Cooling gas injection nozzle for a vacuum heat treating furnace

摘要

A nozzle (16) for injecting a cooling gas in a vacuum heat treating furnace (20) comprising a forward portion (21) with a first central opening (23) formed therethrough and a rear portion (25) with a second central opening (27) formed therethrough. A flap (31) is disposed in and pivotably supported in the first central opening (23) and operates to substantially prevent the escape of heat from a hot zone (12) of the furnace (20) during a heating cycle, but permits the injection of the cooling gas into the furnace hot zone during a cooling cycle. The cooling gas injection nozzle (16) is supported from the hot zone wall by any appropriate means. A vacuum heat treating furnace (10) and a hot zone (12) therefor incorporating the cooling gas injection nozzle (16) are also described. <IMAGE>