Rotary barrel salt bath metal melting and testing furnaces

Claim 1

A METAL MELTING AND TREATING FURNACE FOR MELTING AND TREATING OXIDIZABLE METALS AND THE LIKE COMPRISING A CYLINDRICAL HOUSING, A FLUID HEAT TRANSFER MEDIUM IN SAID CYLINDRICAL PORTION, A FRUSTO-CONICAL END PORTION ON ONE END OF SAID HOUSING, SPACED CHORDAL ENCLOSED PASSAGES BEGINNING ADJACENT THE INNER PERIPHERY OF THE HOUSING AND EXTENDING TOWARD THE FRUSTO-CONICAL APEX AND ADAPTED TO DELIVER FLUID HEAT TRANSFER MEDIUM TO THE SAID APEX, A TROUGH EXTENDING INTO THE APEX OF SAID FRUSTO CONICAL END TO RECEIVE FLUID FROM SAID PASSAGES AND EXTENDING OUT OF SAID CONICAL END TO DISCHARGE OUTSIDE SAID END, BURNER MEANS DIRECTING A FLAME THROUGH SAID CYLINDRICAL HOUSING, ROTARY WELL MEANS ADJACENT AND SPACED FROM THE APEX RECEIVING FLUID FROM SAID TROUGH, LIFT MEANS IN SAID WELL DIVIDING SAID WELL INTO SEGMENTS RECEIVING THE METAL FROM TREATMENT, DRIVE MEANS SEPARATELY ROTATING SAID CYLINDRICAL HOUSING AND SAID WELL, FEEDER MEANS EXTENDING INTO THE WELL MEANS AT THE END OPPOSITE THE TROUGH DELIVERING METAL TO BE TREATED TO SAID SEGMENTS, DISCHARGE MEANS EXTENDING INTO THE WELL MEANS AT THE END OPPOSITE THE TROUGH RECEIVING SOLID TREATED METAL FROM THE SEGMENTS AND DISCHARGING IT EXTERNALLY OF THE WELL, RETURN MEANS EXTENDING BETWEEN THE WELL AND FRUSTO-CONICAL END DELIVERING THE FLUID HEAT TRANSFER MEDIUM TO THE INTERIOR OF THE HOUSING AND MOLTEN METAL DISCHARGE COMMUNICATING FROM SAID WELL TO THE EXTERIOR OF SAID WELL DELIVERING MOLTEN METAL THEREFROM.