established to cause differentiated amounts of inductive heating by said zones. - View Dependent Claims (9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29)
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30. A multizone induction heating system comprising:
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a. a coil system divided into a plurality of zones, at least two of said zones having an electrical resonance frequency, said resonance frequencies having at least two different values;
b. at least one power supply having at least one output frequency; and
c. a control system to control the power delivered to each of said zones comprising unswitched resonant circuitry which establishes the resonance frequency of each of said zones and which establishes differentiated amounts of inductive heating by said zones. - View Dependent Claims (31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42, 43, 44, 45, 46, 47, 48)
a. a first group of unswitched resonant circuitry which establishes resonance frequencies of a first group of zones; and
b. a second group of unswitched resonant circuitry which establishes resonance frequencies of a second group of zones;
and wherein said control system further comprises switching circuitry which is configured to selectively provide power to each of said groups of unswitched resonant circuitries.
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36. A multizone induction heating system as described in claim 34 wherein said variable tuning circuitry comprises frequency switching circuitry.
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37. A multizone induction heating system as described in claim 34 wherein said variable tuning circuitry comprises multiple frequency circuitry.
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38. A multizone induction heating system as described in claim 33 wherein said unswitched resonant circuitry which establishes the resonance frequency of each of said zones comprises:
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a. a first group of unswitched resonant circuitry which establishes resonance frequencies of a first group of zones; and
b. a second group of unswitched resonant circuitry which establishes resonance frequencies of a second group of zones;
and wherein said control system further comprises switching circuitry which is configured to selectively provide power to each of said groups of unswitched resonant circuitries.
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39. A multizone induction heating system as described in claim 34 wherein said variable tuning circuitry comprises resonance frequency variation circuitry.
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40. A multizone induction heating system as described in claim 39 wherein said resonance frequency variation circuitry comprises at least one variable impedance element.
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41. A multizone induction heating system as described in claim 30 wherein said control system to control the power delivered to each of said zones further comprises variable tuning circuitry configured to alter the amount of inductive heating caused by at least one of said zones.
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42. A multizone induction heating system as described in claim 41 wherein said variable tuning circuitry comprises frequency switching circuitry.
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43. A multizone induction heating system as described in claim 41 wherein said unswitched resonant circuitry which establishes the resonance frequency of each of said zones comprises:
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a. a first group of unswitched resonant circuitry which establishes resonance frequencies of a first group of zones; and
b. a second group of unswitched resonant circuitry which establishes resonance frequencies of a second group of zones;
and wherein said control system further comprises switching circuitry which is configured to selectively provide power to each of said groups of unswitched resonant circuitries.
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44. A multizone induction heating system as described in claim 41 wherein said variable tuning circuitry comprises multiple frequency circuitry.
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45. A multizone induction heating system as described in claim 41 wherein said variable tuning circuitry comprises resonance frequency variation circuitry.
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46. A multizone induction heating system as described in claim 45 wherein said resonance frequency variation circuitry comprises at least one variable impedance element.
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47. A multizone induction heating system as described in claim 30 wherein said unswitched resonant circuitry which establishes the resonance frequency of each of said zones comprises:
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a. a first group of unswitched resonant circuitry which establishes resonance frequencies of a first group of zones; and
b. a second group of unswitched resonant circuitry which establishes resonance frequencies of a second group of zones;
and wherein said control system further comprises switching circuitry which is configured to selectively provide power to each of said groups of unswitched resonant circuitries.
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48. A multizone induction heating system as described in claim 30 wherein said unswitched resonant circuitry comprises unswitched resonance frequency circuitry which primarily affects one of said zones.
Specification