US Patent 7210516 Casting apparatus and method therefor

A casting apparatus including a die that contains a molten metal that is poured via an opening section disposed above the die. The casting apparatus also includes a heater disposed above the die, and a gas supplying structure for supplying an inter gas to a surface of the molten metal. The casting apparatus further includes a lid disposed between the surface of the molten metal and the heater, and a lid moving structure for moving the lid to the die relatively so as to control the opening amount of the opening section above the die.