JP2010022920A - Vacuum processing device - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a vacuum processing device capable of additionally charging a required amount of a material to be processed rapidly and repeatedly, when the material to be processed is processed inside a vacuum vessel. <P>SOLUTION: The vacuum processing device 1 comprises a vacuum vessel 10, an evacuation means 20 for vacuumizing the interior 10a of the vacuum vessel 10 to create a vacuum atmosphere, a processing means 30 for processing a material to be processed W as specified inside the vacuum vessel 10, and a feeder mechanism 40 to feed the material W to the processing means 30. The feeder mechanism 40 is installed in the interior 10a of the vacuum vessel 10 and is equipped with a storage part 41 for the material W to be stored and a conveying means 43 for unloading as much the material W as required from the storage part 41 and conveys it to the processing means 30. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2010,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a vacuum processing apparatus that performs predetermined processing on an object to be processed in a vacuum atmosphere.

As an apparatus for performing a physical or chemical treatment on an object to be processed in a vacuum atmosphere, for example, there is a vacuum induction melting furnace that heats and melts a metal or an alloy in a vacuum atmosphere. Such a vacuum induction melting furnace includes a vacuum chamber that is airtight with respect to the outside air, an induction heating coil that is supplied with AC power in the vacuum chamber, and a workpiece that is an object to be processed inside the induction heating coil. A crucible for storing molten metal, a material placing table on which an object to be additionally charged is placed, and a pusher that operates from outside the vacuum chamber to push the object to be treated on the material placing table into the crucible. (For example, refer to Patent Document 1). In such a vacuum induction melting furnace, if an AC power is supplied to the induction heating coil with the vacuum chamber as a vacuum atmosphere, the object to be processed inside the crucible will generate heat and melt. Furthermore, by operating the pusher, it is possible to add an object to be processed into the crucible while the vacuum chamber is kept in a vacuum atmosphere, and easily and quickly without contaminating the atmosphere inside the vacuum chamber. It is said that an additional charge can be added to the workpiece.
JP-A-6-330203

  However, in the vacuum induction melting furnace of Patent Document 1, although it is possible to perform additional charging with the inside of the vacuum chamber in a vacuum atmosphere, the amount of additional charging is limited to one additional charging. Is limited to the amount of the object to be processed previously placed on the material placing table, and could not be finely adjusted.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above-described circumstances, and when processing an object to be processed inside a vacuum chamber, a desired amount of the object to be processed is additionally charged promptly and repeatedly. A vacuum processing apparatus capable of satisfying the requirements is provided.

In order to solve the above problems, the present invention proposes the following means.
The present invention includes a vacuum chamber, an exhaust unit capable of exhausting the inside of the vacuum chamber to a vacuum atmosphere, a processing unit that performs a predetermined process on an object to be processed inside the vacuum chamber, and the processing unit including the processing target A vacuum processing apparatus including a supply mechanism for supplying an object, wherein the supply mechanism is provided inside the vacuum chamber, and stores a storage part in which the object to be processed is stored; And a conveying unit that takes out a desired amount of the item and conveys it to the processing unit.

  According to this configuration, when a predetermined process is performed on the workpiece in a vacuum atmosphere, first, the inside of the vacuum chamber is evacuated to a vacuum atmosphere by the exhaust unit. In this state, processing is performed by the processing means inside the vacuum chamber, thereby enabling processing of the object to be processed in a vacuum atmosphere. In this process, when it is necessary to add an object to be processed, the supply mechanism is driven. That is, a necessary amount of the object to be processed is taken out from the object to be processed stored in the storage unit by the conveying means and conveyed to the processing means. Thus, the processing means can perform processing on the workpieces added by the amount conveyed by the conveying means. Here, in the supply mechanism, since the storage section is provided inside the vacuum chamber, when supplying the object to be processed to the processing means, there is no need to switch valves or re-exhaust by the exhaust means. The object to be processed in the storage unit can be quickly supplied to the processing means. In addition, the transport means can take out the necessary amount of the object to be processed in the storage unit and convey it, and does not necessarily convey all the objects to be processed in the storage part at one time. An object to be processed can be supplied to the repetitive processing means.

  In addition, the conveying means is arranged such that one side can receive the object to be processed of the storage unit and the other side is arranged to supply the object to be processed to the processing means, and a trough on the trough It is preferable to have a vibration generating unit that vibrates the trough so that the workpiece can be moved from the one side toward the other side.

  According to this configuration, the object to be processed delivered from the storage unit to one side of the trough is sequentially conveyed toward the other side by the vibration given from the vibration generating unit. For this reason, the object to be processed is continuously supplied to the processing means located on the other side, and the supply amount of the object to be processed can be adjusted according to the conveying speed and the conveying time.

Moreover, it is preferable that the said conveyance means has a control part which controls the vibration by the said vibration part so that the said to-be-processed object on the said trough may become a desired conveyance amount.
According to this configuration, by controlling the vibration by the control unit, for example, by controlling the amplitude and frequency of the vibration, the object to be processed can be transported at a suitable transport speed. The supply amount can be adjusted.

  In addition, the supply mechanism includes a measuring unit that measures the weight of the object to be processed in the storage unit, and the control unit of the transport unit is configured to change the weight of the object to be processed measured by the measuring unit. Accordingly, it is preferable to control the vibration by the vibration generating unit.

  According to this configuration, by measuring the weight of the object to be processed in the storage unit by the measuring unit, the change in the weight of the stored object to be processed by taking out the object to be processed from the storage unit by the transport unit is monitored. be able to. And a control part can supply the desired amount of to-be-processed object to a process means more correctly by a conveyance means by controlling the vibration by a vibration part based on the measurement result by a measurement means.

In addition, the processing means includes a crucible for storing the object to be processed, and an induction heating coil that is provided outside the crucible and heats the object to be processed in the crucible by supplying power. A vacuum induction melting furnace for melting the object to be processed in the crucible is preferable.
According to this configuration, the object to be processed can be heated and dissolved by the induction heating coil in a vacuum atmosphere while supplying the object to be processed into the crucible quickly and repeatedly as necessary by the supply mechanism.

  According to the vacuum processing apparatus of the present invention, when the processing object is processed inside the vacuum chamber, the processing object can be additionally charged promptly and repeatedly when the supply mechanism is provided.

FIG. 1 shows an embodiment according to the present invention, and shows a vacuum induction melting furnace for melting metal or the like as an example of a vacuum processing apparatus for processing an object to be processed in a vacuum atmosphere. As shown in FIG. 1, a vacuum induction melting furnace 1 includes a vacuum chamber 10 that hermetically closes an interior 10a, and a vacuum pump 20 that is an exhaust means that can exhaust the interior 10a of the vacuum chamber 10 until a predetermined pressure is reached. As a processing means, a dissolution processing unit 30 that heats and dissolves the workpiece W such as metal and a supply mechanism 40 that supplies the workpiece W to the dissolution processing unit 30 are provided. The vacuum chamber 10 includes a main body 11 in which the dissolution processing unit 30 is accommodated, and a supply unit 12 in which the supply mechanism 40 is accommodated. The main body 11 and the supply unit 12 are communicated with each other by a communication unit 13. The main body 11 is provided with a viewing window 11a so that the inside 10a can be observed from the outside. In addition, a vacuum pump 20 is connected to the main body 11 of the vacuum chamber 10 from the outside, and an open valve 14 for opening the inside 10a to the atmosphere is provided. In this embodiment, the vacuum pump 20 has a performance capable of being exhausted until the ultimate pressure becomes a high vacuum atmosphere of 10 ⁻⁵ Pa or less, for example.

  Further, the melting processing unit 30 includes a melting furnace 32 having a crucible 31 in which the workpiece W is accommodated, and a heating means 33 for heating the crucible 31. The crucible 31 of the melting furnace 32 is a cylindrical member with a bottom, and is formed of, for example, graphite. The heating means 33 includes an induction heating coil 35 that is externally mounted on the crucible 31 via a heat insulating material 34, and a high-frequency power source (not shown) that is provided outside the vacuum chamber 10 and supplies a high-frequency current to the induction heating coil 35. ing. When a high-frequency current is supplied from a high-frequency power source (not shown) to the induction heating coil 35, an alternating magnetic field is generated. Current) is generated. For this reason, the to-be-processed object W will generate | occur | produce and melt | dissolve with an induced current.

  The supply mechanism 40 includes a storage unit 41 that is provided in the supply unit 12 in the vacuum chamber 10 and stores the workpiece W, a load cell 42 that is a measuring unit that measures the weight of the storage unit 41, and the storage unit 41. Conveying means 43 that takes out the workpiece W and puts the workpiece W into the crucible 31 of the dissolution processing section 30 is provided. The storage unit 41 is a hopper in which the workpiece W is stored in a granular or powder form, and has an upper opening 41a and a lower opening 41b. The lower opening 41b is formed with a reduced diameter with respect to the upper opening 41a, and allows the workpiece W supplied from the upper opening 41a to be discharged from the lower opening 41b with a substantially constant discharge amount. . In the supply unit 12 of the vacuum chamber 10, a supply window 12 a is provided above the upper opening 41 a of the storage unit 41 so that the workpiece W can be supplied from the outside. In addition, the empty weight of the storage unit 41 is canceled in advance in the load cell 42, whereby the actual weight of the workpiece W inside the storage unit 41 can be measured.

  The conveying means 43 controls the feeder 44 that conveys the workpiece W from the storage unit 41, the chute 45 that throws the workpiece W conveyed by the feeder 44 into the crucible 31 of the melting furnace 32, and the feeder 44. It is comprised with the control part 46. FIG. The feeder 44 includes a trough 47 on which the workpiece W to be transported is placed, and a vibration generator 48 that supports the trough 47 and applies vibrations to transport the workpiece W to the trough 47. ing. One end 47 a of the trough 47 is disposed below the storage unit 41 so that the workpiece W can be supplied from the lower opening 41 b of the storage unit 41, and the other end 47 b of the vacuum tank 10. It is extended so that it may become the connection part 13 vicinity. The vibration generating part 48 has a movable part 48a that directly supports the trough 47 and a fixed part 48b positioned below the movable part 48a, and the trough 47 is interposed between the movable part 48a and the fixed part 48b. A pair of leaf springs 48c tilted from the other end 47b side to the one end 47a side are attached. Further, between the movable part 48a and the fixed part 48b, a movable iron core 48d protrudes from the movable part 48a toward the fixed part 48b. In addition, the fixed portion 48b is provided with an electromagnet 47e arranged to face the movable iron core 48d in the direction in which the trough 47 extends.

  Here, the control unit 46 is connected to the electromagnet 48e of the feeder 44 and to the load cell 42. And the control part 46 can control the amplitude and frequency of the alternating current supplied to the electromagnet 48e based on the change of the weight of the to-be-processed object W in the storage part 41 measured by the load cell 42. FIG. Yes. When the controller 46 sets the amplitude and frequency and supplies an alternating current to the electromagnet 48e of the feeder 44, a magnetic field is generated in the electromagnet 48e, and the movable iron core 48d corresponds to the input alternating current. The vibration of the amplitude and frequency to be given will be given. Here, since the leaf spring 48c is provided between the fixed portion 48b provided with the electromagnet 48e and the movable portion 48a provided with the movable iron core 48d, the trough 47 has an inclination of the leaf spring 48c. Accordingly, vibration having a component parallel to the trough 47 and a component perpendicular to the trough 47 is transmitted, whereby the workpiece W on the trough 47 is transferred from the one end 47a side to the other end 47b side. It is possible to transport to.

  In addition, the chute 45 is inserted into the communication unit 13 from the supply unit 12 to the main body unit 11 inside the vacuum chamber 10. In the chute 45, an upper end portion 45a located on the supply unit 12 side is disposed below the other end 47b of the trough 47 of the feeder 44, and is greatly opened. The lower end 45b located on the main body 11 side is disposed above the crucible 31 of the melting furnace 32 and faces downward so that the workpiece W passing through the inside of the chute 45 can be put into the crucible 31. Open.

Next, the detail of the process of performing the vacuum melting process of the to-be-processed object W by the vacuum induction melting furnace 1 of this embodiment is demonstrated.
As shown in FIG. 1, when the workpiece W is melted into the vacuum chamber 10, a predetermined amount of the workpiece W is charged into the crucible 31 of the melting furnace 32 in advance under atmospheric pressure. In addition, the workpiece W is stored in an amount sufficient to be additionally charged in the storage unit 41 of the supply mechanism 40. Next, the inside of the vacuum chamber 10 is evacuated by the vacuum pump 20 to a predetermined atmospheric pressure. At this time, if necessary, the inside of the vacuum chamber 10 may be heated by a heating device (not shown) to perform baking. And in the melt | dissolution process part 30, the to-be-processed object W inside the crucible 31 is heated and melt | dissolved by supplying predetermined alternating current power to the induction heating coil 35. FIG. Further, the workpiece W is additionally charged into the crucible 31 according to the dissolution of the workpiece W.

  That is, for example, when a predetermined amount of additional charging is commanded by an operation unit (not shown), the control unit 46 inputs an alternating current having a predetermined amplitude and frequency corresponding to the command value to the electromagnet 48e of the feeder 44. As a result, the trough 47 vibrates with an amplitude and a frequency corresponding to the input alternating current. For this reason, the workpiece W supplied to the trough 47 from the lower opening 41b of the storage unit 41 moves from the one end 47a to the other end 47b on the trough 47 at a conveyance speed corresponding to the given vibration amplitude and frequency. Will be transported. In addition, the workpiece W supplied to the trough 47 from the lower opening 41b is transported on the trough 47, so that the workpiece W in the storage unit 41 is sequentially supplied from the lower opening 41b to the trough 47 by its own weight. Will be.

  The workpiece W conveyed on the trough 47 is supplied to the upper end portion 45a of the chute 45 located on the other end 47b side with a supply amount per time corresponding to the conveying speed on the trough 47. Become. The workpiece W put into the upper end 45a of the chute 45 passes through the inside and falls from the lower end 45b, and is supplied to the inside of the crucible 31. At this time, the control unit 46 controls the alternating current input to the electromagnet 48 e and monitors the change in the weight of the workpiece W inside the storage unit 41 measured by the load cell 42. That is, the weight of the workpiece W supplied into the crucible 31 is calculated from the measured change in the weight of the workpiece W, and the supply amount of the supplied workpiece W per time and the total supply amount are calculated. And are calculated. When the calculated supply amount per hour is different from a preset target value, the amplitude and frequency of the alternating current input to the electromagnet 48e are adjusted, and the supply amount per hour of the workpiece W is set as the target. Feedback control is performed so as to obtain a value. Further, when the calculated total supply amount reaches the target value, the supply of the alternating current to the electromagnet 48e is stopped. As a result, a necessary amount of the workpiece W in the storage unit 41 can be taken out by the feeder 44 and supplied to the crucible 31 of the dissolution processing unit 30 via the chute 45, and an optimal amount can be obtained by the dissolution processing unit 30. The workpiece W can be dissolved.

  Here, in the supply mechanism 40, since the storage unit 41 is provided inside the vacuum chamber 10, when the workpiece W is supplied to the dissolution processing unit 30, switching of the valve, re-evacuation by an exhaust unit, and the like are performed. Therefore, the workpiece W in the storage unit 41 can be quickly supplied to the dissolution processing unit 30. In addition, since it is not necessary to release the atmosphere when supplying the workpiece W, the inside of the vacuum chamber 10 can be prevented from being contaminated, and the quality of the dissolved matter of the workpiece W can be improved. be able to. Moreover, the conveyance means 43 can take out the to-be-processed object W of the storage part 41 by the required quantity according to the set conveyance speed and conveyance time, and can convey it. Not all W is transported at once. For this reason, the to-be-processed object W can be correctly supplied so that it may become a desired supply amount to the melt | dissolution process part 30 repeatedly as needed.

  In the above, the workpiece W is previously stored in the crucible 31 of the dissolution processing unit 30, but this is not a limitation, and after the inside of the vacuum chamber 10 is in a vacuum atmosphere, A necessary amount of workpiece W may be supplied from the supply mechanism 40. In addition, when the workpiece W is supplied from the supply mechanism 40 to the dissolution processing unit 30, the control unit 46 performs control, and after supplying the workpiece W to a desired amount and stopping it, the dissolution is performed. Although processing is performed, the present invention is not limited to this. It is good also as what performs a melt | dissolution process, supplying the to-be-processed object W continuously with the supply amount per time set beforehand.

  In the above description, the feeder 44, in particular, the electromagnetic feeder driven by the electromagnet 48e has been described as an example of the conveying means, but is not limited thereto. For example, the vibration feeder may be a piezoelectric feeder that is conveyed by vibration by a piezoelectric element. Or you may utilize a belt conveyor etc. as a conveyance means. However, by using the electromagnetic feeder described in the present embodiment, it is possible to ensure a high transport capability as compared with the piezoelectric feeder. Moreover, size reduction can be achieved compared with a belt conveyor. Further, as a part of the conveying means, a valve that can be opened and closed may be provided in the lower opening 41 b of the storage unit 41 in order to control the supply amount of the workpiece W from the storage unit 41.

  Further, in the vacuum chamber 10, both the main body part 11 provided with the melting furnace 32 of the melting processing part 30 and the supply part 12 provided with the storage part 41 of the supply mechanism 40 are exhausted by the vacuum pump 20. However, it is not limited to this. The main body 11 and the supply unit 12 may be isolated and exhausted by separate exhaust systems. Moreover, it is good also as what arrange | positions the melting furnace 32 of the melting process part 30, and the storage part 41 of the supply mechanism 40 in one area, without dividing the vacuum chamber 10 into the main-body part 11 and the supply part 12. FIG.

  In the present embodiment, a vacuum induction melting furnace is given as an example of a vacuum processing apparatus. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and a vacuum tank is provided to physically or against a workpiece in a vacuum atmosphere. The present invention can be applied to various apparatuses that perform chemical treatment.

  As mentioned above, although embodiment of this invention was explained in full detail with reference to drawings, the concrete structure is not restricted to this embodiment, The design change etc. of the range which does not deviate from the summary of this invention are included.

1 is an overall view showing an outline of a vacuum induction melting furnace according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Explanation of symbols

1 Vacuum induction melting furnace (vacuum processing equipment)
10 Vacuum chamber 10a Inside 20 Vacuum pump (exhaust means)
30 Dissolution treatment part (treatment means)
31 crucible 35 induction heating coil 40 supply mechanism 41 storage unit 42 load cell (measuring means)
43 Conveying means 46 Control unit 47 Trough 48 Shaking unit W Workpiece

Claims (5)

A vacuum chamber; an evacuation unit capable of evacuating the inside of the vacuum chamber to a vacuum atmosphere; a processing unit that performs a predetermined process on the processing object inside the vacuum chamber; and supplying the processing object to the processing unit A vacuum processing apparatus comprising a supply mechanism,
The supply mechanism is provided inside the vacuum chamber, and a storage unit in which the object to be processed is stored;
A vacuum processing apparatus comprising: a transport unit that takes out a desired amount of the object to be processed from the storage unit and transports the processed product to the processing unit. The vacuum processing apparatus according to claim 1,
The transporting means is arranged such that one side can receive the object to be processed of the storage unit, and the other side is arranged to be able to supply the object to be processed to the processing means,
A vacuum processing apparatus, comprising: a vibration generating unit that vibrates the trough so that the workpiece on the trough can move from the one side toward the other side. The vacuum processing apparatus according to claim 2,
The vacuum processing apparatus, wherein the transport unit includes a control unit that controls vibration by the vibration generating unit so that the object to be processed on the trough has a desired transport amount. The vacuum processing apparatus according to claim 3.
The supply mechanism includes a measuring unit that measures the weight of the object to be processed in the storage unit,
The vacuum processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the control unit of the transport unit controls vibration by the vibration generating unit in accordance with a change in the weight of the workpiece measured by the measurement unit. In the vacuum processing apparatus in any one of Claims 1-4,
The processing means includes: a crucible that accommodates the object to be processed; and an induction heating coil that is provided outside the crucible and that heats the object to be processed in the crucible by supplying power. A vacuum processing apparatus characterized by being a vacuum induction melting furnace for melting the object to be processed.

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