JP2010133666A - Heat treatment apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To improve a heat treatment apparatus performing heat treatment of a glass substrate so as to develop a heat treatment apparatus capable of facilitating maintenance. <P>SOLUTION: A substrate replacement system 18 is arranged at an approximately center of a heat treatment chamber 12, and a placement shelf 16 is provided in the substrate replacement system 18. All step parts 23 of the placement shelf 16 have lack parts 37 where small beams 31 at central portions are lacked, and an open ceiling part 38 is formed by the lack parts 37. A worker can enter into the open ceiling part 38. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2010,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a heat treatment apparatus for heat-treating an object to be heated such as a substrate with hot air.

Conventionally, a heat treatment apparatus as disclosed in the following Patent Document 1 is a flat panel display (FPD: Flat Display) such as a liquid crystal display (LCD), a plasma display (PDP), and an organic EL display. Panel display).
Many of the heat treatment apparatuses have a structure in which a mounting shelf is arranged in a heating chamber, as in Patent Document 1. The heat treatment apparatus applies a specific solution to a substrate such as a glass plate (object to be heated) in advance and heats and dries it, and puts this heat-dried substrate in and out of the stepped portion using a robot hand. It is an apparatus that heats (fires) a substrate by exposing the substrate to hot air of a predetermined temperature introduced into the room.

Here, the mounting shelf has a bowl-like shape in which a plurality of step portions for supporting the substrate are provided in the vertical direction. That is, the prior art mounting shelf has a plurality of pillars. When the pillar is viewed in plan, it is arranged at the positions of four corners and sides of the quadrangle.
On the other hand, the step portion is constituted by a beam or a plate, and forms one plane. That is, the step portion of the prior art is, for example, in which beams are arranged in a lattice shape or a parallel shape. And in the step part of a prior art, the gap | interval of the grating | lattice of a beam and the space | interval of beams are constant. That is, in the prior art, the lattice interval and the beam interval in the stepped portion are almost constant in all parts, and are extremely narrow.

JP 2006-46894 A

As described above, the heat treatment apparatus is an apparatus that inserts a substrate such as a glass plate into the heating chamber and performs baking. However, the substrate may be broken during the baking operation or when the substrate is moved into and out of the heating chamber.
At this time, the fragments of the substrate must be removed from the steps of the mounting shelf.
However, in the conventional heat treatment apparatus, it is difficult to remove the fragments of the substrate from the stepped portion.

That is, in order to reduce the area occupied by the heat treatment apparatus, it is necessary to insert a large number of substrates into the heat treatment apparatus, and therefore, the interval between the step portions of the mounting shelf is extremely small. Therefore, the operator cannot enter between the steps.
Therefore, it is impossible for an operator to enter the horizontal direction toward the inside of the mounting shelf.

  In addition, as described above, the step portion of the prior art is such that beams and the like are arranged in a lattice shape or in a parallel shape, and the gaps between the lattices and the intervals between the beams are constant and extremely narrow. That is, in the prior art, the lattice spacing and the beam spacing in the stepped portion are substantially constant at any part. In the step portion of the prior art, the lattice interval and the beam interval are extremely narrow at any part, and the operator cannot pass through the lattice gap or the beam gap.

As described above, in the heat treatment apparatus according to the prior art, it is substantially impossible for an operator to enter the inside of the mounting shelf.
Therefore, for example, when the substrate is cracked on the mounting shelf, there is no method for discharging the fragments from the mounting shelf other than inserting a stick or the like from the outside of the mounting shelf to scrape the fragments of the substrate.

  Further, in order to prevent the substrate from being damaged on the mounting shelf, a resin member or the like may be provided on the stepped portion, but the resin member may be deteriorated or worn due to long-term use. In such a case, it is necessary to replace the resin member or the like. However, in the prior art, replacement of the resin member or the like is troublesome for the same reason as described above.

  Therefore, the present invention focuses on the above-described problems of the prior art and aims to develop a heat treatment apparatus that can easily perform maintenance.

  The invention according to claim 1, which is provided to solve the above-described problem, includes a heating chamber for heating an object to be heated, and a mounting shelf for placing the object to be heated in the heating chamber. In the heat treatment apparatus, the mounting shelf includes a plurality of step portions, and the step portions are formed of beams or a floor surface. Is a heat treatment apparatus characterized in that it has a missing portion, and a blowout portion is provided by the missing portion, and the blowout portion has a space that allows an operator to enter.

Here, “a space that an operator can enter” is a space for inspection, which is a gap having a width of about 35 cm or more, and is generally a width of about 40 cm to 60 cm.
The heat treatment apparatus of the present invention has a missing portion in which a beam and a floor surface of the central portion are missing in some or all of the steps, and the blow-off portion is provided by the missing portion. And this atrium has enough space for an operator to enter.
In the heat treatment apparatus of the present invention, there is a blow-off portion inside the mounting shelf, and an operator can enter the inside of the mounting shelf. For example, this is a case where the substrate is broken inside the mounting shelf. In addition, the fragments of the substrate can be easily discharged.

  The shelf includes at least four main beams arranged in parallel and a plurality of small beams supported by the main beams, and each of the small beams is supported by at least two main beams. The above-mentioned missing part was provided between any main beam other than the main beam and any other main beam other than the outer main beams, so that a blow-off part was formed on the above-described shelf. The heat treatment apparatus according to claim 1.

  In the heat treatment apparatus of the present invention, since the main beam is at or near the opening end of the missing portion, the opening end has high rigidity. Therefore, the rigidity of the inner surface of the blow-by portion is high. Therefore, when the worker works in the blow-through portion, the inner surface of the blow-through portion is not broken. Moreover, it can also be set as the structure which installs a ladder in an atrium part and can climb the inside of an atrium part, or can climb the inside of an atrium part by putting a limb on the step part of a mounting shelf.

  Invention of Claim 3 is the heat processing apparatus which has the heating chamber which heats a to-be-heated object, and the mounting shelf in the said heating chamber which mounts a to-be-heated material, The above-mentioned mounting shelf is, Each block is divided into two or more blocks, each block having a plurality of steps, and the two or more blocks are arranged in parallel at intervals, and the object to be heated is arranged in parallel Heat treatment characterized in that it is placed straddling between the steps of the blocks arranged in the block, a blow-off portion is formed between the blocks, and the blow-off portion has a space that can be entered by an operator. Device.

In the heat treatment apparatus of the present invention, the mounting shelf is divided into a plurality of blocks such as a front shelf and a rear shelf. A blow-through portion is formed between the blocks. Also in the heat treatment apparatus of the present invention, there is a blow-off portion between the blocks, so that an operator can enter the inside of the mounting shelf, for example, even if the substrate is broken inside the mounting shelf, Substrate fragments can be easily discharged.
It is desirable that the blocks are connected by some kind of member. For example, it is desirable that the upper side and the vicinity of the lower side are connected by an auxiliary beam or the like. However, when the independence of each block is ensured, it is not necessary to connect the blocks.

  According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, the heating chamber has a top wall and a side wall, and the side wall has an open / close door that leads to a blow-off portion. It is a heat treatment apparatus.

  In the heat treatment apparatus of the present invention, the heating chamber has an opening / closing door, and an operator can open the opening / closing door to enter the heating chamber, and further enter the blow-through portion in the mounting shelf.

  In the invention according to claim 5, the mounting shelf has a plurality of columns that support the beam or the floor, and a jack device is provided on some or all of the columns, and each of the jack devices is provided. 5. The heat treatment apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the column can be moved up and down independently of other columns.

The heat processing apparatus of this invention correct | amends with a jack apparatus so that the attitude | position of the to-be-heated material mounted in the step part may become a horizontal attitude | position.
That is, an object to be heated such as a substrate should be placed in a horizontal posture on the stepped portion. Therefore, the stepped portion is designed to have a horizontal posture and is constructed to have a horizontal posture. That is, the members that are in contact with the back surface side of the substrate are all designed and constructed so as to have the same height from the ground surface.
However, with the recent increase in size of displays, the substrates to be heat-treated have been increasing in size, and their weight has become considerably heavy. For this reason, when the substrate is placed on the stepped portion, the stepped portion is bent due to the weight of the substrate, and there is a situation where the substrate cannot be held horizontally.
Here, it is also possible to calculate the amount of bending of the step portion from the weight of the substrate, and to design the shape of the step portion so that the step portion becomes horizontal by the weight when the substrate is placed. However, since the weight of the substrate may vary depending on the lot (product), it is difficult to accurately calculate the amount of deflection, and it is practically impossible to design the step portion in a shape that allows for the amount of deflection in advance. .
Therefore, in the present invention, the height of the column is finely adjusted at the construction site, and the posture and shape of the stepped portion are corrected so that the posture of the object to be heated becomes a horizontal posture.
That is, in the heat treatment apparatus of the present invention, a jack device is provided on some or all of the columns, and the column provided with the jack device can be moved up and down independently of the other columns. Therefore, at the construction site, a substrate is actually placed, or a dummy board having a weight corresponding to the substrate is placed on the step portion, and the column is moved up and down by a jack device so that the step portion is in a horizontal posture. As a result, the adjusted mounting shelf of the heat treatment apparatus has such a shape that the substrate or the like is in a horizontal posture when an object to be heated such as the substrate is mounted.

  In the invention according to claim 6, the mounting shelf includes a plurality of columns that support the beam or the floor surface, the columns supporting columns on both ends of the mounting shelf, and the columns on both ends. 6. The heat treatment apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a column moving unit that includes a column that supports a position between the two and that relatively changes a lower end position of the both.

For example, a jack device can be used as the column moving means.
When the glass substrate is an object to be heated, the object to be heated bends so that both end sides thereof are lowered. Therefore, in the step portion, if the pillars on both end sides and the columns in the vicinity of the blow-off portion can be relatively moved, the shape of the step portion can be changed when the substrate or other heated object is placed. The shape can be a horizontal posture.

  According to the seventh aspect of the present invention, in the state where the object to be heated is not placed, the height of the beam or the floor surface of the placement shelf in each step portion is a position inside the both ends of the placement shelf. The heat treatment apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the heat treatment apparatus is lower.

  In the heat treatment apparatus of the present invention, the height of the both ends of the step portion of the mounting shelf is higher than that of the blow-through portion, so that the substrate or the like is in a horizontal posture when a heated object such as a substrate is placed.

  In the invention according to claim 8, the mounting shelf has a plurality of columns, the stepped portion has at least four main beams arranged in parallel, and each of the main beams has at least two columns. 8. The structure according to any one of claims 1 to 7, wherein columns which are combined as a set and which are not connected by a main beam are connected by an auxiliary beam, and the number of auxiliary beams is small with respect to the main beam. It is a heat treatment apparatus according to

In the heat treatment apparatus of the present invention, the columns of the mounting shelf are joined by the main beam and the auxiliary beam, but the number of auxiliary beams is smaller than that of the main beam. Therefore, the coupling force of the columns of the mounting shelf is small between the columns coupled by the auxiliary beams, and the coupling force is relatively high between the columns coupled by the main beam. Therefore, the columns connected by the main beam have a small degree of freedom of relative movement, and the columns connected by the auxiliary beam have a relatively large degree of freedom of relative movement.
Here, in the present invention, one of the combinations of columns connected by the main beam is a column in the vicinity of the opening, and the other combination is a column at a position far from the opening.
A combination of columns connected by auxiliary beams is a column near the opening and a column far from the opening.
Therefore, in the mounting shelf employed in the present invention, the coupling force between the columns in the vicinity of the opening is strong, and the coupling force between the column in the vicinity of the opening and the column far from the opening is weak. For this reason, the columns in the vicinity of the opening are unlikely to move relative to each other in the vertical direction, and the column in the vicinity of the opening and a column far from the opening are likely to move relatively in the vertical direction. Therefore, the heat treatment apparatus of the present invention is easy to correct so that the posture of the object to be heated placed on the stepped portion becomes a horizontal posture.

  A ninth aspect of the present invention is the heat treatment apparatus according to any one of the first to eighth aspects, further comprising a lifting device that lifts and lowers the mounting shelf as a whole.

  By providing the lifting device, the number of openings for taking in and out the object to be heated can be reduced.

  Invention of Claim 10 has a ventilation means which makes a heating chamber a ventilation atmosphere, and the said blow-off part is parallel to the flow direction of the ventilation to the heating chamber by a ventilation means, and the other side from the one side of a mounting shelf 10. The air passage according to claim 1, wherein the air flow passes through the blow-through portion and flows from one side of the mounting shelf to the other side. It is a heat treatment apparatus.

In the heat treatment apparatus of the present invention, since the ventilation by the ventilation means passes through the blow-through portion and flows from one side of the heating chamber toward the other side of the heating chamber, the central portion of the object to be heated is heated by the ventilation. Therefore, according to the heat treatment apparatus of the present invention, the temperature distribution of the object to be heated is smoothed.
That is, according to the heat treatment apparatus of the prior art, hot air is caused to flow from the side portion of the mounting shelf toward the central portion side to raise the temperature of the central portion of the object to be heated. That is, hot air is introduced between the side portions of the mounting shelf between the stepped portions, the hot air is brought to the object to be heated up to the central part, and the temperature of the central part of the object to be heated is increased by contacting with the object to be heated.
However, since the interval between the step portions is usually narrow, the amount of hot air entering between the step portions is small, the temperature of the center of the object to be heated is not easily raised, and temperature variations occur in the object to be heated.
On the other hand, in this invention, there exists a blow-off part in the center of a mounting shelf, and a hot air (ventilation) is sent through the said blow-through part. Therefore, the object to be heated is heated by the central part directly touching the ventilation. Therefore, according to the heat treatment apparatus of the present invention, the temperature variation of the object to be heated is small.

  Since the operator can enter the inside of the mounting shelf, the heat treatment apparatus of the present invention is easy to maintain. Furthermore, since the amount of ventilation at the center of the object to be heated is increased, the heat treatment performance is improved.

Next, specific embodiments of the present invention will be described.
FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing a heat treatment apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. 2 is a plan sectional view of the heat treatment apparatus shown in FIG. FIG. 3 is an exploded perspective view of the heat treatment apparatus shown in FIG.

In FIG. 1, 1 is the heat processing apparatus of this embodiment. The heat treatment apparatus 1 is a huge apparatus having a length, width, and height of about 7 m, 4 m, and 6 m.
The heat treatment apparatus 1 is made of a metal and has a box-shaped outer wall portion 2, which is provided with a device housing portion 3 and a substrate processing portion 5 provided thereon. The device housing unit 3 includes a power supply device (not shown) that supplies power to the substrate processing unit 5, a control device (not shown) that controls the operation of the substrate processing unit 5, and the like.

The substrate processing unit 5 is a substantially rectangular parallelepiped, and has four replacement ports 6 for loading and unloading the substrate W by a transfer device such as a robot hand (not shown) on the front side as shown in FIGS. 1 and 3. Further, four intake ports 7 are provided on the same surface as the replacement port 6.
A part of the blower 8 protrudes from one side surface (intake port side) of the substrate processing unit 5. A door 10 is provided on the other side surface. The door 10 is provided so that an operator can enter and exit by opening it during maintenance.

  A shutter 9 that opens and closes in conjunction with the operation of the air cylinder 11 is attached to the replacement port 6 described above.

  The opening degree of the air inlet 7 is adjusted by a motor (not shown).

The inside of the substrate processing unit 5 is roughly divided into two regions as shown in FIG. That is, the inside of the substrate processing unit 5 is divided into a heat treatment chamber 12 (heating chamber) and a hot air supply unit 14.
Here, the hot air supply unit 14 is a part in which a device for circulating hot air in the heat treatment chamber 12 is incorporated. More specifically, the hot air supply unit 14 heats the outside air introduced into the heat treatment apparatus 1, the air returned from the downstream end of the heat treatment chamber 12, and the like, and sends it into the heat treatment chamber 12. And a blower 8 and a heater (not shown). A filter 15 is provided on the surface of the hot air supply unit 14 on the substrate processing unit 5 side.

The heat treatment chamber 12 (heating chamber) is a room surrounded by the upstream wall 20 to which the filter 15 is attached and the peripheral wall 13 made of a heat insulating material.
A substrate replacement system 18 including a mounting shelf 16 is disposed in the center of the heat treatment chamber 12 (heating chamber).

The heat treatment chamber 12 communicates with the hot air supply unit 14 through the opening of the filter 15 constituting the upstream wall 20.
As shown in FIG. 3, a substrate replacement system 18 is disposed at a substantially central portion of the heat treatment chamber 12. The substrate replacement system 18 includes a mounting shelf 16 on which the substrates W are loaded, and a lifting device 21 that lifts and lowers the mounting shelf 16 as a whole.

  FIG. 4 is a perspective view of the mounting shelf. FIG. 5 is a perspective view of the frame of the mounting shelf. FIG. 6 is an exploded perspective view of the mounting shelf for explaining the structure of each layer of the mounting shelf. Although the mounting shelf has a number of steps, many of the steps are omitted in FIG. FIG. 7 is a front view of the mounting shelf. FIG. 8 is a side view of the mounting shelf.

In addition, although the actual mounting shelf has the step part 23 of 30 steps | paragraphs or more, on the relationship of drawing, it has illustrated as what has the step part 23 of 8 steps | paragraphs. Therefore, the mounting shelf 16 shown in the figure has a reduced ratio in the height direction.
The mounting shelf 16 is installed on a lifting platform 25 of the lifting device 21, a small beam 31 is provided on the main beam 30 of the frame 26, and a substrate is installed on the small beam 31. In the figure, the column 35 of the frame 26 is drawn in a square column shape, the main beam 30 and the auxiliary beam 33 are drawn in bold lines, and the small beam 31 is drawn in thin lines.
As shown in FIG. 5, the frame 26 of the mounting shelf 16 includes eight pillars 35, 36 main beams 30, and a small number of auxiliary beams 33.
As will be described later, the eight pillars 35 have a jack device 36 at the bottom. The eight columns 35 are installed in a rectangular layout as shown in FIGS. In other words, one of the eight columns 35 is installed at each corner of the rectangle, and two columns are installed at equal intervals on the long side (row A and row B).
It may be considered that eight columns are installed at equal intervals on the long side (row A and row B). The interval between the columns on the long side (row A and row B) is about 40 cm to 60 cm.
Further, the column 35 on the A row and the column 35 on the B row are in opposite positions. That is, it can be said that two columns 35 are arranged in four rows parallel to the short side of the rectangle. That is, it can be said that two lines are arranged in each of the a line, the b line, the c line, and the d line.
Hereinafter, the names of the eight pillars will be referred to as Aa, Ab, Ac, Ad, Ba, Bb, Bc, and Bd.

Nine main beams 30 are provided in parallel between the columns 35 included in the same row. That is, nine main beams are provided at the same pitch in the height direction between the pillars Aa-Ba, between Ab-Bb, between Ac-Bc, and between Ad-Bd.
Therefore, paying attention to the height of the main beam 30, there are four main beams 30 at the same height as shown in FIG.

  Further, the columns 35 belonging to the same row (row A and row B) are connected by an auxiliary beam 33 as shown in FIG. The total number of auxiliary beams 33 is about ten, which is one third or less of the number of main beams.

And the small beam 31 is provided in the main beam 30 (except for the uppermost stage) in each step part 23. In the present embodiment, each of the small beams 31 is provided so as to project outward.
As described above, when paying attention to the height of the main beam 30, there are four main beams 30 at the same height, but there are six small beams 31 on each of the outer two main beams 30. Is provided. More specifically, as shown in FIG. 6, each stage has four main beams 30 along a row, b row, c row, and d row. A small beam 31 is provided on the surface. That is, there are six beamlets 31 between the ab rows and six beamlets 31 between the cd rows. There is no small beam between the middle bc rows, and a missing portion 37 is formed.

  Accordingly, the missing portions 37 in each stage are connected in the vertical direction, and all nine stages are blown out in the top-and-bottom direction to form the blow-out portion 38. As described above, the number of steps 23 is reduced due to the drawing, but in practice, the central portion is blown up in the vertical direction over 30 steps or more.

  When the mounting shelf 16 is viewed from the front side, as shown in FIGS. 3, 4, and 7, nine main beams 30 are arranged vertically at a short interval on the front side, and the front of the eight main beams 30 is the front direction. The small beam 31 protrudes toward the surface. The same applies to the back side, and the back side has a shape in which nine main beams 30 are vertically arranged at short intervals, and a small beam 31 protrudes from the eight main beams 30 in the back direction. It has become.

On the other hand, when the side surface side of the mounting shelf 16 is externally seen, as shown in FIGS. That is, as shown in FIGS. 3, 4, and 8, there is no beam between the pillars Bb-Bc and between Ab-Ac, and the inside is a hollow state. If it demonstrates more correctly, the small beam 31 does not exist at all in the space of the rectangular parallelepiped enclosed by pillar Bb-Bc-Ac-Ab.
The space (blow-through portion) 38 communicates the center of the mounting shelf 16 from one end portion to the other end portion. Further, as described above, since the interval between the columns 35 is about 40 cm to 60 cm, an operator can pass through.

From another point of view, the mounting shelf 16 has a structure in which two blocks 46 and 47 are connected by four auxiliary beams 50, and the substrate W is placed on the stepped portion 23 of the two blocks 46 and 47. It can also be thought that it is placed across. If it demonstrates based on FIG.4, 5, the mounting shelf 16 has the front side shelf part 46 and the rear side shelf part 47. FIG. The front shelf 46 has four columns, Ac, Ad, Bc, and Bd, and the main beams 30 are provided in two rows in the height direction with respect to the space between the columns. Further, the small beams 31 are supported by the main beam 30 in the two rows described above.
The same applies to the rear shelf 47, which has four columns, Aa, Ab, Bb, and Ba, and the main beams 30 are provided in two rows in the height direction between the columns. Further, the small beams 31 are supported by the main beam 30 in the two rows described above.
There are two auxiliary beams 50 between the columns Ab and Ac between the front shelf 46 and the rear shelf 47, and there are also two auxiliary beams 50 between the columns Bb and Bc.

Next, the structure below the mounting shelf 16 will be described. FIG. 9 is a cross-sectional perspective view showing the lower part of each column of the mounting shelf. 10 is a cross-sectional view of the same portion as FIG.
In the present embodiment, as shown in FIG. 9, a jack device 36 is formed below each column 35. That is, as shown in FIGS. 9 and 10, a screw 40 is integrated at the bottom of each column. On the other hand, a hole 41 is provided in the lifting platform 25 of the lifting device 21, and a screw 40 portion is inserted through the hole 41. Two nuts 43 and 45 are engaged with the screw 40 with the elevator 25 interposed therebetween. Therefore, when the upper nut 43 is rotated while the lower nut 45 is loosened, the column 35 is raised and lowered by the thrust of the screw 40.
Here, in this embodiment, since the jack apparatus 36 is formed in all the eight pillars 35, each pillar 35 can be raised / lowered independently of the other pillars 35.

However, since the frame 26 of the mounting shelf 16 is connected by the main beam 30 and the auxiliary beam 33, even if it can be said that the eight columns 35 can be moved up and down independently, the degree of freedom is not great. Absent. However, the relative degrees of freedom of the columns 35 are not uniform, and the columns 35 arranged in the column direction (rows A and B) have a relatively high degree of freedom.
That is, in the frame, pillars 35 are arranged in the row direction (a row, b row, c row, d row) and the column direction (A column, B column), and the row direction (a row, b row, c row, In the (d row), 36 main beams 30 are connected, whereas in the column direction, the auxiliary beams 33 are connected by a number equal to or less than one third.
Therefore, the columns 35 arranged in the row direction (row A, row B) are relatively easily changed in height.

Next, the usage method of the heat processing apparatus of this embodiment is demonstrated.
The heat treatment apparatus of the present embodiment adjusts the height of the main beam 30 prior to the first use. FIG. 11 is an explanatory diagram showing a procedure for adjusting the height, and shows the positional relationship and posture between the main beam and the small beam. FIG. 11 exaggerates the difference in the height direction for easy understanding.
In the heat treatment apparatus 1 of the present embodiment, the height of the main beam 30 in each step portion 23 is made uniform as shown in FIG.
However, when the substrate W is placed on each step portion 23, the main beams 30 at both ends (rows a and d) are changed to the central main beams 30 (rows b and c) by the weight of the substrate W as shown in FIG. And the substrate W is warped upward.

  Therefore, in this embodiment, with the substrate W placed on each stage 23, the jack device 36 below the column 35 is operated to raise and lower the lower end of the column 35 so that the substrate W is horizontal. That is, as described above, the upper nut 43 is rotated while the lower nut 45 is loosened, and the pillar 35 is moved up and down by the thrust of the screw 40. Then, the nut 45 is adjusted so that the substrate W becomes horizontal as shown in FIG.

  When the substrate W is removed in a state where the substrate W is horizontal, the main beams 30 at both ends (rows a and d) are changed to the central main beam 30 by the reaction force of the column 35 as shown in FIG. It becomes a position higher than (b line and c line), and the small beam 31 jumps up.

The heat treatment apparatus 1 of this embodiment installs the glass substrate W on the mounting shelf 16 in the heat treatment chamber 12 and heat-treats it, as is well known.
That is, the lifting device 21 is operated to raise and lower the lifting platform 25 so that the height of any step 23 of the mounting shelf 16 matches the height of any replacement port 6. Then, the substrate W is held by a robot (not shown), the replacement opening 6 is opened, and the glass substrate W is placed on the step portion 23 of the mounting shelf 16 in the heat treatment chamber 12.
Thereafter, the lifting platform 25 of the lifting device 21 is operated again, and another substrate W is inserted with the height of any one of the step portions 23 made to coincide with the height of any one of the replacement ports 6. Thereafter, the substrate W is mounted on all the step portions 23 of the mounting shelf 16 by repeating this operation.

On the other hand, in the heat treatment apparatus 1, the blower 8 and the heater (not shown) of the hot air supply unit 14 are activated, and the inside of the heat treatment chamber 12 is made a hot air ventilation atmosphere.
That is, hot air is supplied from the hot air supply unit 14 to the heat treatment chamber 12 as indicated by the arrows in FIG. 2, but a part of the hot air easily enters the center of the mounting shelf 16 from between the open columns Ab-Ac. It passes through the blowout part 38 of the part and comes out to the other end side of the mounting shelf 16. In the meantime, the temperature of the central portion of the substrate W in each stage 23 is raised.
Further, the remaining portion of the ventilation flows between the columns Aa-Ab, between the columns Ac-Ad, and around the mounting shelf 16 and raises the temperature of the end portion side of the substrate W. As a result, the temperature of the substrate W is increased as a whole, and the temperature variation is small.

Further, when a sudden failure occurs such that the substrate W is damaged on the mounting shelf 16, the operator enters the blow-through portion 38 and removes the fragments of the substrate W.
That is, when a sudden failure occurs, the apparatus is stopped and the internal substrate W is discharged. Thereafter, the door 10 provided on the side surface of the heat treatment apparatus 1 is opened, and an operator enters the heat treatment chamber 12. And it enters in the mounting shelf 16 from between pillars Bc-Bb. Here, the space between the pillars Bc and Bb is as wide as about 40 cm to 60 cm, and has a width sufficient for an operator to pass.
Further, since the main beam 30 is stretched over the open end of the missing portion 37 of each step portion 23 constituting the blow-by portion 38 as shown in FIG. 6, the end face of the blow-through portion 38 has high rigidity. Therefore, it is also possible to bring a ladder into the heat treatment chamber 12 to clean the upper step portion 23, or to go up the blow-through portion 38 by putting a foot on the open end of each step portion 23.

  The same applies to periodic inspections and replacement of consumable parts. An operator can enter the atrium 38 and perform work. Therefore, the heat treatment apparatus 1 of this embodiment is easy to maintain.

In the embodiment described above, the column is raised and lowered using the screw-type jack device 36, but the column may be raised and lowered using, for example, a link type or hydraulic type jack device.
In the above-described embodiment, the jack device 36 is provided for each column 35. However, it is also conceivable that the jack device 36 is provided only for the central column 35 or the jack device 36 is provided only for the outer column 35. Furthermore, you may raise / lower a some pillar with one jack apparatus.

In the above-described embodiment, the blow-by portion 38 is provided only in one place. However, when the apparatus is further enlarged, a plurality of blow-through portions 38 can be provided.
FIG. 12 shows an example in which the blow-by portions 38 are provided at three locations.

In the above-described embodiment, the blow-by portion 38 communicates from one side of the mounting shelf 16 to the other side as viewed in plan as shown in FIG. 2, but does not necessarily communicate from one side to the other side. There is no need to be.
For example, as shown in FIG. 13, there is a portion where the small beam 31 communicates with the central portion, and the blow-by portion 38 may be divided into two regions.
Further, the blow-by portion 38 may be opened only on one side as shown in FIG. In any case, it is recommended that the blow-through portion 38 is open to any side in a plan view and continues to the region surrounded by the pillar 35.

  Further, in the above-described embodiment, the blow-through portion 38 is communicated from the lowermost stage to the uppermost stage, but it may be a blow-through portion divided in the middle. For example, the blow-through portion may be divided so that the 10th step from the bottom is the first blow-off portion and the 11th step or more is the second blow-off portion.

  In the above-described embodiment, the structure is such that the substrate W is supported by the beam 31. However, it is also possible to have a structure in which a plate is attached on the beam 31 to form a floor and the substrate is supported by the floor.

  Moreover, in the heat processing apparatus 1 of above-described embodiment, the structure provided with the raising / lowering apparatus 21 and raising / lowering the mounting shelf 16 entirely by the raising / lowering apparatus 21 was employ | adopted. However, the lifting device 21 is not essential, and a fixed mounting shelf may be adopted. When a fixed mounting shelf is employed, a large number of replacement ports 6 for taking in and out the substrate W are provided in accordance with each step portion of the mounting shelf.

It is a perspective view which shows the heat processing apparatus which is one Embodiment of this invention. FIG. 2 is a plan sectional view of the heat treatment apparatus shown in FIG. 1. It is a disassembled perspective view of the heat processing apparatus shown in FIG. It is a perspective view of a mounting shelf. It is a perspective view of the frame of a mounting shelf. It is a disassembled perspective view of the mounting shelf explaining the structure of each layer of the mounting shelf. It is a front view of a mounting shelf. It is a side view of a mounting shelf. It is a cross-sectional perspective view which shows the lower part of each pillar of a mounting shelf. It is sectional drawing of the same site | part as FIG. It is explanatory drawing which shows the procedure at the time of performing height adjustment, and has shown the positional relationship and attitude | position of a main beam and a small beam. It is a plane sectional view of the heat treatment apparatus of other embodiments. It is a plane sectional view of the heat treatment apparatus of other embodiments. It is a plane sectional view of the heat treatment apparatus of other embodiments.

Explanation of symbols

1 Heat treatment apparatus 10 Door 12 Heat treatment room (heating room)
Reference Signs List 13 Peripheral Wall 16 Mounting Shelf 21 Lifting Device 23 Stepped Part 30 Main Beam 31 Small Beam 33 Auxiliary Beam 35 Column 36 Jack Device 37 Missing Part 38 Blowing Part 46 Front Shelve (Block)
47 Rear shelf (block)

Claims (10)

  In the heat treatment apparatus having a heating chamber for heating an object to be heated and a mounting shelf in the heating chamber for mounting the object to be heated, the mounting shelf includes a plurality of steps, and The step part is formed of a beam or a floor surface, and a part or all of the step part has a missing part in which the beam and the floor surface are missing, and a blow-off part is provided by the missing part. The heat treatment apparatus is characterized in that the blow-by portion has a space that allows an operator to enter.   The shelf includes at least four main beams arranged in parallel and a plurality of small beams supported by the main beams, and each of the small beams is supported by at least two main beams. The above-mentioned missing part was provided between any main beam other than the main beam and any other main beam other than the outer main beams, so that a blow-off part was formed on the above-described shelf. The heat treatment apparatus according to claim 1.   In a heat treatment apparatus having a heating chamber for heating an object to be heated and a mounting shelf for placing the object to be heated in the heating chamber, the mounting shelf is divided into two or more blocks. Each of the blocks has a plurality of step portions, the two or more blocks are arranged in parallel at intervals, and the object to be heated is between the step portions of the blocks arranged in parallel. A heat treatment apparatus, characterized in that a blow-through portion is formed between the blocks, and the blow-through portion has a space that allows an operator to enter.   The heat treatment apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the heating chamber has a top wall and a side wall, and the side wall has an open / close door that leads to a blow-off portion.   The mounting shelf has a plurality of pillars that support the beam or the floor, and some or all of the pillars are provided with jack devices, and each pillar provided with the jack device is independent of the other pillars. The heat treatment apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the heat treatment apparatus can be moved up and down.   The mounting shelf has a plurality of pillars that support the beam or the floor surface, and the pillars support pillars that support positions on both ends of the mounting shelf, and pillars that support positions between the pillars on both ends. 6. A heat treatment apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising column moving means for relatively changing the lower end positions of the two.   In the state where the object to be heated is not placed, the height of the beam or the floor surface of the placing shelf in each step portion is lower at the inner position than both ends of the placing shelf. Item 7. The heat treatment apparatus according to any one of Items 1 to 6.   The mounting shelf has a plurality of columns, the step portion has at least four main beams arranged in parallel, and each main beam is a combination of at least two columns, The heat treatment apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 7, wherein columns not connected by the main beam are connected by auxiliary beams, and the number of auxiliary beams is smaller than that of the main beams.   The heat treatment apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a lifting device that lifts and lowers the mounting shelf as a whole.   Ventilation means for creating a ventilating atmosphere in the heating chamber, and the blow-through portion is provided to penetrate from one side of the mounting shelf to the other side in parallel to the flow direction of the ventilation to the heating chamber by the ventilation means. The heat treatment apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 9, wherein the ventilation flows through the blow-by portion and flows from one side of the mounting shelf to the other side.

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