JP2013096643A - Workpiece cooling device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a workpiece cooling device capable of quickly cooling a workpiece without causing variation of workpiece hardness and distortion after heat treatment.SOLUTION: This workpiece cooling device includes a cooling shelf 7 for placing the workpieces W after heat treatment, a robotic arm for individually conveying the workpieces W from the preceding process to the cooling shelf 7 to place the workpieces on the cooling shelf while separating from each other, and conveying the cooled workpieces W to a post-process, and a cooling time measuring means for measuring a lapse time from placing onto the cooling shelf 7 by each workpiece W, determining termination of cooling of the workpiece W after the lapse of a prescribed time, and informing the robotic arm of the same.

Description

  The present invention relates to a workpiece cooling device, and more particularly to a cooling device for cooling a workpiece after heat treatment.

  When the heat-treated workpiece is cooled, in the case of batch processing, the products subjected to the heat treatment for each container after the products are stacked or aligned in a container are cooled as they are. In the case of continuous processing, the workpieces are stacked or aligned and stacked on the conveyor, and the workpiece subjected to the heat treatment on the conveyor is cooled as it is on the conveyor. Here, Patent Document 1 discloses a structure in which a plurality of plate workpieces stacked on a rack are cooled as they are.

JP 2000-274952

  However, in the above-described conventional cooling device, since the workpieces are stacked in the left and right and up and down directions in both batch processing and continuous processing, the cooling rate differs depending on the loading position. There is a problem that the hardness varies. In addition, since the workpieces overlap each other, there is a problem that a load is applied to the lower workpiece and distortion occurs, or it takes time to cool all the workpieces to a predetermined temperature.

  Therefore, the present invention solves such problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide a workpiece cooling apparatus that can quickly cool a workpiece without causing variations and distortions in workpiece hardness after heat treatment. And

  In order to achieve the above object, in the first invention, a cooling shelf (7) for placing and cooling the workpiece (W) after heat treatment, and the workpiece individually from the previous step to the cooling shelf (7). Handling means (6) for transporting and placing the workpiece (W) separated from each other on the cooling shelf to the subsequent process, and after being placed on the cooling shelf (7) Cooling timing means is provided for measuring the elapsed time for each workpiece (W), determining that the cooling of the workpiece (W) is completed after a predetermined time has elapsed, and notifying the handling means (6).

  In the first aspect of the invention, since the workpieces can be separated and managed individually and cooled, there is no variation in workpiece hardness or distortion after heat treatment, and the workpiece is cooled quickly. It is possible.

  In this 2nd invention, the said cooling shelf (7) becomes a structure which mounts the said workpiece | work (W) on a heat insulating material (75), and is allowed to cool.

  In the second aspect of the invention, since the work is placed on the heat insulating material and cooled, there is no problem that the work placing surface is partially cooled and rapidly cooled, and the work is cooled evenly. To be done.

  The reference numerals in the parentheses indicate the correspondence with specific means described in the embodiments described later.

  As described above, according to the workpiece cooling apparatus of the present invention, the workpiece can be cooled quickly without causing variations or distortions in workpiece hardness after heat treatment.

It is a vertical sectional view of a heat treatment apparatus. It is a front view of a cooling shelf. It is a top view of a cooling shelf. It is a front view of a water cooling tank. It is a top view of a water cooling tank.

  FIG. 1 shows an example of a heat treatment apparatus provided in a pre-process of the cooling apparatus of the present invention. In FIG. 1, the heat treatment apparatus includes a closed cylindrical furnace body 1, and a heater 5 is disposed on the inner peripheral surface of the peripheral wall of the furnace body. A rotating shaft 2 that is intermittently rotated is provided at the center of the furnace body 1. A cylindrical support 24 is integrally provided around the rotary shaft 2, and an annular shelf 25 is arranged on the outer periphery of the rotary shaft 2 so as to be close to each other in three steps in the vertical direction to form groups A to D. Is provided. On each shelf 25, a plurality of workpieces W are placed in a horizontal posture spaced apart from each other at regular intervals in the circumferential direction. These workpieces W have a ring shape in this embodiment.

  Each workpiece W is heat-treated while making a round in the furnace body 1 and reaches a position facing the door bodies 41 to 44 provided corresponding to each group A to D. In this state, the door bodies 41 to 44 are sequentially opened, and the workpieces W are taken out of the furnace by the gripping fingers 61 of the robot arm 6 constituting the handling means while the door bodies 41 to 44 are open. It is conveyed to the cooling shelf 7 (FIG. 2) as a cooling shelf described later. A new workpiece W is transported by the robot arm 6 from the previous process to the shelf 25 that is empty after the workpiece W is taken out.

  Thus, every time the rotating shaft 2 rotates by a predetermined angle, the workpiece W that has reached the position facing the door bodies 41 to 44 is moved from the upper position while the door bodies 41 to 44 are sequentially opened. The lower position is sequentially taken out of the furnace and sent to the cooling shelf 7 and a new work W is charged into the furnace. The operation of the robot arm 6 as described above, the storage of the work placement position on the cooling shelf 7 and the time for cooling each work W are performed by a computer in a robot control panel (not shown).

  FIG. 2 is a front view of the cooling shelf 7 and FIG. 3 is a plan view thereof. As shown in FIG. 2, the cooling shelf 7 includes left and right column bodies 71, and each column body 71 is substantially U-shaped in a plan view by a brace member 72 whose lower end portion extends obliquely in the front-rear direction (FIG. 3). ) Is fixedly supported on both short sides of the base 73 formed in (1). A plurality of crosspiece members 74 are stretched between the left and right column bodies 71 in parallel with each other in the vertical direction, and each crosspiece member 74 is formed of an angle member (FIG. 3).

  Each cross member 74 is provided with mounting tables 75 at three intervals in the longitudinal direction, and each mounting table 75 is configured by parallelly arranging fire-resistant blocks 751 formed in a rod shape having excellent heat insulation properties. Has been. The workpiece W taken out from the heat treatment apparatus is placed in a horizontal posture on the fireproof block 751 of each placement table 75 by the robot arm 6 and allowed to cool. This cooling is performed in a state where the workpieces W are separated from each other without being stacked, and since the mounting table 75 has heat insulation properties, the workpiece mounting surface (lower surface) in contact with the mounting table 75 is rapidly cooled. The mounted work W is allowed to cool evenly without causing problems such as

  The robot control panel stores which mounting table 75 of the cooling shelf 7 the workpiece W is mounted on, and measures the elapsed time (that is, the cooling time) after the workpiece W is mounted. In this case, the three-dimensional position of each mounting table 75 is stored in advance in the robot control panel, and the moving position of the arm 6 is detected by a position detector provided on the robot arm 6. The workpiece W is transported and placed. The work W may be placed on the placement table 75 in order from the top, or may be placed on the placement table 75 that is empty after the workpiece W that has been allowed to cool is taken out. You may make it mount.

  When the cooling time of the workpiece W on a certain mounting table 75 has passed a predetermined time, it is assumed that the cooling of the workpiece W has been completed, and the handling means is configured such that the passage of the predetermined time is different from that of the robot arm 6. The robot arm is notified, and the robot arm grasps the cooled workpiece W and takes it out of the cooling shelf 7 and transports it to the water cooling tank 8 provided near the cooling shelf 7. The predetermined time is determined by the shape of the workpiece and the steel type, and is a time for cooling to a temperature at which the influence on the hardness of the workpiece afterwards is reduced even when cooled with water.

  A front view of the water cooling tank 8 is shown in FIG. 4, and a plan view thereof is shown in FIG. The water-cooled tank 8 is provided with a tank body 81 whose plan view is an elongated rectangle (FIG. 5), and the tank body 81 is supported from below by legs 82 made of an angle material (FIG. 4). In the tank body 81, a water cooling shelf 82 as a cooling shelf made of punching metal is horizontally disposed at a predetermined height position lower than the water level R1 of the cooling water R. In the present embodiment, the other robots described above are arranged. The workpiece W can be gripped by the gripping finger 62 of the arm (only the gripping finger is shown), and the four workpieces W can be arranged side by side on the water cooling shelf 82 in a state of being separated from each other and water cooled.

  In the robot control panel, the position on the water cooling shelf 82 where the work W is placed is stored, and the elapsed time after the work W is placed (that is, the water cooling time) is counted. In this case, the three-dimensional position of each placement location of the water-cooled shelf 82 is stored in advance in the robot control panel, and the movement position of the arm is detected by a position detector provided in the other robot arm. The workpiece W is transported to the mounting place and placed on the water. In addition, the work W may be placed on the water cooling shelf 82 in order in the left-right direction, or a new work W may be placed at a place where the work W that has been subjected to water cooling is taken out and emptied. You may make it do. The workpiece W after the water cooling is again gripped by the gripping fingers 62 of the other robot arm and transferred to the subsequent process.

  As described above, according to the cooling device of the present embodiment, since the workpieces can be separated and individually managed and cooled, there is no variation in workpiece hardness or distortion after heat treatment. It is possible to cool the workpiece quickly. Although water cooling is advantageous in that the entire cooling time can be shortened, there is no need to perform water cooling particularly when the temperature is sufficiently lowered in a short time only by cooling. Further, when the water cooling is completed in a relatively short time, it is not particularly necessary to measure the water cooling time. In the above embodiment, the workpiece after the heat treatment is naturally cooled, but it may of course be forcedly cooled.

  6 ... Robot arm (handling means), 7 ... Cooling shelf (cooling shelf), 75 ... Mounting table (heat insulating material), W ... Workpiece.

Claims (2)

A cooling shelf on which the workpiece after heat treatment is placed and cooled, and the workpiece is individually transferred from the previous process to the cooling shelf and placed separately from the cooling shelf, and the workpiece after cooling is completed Handling means for transporting to the process, and cooling timing means for measuring the elapsed time since being placed on the cooling shelf for each workpiece, determining that the workpiece has been cooled after a predetermined time has elapsed, and notifying the handling means And a workpiece cooling device. The work cooling device according to claim 1, wherein the cooling shelf is configured to cool the work by placing the work on a heat insulating material.

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