JP2000088472A - Gap forming apparatus between stacked materials to be heat treated - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To reduce a bulk in a height direction and to set a gap between a plurality of materials to be heat treated as needed by providing a driving means for separating between couplers disposed at upper and lower positions of couplers of the state that the couplers are coupled the materials to be heat treated. SOLUTION: A driving means 54 separates between couplers disposed at upper and lower positions of couplers 53 of the state that the couplers are coupled to materials 31 to be heat treated, and has an arm 52 and a drive source for raising the arm 52 such as, for example, a hydraulic cylinder 54a. If the material 31 is inserted into a leaving space 11 in a furnace 2 and started to be heat treated, when the cylinder 54a is operated to lift a chain of a vertically driving member 55, the chain of an uppermost part is extended, a lifting roller 53a is raised to lift a protrusion 27a of a shelf plate of an uppermost part, and a slight gas flowing space is formed at an upper part of the material 31 disposed at a lower side. Thus, heating and cooling effects in a low temperature area are remarkably expedited.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an apparatus for forming a gap between stacked heat-treated products for heat-processed products in a heat treatment furnace.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art FIGS. 1, 2, 3 and 4 are for explaining an embodiment of the present invention. In these figures, the structures denoted by reference numerals 1 to 25 and 33 to 45 are: This is a known configuration. Therefore, a conventional example will be described with reference to FIGS.

In the heat treatment furnaces shown in FIGS.
Denotes a batch type vacuum furnace as an example of a vacuum heating furnace. 2
Is a furnace shell of the vacuum furnace, which comprises a cylindrical main body 3, a cooling facility surrounding wall 3a connected to one end of the main body 3, and a door 4 provided at an entrance on the opposite side of the wall. . Each of these is constituted by, for example, a water-cooled jacket. Reference numeral 5 denotes a heat insulating wall provided as needed, and a main body 6 and its main body 6
, And a door 8 provided on the side opposite to the door 7, and a space inside the door 7 serves as a heat treatment chamber. The doors 7 and 8 are closed when the processed product is heated and opened when the processed product is cooled. Reference numeral 10 denotes a mounting table provided in the heat treatment chamber, and a space above the mounting table is a storage space 11 for processing products. Reference numeral 12 denotes a heating means disposed around the existing space 11, and an electric heater is used as an example, and is attached to a heat insulating wall.

Next, reference numeral 17 shown in FIG. 2 denotes a vacuum device for evacuating the inside of the furnace shell 2 using an oil rotary pump or other known vacuum pumps. Reference numeral 18 denotes an exhaust pipe connecting the inside of the furnace shell 2 and the vacuum device 17. Although not shown, the furnace shell 2 is connected to a gas supply means (not shown) for supplying a heat treatment gas (for example, hydrogen or a reactive gas) corresponding to the heat treatment of the processed product.

Next, referring again to FIG. 1, reference numeral 21 denotes a well-known cooling structure for processing products, which will be described below. Reference numeral 22 denotes a cooler, and reference numeral 23 denotes a circulation fan, which is driven by a fan motor 24. 25 is a motor cover for holding a vacuum.

Next, processing of a processed product using the above vacuum furnace will be described. The doors 4 and 7 are opened, and the processed product 31 is moved from the left side in FIG. 1 toward the mounting table 10 and is placed thereon. Next, the doors 4 and 7 are closed, the vacuum device 17 is operated, the inside of the furnace shell 2 is evacuated, and the heater 12 is energized to generate heat, thereby heating the processed product 31.

When a predetermined heating is applied to the processing product 31, the power supply to the heater 12 is stopped, a cooling gas is introduced into the furnace shell 2, and the cooler 22 and the fan 23 are operated in a known manner. The operation is performed to cool the processed product 31. When the cooling is completed, the doors 4 and 7 are opened to take out the processed product 31 which has been processed.

Next, FIG. 3 shows a continuous vacuum furnace as another example of the conventional vacuum heating furnace. Vacuum furnace 1e, front room
33, a main processing chamber 34, and a cooling chamber 35.
The anterior chamber 33 has an entrance 36 for receiving a processed product, and is provided with a door 37 operated by an opening / closing device 38.
The partition between the front chamber 33 and the main processing chamber 34 and the partition between the main processing chamber 34 and the cooling chamber 35 are provided. Each partition 39 is provided with an opening for passing a processed product, and the opening is provided with a door 40 operated by an opening / closing device 41. The main processing chamber 34 is provided with a heat retaining means as shown in the previous embodiment. The front chamber 33 and the main processing chamber 34 are connected to individual vacuum devices. The cooling chamber 35 has an outlet 42, in which a switchgear
A door 43 operated by 44 is provided. The cooling chamber 35 is connected to a gas supply unit (not shown) for supplying a cooling gas. A transport means 45 is provided through the front chamber 33, the main processing chamber 34, and the cooling chamber 35, for example, using rollers.

The vacuum furnace 1e as described above is used, for example, for sintering a powder metal molded product. The processed product 31e is first placed in the front room 33
And a well-known pre-processing is performed. Next, the processed product 31e is put into the main processing chamber 34, where the main heat treatment is performed in a vacuum state. In this case, the processed product 31e
The vapors resulting from are prevented from condensing as in the previous embodiment. When predetermined heat treatment is completed in the main processing chamber 34, the processed product 31e
Is placed in a cooling chamber 35, where it is cooled to a normal low temperature and then discharged from outlet 42. In the vacuum furnace 1e, both or one of the front chamber 33 and the cooling chamber 35,
A heat retaining means as shown in the previous embodiment may be provided. In addition,
Functionally, portions that are considered to be the same as or equivalent to those in the preceding figure are denoted by the same reference numerals as in the preceding figure, with the letter e added, and redundant description is omitted.

[0010]

When a heat treatment is performed on the stacked heat-treated articles using this conventional heat treatment furnace, the heat-treated articles 31 are stacked in such a manner that a large amount of the heat-treated articles 31 are placed on the small heat-insulating wall main body 6. To insert the tray 26, as shown in FIG.
It is preferable to eliminate the gap between the plurality of heat-treated articles 31 and bring them into close contact with each other. However, if the layers are densely stacked as shown in FIG. 4A, the circulation state of the atmosphere gas is poor even in a low temperature range (for example, 500 ° C. or lower) and in a high temperature range, and a sufficient convection heating (cooling) effect cannot be expected. Naturally, there is no sufficient radiant heat effect in the low temperature range,
There is a problem that the temperature distribution is poor, the temperature rise (cooling) time is long, and variations occur.

In order to solve the above problem, as shown in FIG. 4B, the heat-treated articles 31 stacked on a tray 26 are placed on a processing article shelf 30 framed by supporting columns 28 and a shelf board 27, respectively. A gas flow space (gap) 29 is formed above each article 31 to be heat-treated. In this way, the height H2 of the diagram B is higher than the height H1 of the diagram (A), as is apparent from the comparison between FIGS. 4A and 4B. Then, there is an economical problem that the inside of the furnace shell 2 and the main body 6 of the heat insulating wall must be enlarged corresponding to the height H2. At the same time, when the processing product shelf 30 is formed as shown in FIG. 4B, the heat capacity increases by the amount of the material, and the amount of contamination such as moisture and oxygen also increases. In addition, there is a problem that extra cost for manufacturing the processing product shelf 30 (the cost of the processing product shelf 30 being a consumable) increases.

An apparatus for forming a gap between stacked heat-treated articles of the present application is provided to solve the above-mentioned problems of the prior art. The purpose of the present application is to normally form a plurality of heat-treated articles 31 in a densely stacked shape, reduce the bulk in the height direction, and form a space between the plurality of heat-treated articles 31 as necessary. It is an object of the present invention to provide an apparatus for forming a gap between stacked heat-treated products. Another object is to make the shape of the shelf board interposed between the heat-treated products 31 simple by bringing the upper and lower heat-treated products 31 into close contact with each other. It is an object of the present invention to provide an apparatus for forming a gap between stacked heat-treated articles in which the number of article shelves 30 is reduced, and the heat capacity, moisture, oxygen content, and the like accompanying the article shelves 30 are reduced. Another object is that, in a continuous furnace, the bulk of the heat-treated article 31 may be increased in a furnace that processes the heat-treated article 31 at a relatively low temperature, but in a furnace that processes the heat-treated article 31 at a high temperature. It is an object of the present invention to provide an apparatus for forming a gap between stacked heat-treated products that can reduce the bulk of the heat-treated products 31. Other objects and advantages will be more readily apparent from the drawings and the following description associated therewith.

[0013]

According to the present invention, the apparatus for forming a gap between the heat-treated articles in a stacked state is provided for forming a gap between upper and lower heat-treated articles in a stacked state. A connector for detachably connecting the connector and a driving means for separating the connectors located above and below the connector in a state of being connected to the article to be heat-treated. is there.

[0014]

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing an embodiment of the present invention. 1 to 5, the functions, properties, characteristics, and the like of the components and members and the like denoted by the same reference numerals as those in FIGS. The description of the parts to be performed is omitted.

Next, an apparatus for forming a gap between the stacked heat-treated articles will be described. In the gap forming device 50 provided in the heat treatment furnace 1, reference numeral 51 denotes an arm supporting rod fixedly provided on both sides of the space 11 where the article 31 to be heat treated is present, and is connected to the furnace shell 2. Pivots at the base 52a. 53
Is a connector for detachably connecting to each of the heat-treated products, and is configured by attaching a roller to the tip of the arm 52. The illustrated example shows an example in which the article to be heat-treated is a small article, and a large number of cases are stored in the case 31. The heat-treated product 31 may be in the form of one large lump in addition to the small items in the case. In the above example, the case
The convex portions 27a are formed on both sides of the carbon shelf board 27 from the relation that the 31 is a weak configuration, but if the case is a robust configuration, it can be treated as the heat-treated product 31. As shown in FIG. 5 (B), a convex portion 27a is directly attached to the case or the lump, or a concave portion for engaging and disengaging is formed so as to be detachably connected to the connector 53. Is also good.

Numeral 54 denotes a driving means for separating the upper and lower connectors among the connectors 53, 53, 53 connected to the heat-treated articles 31, 31, 31, 31, 31. So,
The arm 52 includes a drive source for lifting the arm 52, for example, a hydraulic cylinder 54a. Reference numeral 55 denotes upper and lower driving members, each of which is connected to the arm 52 at a continuous section 56. Vertical drive member 55
As long as it is a chain or a wire which can be freely expanded and contracted by bending. The interval between the connecting portions 56, 56 is such that the lower portion is smaller and the upper portion is larger. Connector 53
As shown in the figure, the height position of the lifting roller 53a is such that when the heat-treated article 31 is inserted into or taken out of the furnace from the outside of the furnace, it does not collide with the engaging projection 27a. Are located at the intermediate positions of the two.

In the above configuration, when the article 31 to be heat-treated is inserted into the existing space 11 in the furnace 2 and heat treatment is started, the hydraulic cylinder 54a is operated to pull up the chain as the vertical drive member 55. Then, as shown in FIG. 5 (A), the uppermost chain 55a is extended, the lifting roller 53a is raised, and the convex portion 27a of the uppermost shelf is lifted, so that the upper part of the heat-treated article 31 located on the lower side is raised. A slight gas flow space 29 is formed. Subsequently, the next-stage chain 55b is extended, the next-stage lifting roller 53a is raised, and the convex portion 27a of the next-stage shelf is lifted, forming a gas flow space 29 also above the article 31 to be heat-treated at the next stage. I do. In this manner, the gas flow spaces 29 are sequentially formed on the respective upper portions of the heat-treated articles 31 located at the lower stage.

In this way, the heat-treated product 31 is
Even if it is inserted into the furnace 2 in the state of (A), in the furnace,
By the operation of the gap forming device 50, it is as if FIG.
A gas flow space 29 is formed above each heat-treated product 31 as if it were supported by the processed product shelf 30 shown in FIG.

When the gap 29 is provided above the article 31 to be heat-treated, the effect of heating and cooling in a low temperature range is remarkably promoted. For example, as shown in FIG. 4 (B), the upper and lower dimensions of the gas flow gap 29 are formed on the upper part of the heat-treated product 31 as shown in FIG. 4 (A). In the case where the gap is zero, the temperature distribution of the heat-treated product 31 is improved as follows in the former as compared to the latter. When the furnace atmosphere temperature is 100 ° C., the former is excellent at 4.8 ° C., whereas the latter is inferior to 6.7 ° C. When the furnace atmosphere temperature is 150 ° C, the former is excellent at 5.0 ° C, whereas the latter is inferior at 7.8 ° C. When the furnace atmosphere temperature is 550 ° C, the former is excellent at 8.1 ° C, whereas the latter is inferior at 11.2 ° C.

Next, a gap forming means (device) 50 shown in FIG.
5 shows an example in which a rod-shaped body generally having high heat resistance (higher heat resistance than the chain in FIG. 5A) is used as the vertical drive member 55. According to this rod-shaped body, a cooling means can be provided because bending is unnecessary. Connection point 56 of each arm 52 as described above
If the vertical drive member 55 is different in length from the base in the length direction of the arm, even if the lifting dimension of the vertical drive member 55 in the direction of the arrow is the same, each connector 53 with the arm base 52a as a fulcrum. 5A, the lifting dimensions in the directions of the arrows differ from each other in size, and as shown in FIG.
29 can be formed. These gap forming means 50 are provided inside the furnace shown in FIGS. 1 and 2. When natural air is used for cooling, an apparatus 50 is installed outside the furnace, and the article 31 to be heat-treated is placed there. 4 (A) and brought into FIG.
It may be used as in (A).

Next, for the continuous furnace shown in FIG. 3, the gap forming means 50 is provided in the pre-chamber 33 and the cooling chamber 35 for heat treatment at a relatively low temperature. This arrangement may be arranged on both sides of the passage of the article to be heat-treated 31 in the same manner as in FIGS. Of course, it may be arranged in the main processing chamber. With this arrangement, the front chamber 33 and the cooling chamber 35 are arranged as shown in FIG.
As shown in (A), heat treatment can be performed with good ventilation efficiency by providing a gap 29 between the upper and lower parts of the heat-treated articles 31 to be stacked, and in the main processing chamber 34, the gap 29 is eliminated, that is, An effect can be expected in which the overall height of the laminated heat-treated product 31 is reduced so that a large amount of the heat-treated product 31 can be heat-treated in a high-temperature processing furnace.

[0022]

As described above, according to the present invention, in the normal state, even if a plurality of articles to be heat-treated are stacked, transported in a small bulk, and subjected to a high heat treatment, if necessary, for example, in a low-temperature region, In the heat treatment, there is an effect that a gap is formed between the laminated heat-treated articles to increase the temperature rise and cooling speed, to improve the temperature distribution, or to make the cooling uniform.

In the normal state, since no space is required between the laminated heat-treated products, the processed product shelf 30 interposed between the heat-treated products is not required.
Can be made of a simple and small material, and can reduce material cost and heat capacity.

When installed in a continuous furnace, in the low-temperature region, the laminated heat-treated product is made bulky (by forming an interval 29) by using the gap forming means 50 to form a small-volume furnace for high-temperature processing. On the other hand, it is possible to expect a processing method in which the gap 29 is eliminated and a small bulk shape is used.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic sectional view of a vacuum furnace.

FIG. 2 is a sectional view taken along line II-II of FIG.

FIG. 3 is a schematic sectional view of a continuous vacuum furnace.

FIG. 4 is a schematic cross-sectional view shown for comparing the state of lamination of a heat-treated product.

FIG. 5 is a schematic cross-sectional view for explaining a connected state of stacked heat-treated products.

FIG. 6 is a schematic front view showing a different example of the gap forming device.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Vacuum furnace 2 Furnace shell 3 Furnace shell main body 4 Door 5 Insulated wall 6 Insulated wall main body 7 Door 8 Door 10 Mounting table 11 Storage space 12 Heating means 17 Vacuum device 18 Exhaust line 21 Cooling structure 22 Cooler 23 Fan 24 Fan motor 25 Motor cover 26 Tray 27 Shelf 27a Convex part 28 Support post 29 Distribution space 30 Processing product shelf 31 Heat-treated product 33 Front room 34 Main processing room 35 Cooling room 36 Inlet 37 Door 38 Opening / closing device 39 Partition wall 40 Door 41 Open / close Device 42 Exit 43 Door 44 Opening / closing device 45 Conveying means 50 Gap forming means 51 Support rod 52 Arm 52a Base 53 Connector 53a Lifting roller 54 Drive 54a Hydraulic cylinder 55 Vertical drive member 56 Linkage

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. A connector for removably connecting each heat-treated product to form a gap between upper and lower heat-treated products in a stacked state, and a connector connected to the heat-treated product. A device for forming a gap between stacked heat-treated products, comprising: driving means for separating the upper and lower connectors among connectors in a state. 2. A method for forming a gap between upper and lower portions of a stack of heat-treated articles to be placed in said space, at a side of a space where the stacked pieces of heat-treated articles are located in the heat treatment furnace. A connector for detachably connecting to the heat-treated product, and a driving means for separating upper and lower connectors from one another in a state of being connected to the heat-treated product are arranged. An apparatus for forming a gap between stacked heat-treated products. 3. In at least one chamber of the multi-chamber continuous heat treatment furnace, the upper and lower parts of the stacked heat treatment products to be placed in the space are located beside the space where the stacked heat treatment products are located in the heat treatment furnace. A connector for detachably connecting to each of the heat-treated articles so as to form a gap between them, and a connector located above and below the connectors in a state of being connected to the heat-treated article. A gap forming device between stacked heat-treated articles, wherein a driving means for separating the heat-treated articles from each other is arranged.