JP2016053199A - Heat treatment equipment - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide heat treatment equipment with a cooling medium circulation device cooling a cooling medium to desired temperature well and making it circulate to a cooling chamber.SOLUTION: There is provided the heat treatment equipment including a cooling apparatus body cooling a treatment object housed therein by bringing a cooling medium into contact with the treatment object. The cooling apparatus body includes a cooling medium circulation device which recovers the cooling medium used for cooling in the cooling apparatus body, and cools at least a part of the recovered cooling medium and makes it circulate to the cooling apparatus body. The cooling medium circulation device cools at least a part of the recovered cooling medium while the treatment object is cooled in the cooling apparatus body.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 2

Description

  The present invention relates to a heat treatment apparatus.

  2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, a heat treatment apparatus including a heating chamber and a cooling chamber has been used to perform a process such as quenching on a metal component that is an object to be processed. For example, Patent Document 1 discloses a heat treatment apparatus in which a plurality of heating chambers are provided above an intermediate transfer chamber and a cooling chamber is provided below the intermediate transfer chamber. A cooling chamber such as a heat treatment apparatus generally collects a cooling liquid (cooling medium) from the cooling chamber and cools the recovered cooling liquid and supplies the cooling liquid to the cooling chamber (cooling medium circulation device). ) Is provided.

  Such a coolant recovery and supply device includes a coolant tank that stores coolant recovered from the cooling chamber, a cooling pump that pumps the coolant stored in the coolant tank to the header pipe of the cooling chamber, and a cooling pump. And a heat exchanger for cooling the pumped coolant.

JP 2012-13341 A

  By the way, in the above-described cooling liquid recovery and supply apparatus, the cooling liquid recovered from the cooling chamber and stored in the cooling liquid tank is used as a cooling liquid in a desired temperature, that is, in the cooling chamber by passing it once through a heat exchanger. It is necessary to cool down to the low temperature required for this. However, when the volume of the object to be processed is large, the temperature of the cooling liquid used for the cooling process rises greatly, so that the cooling liquid cannot be cooled to a desired temperature just by passing it through the heat exchanger once. Sometimes.

  Therefore, it is conceivable to cool the cooling liquid to a desired temperature by returning the cooling liquid cooled by the heat exchanger to the cooling liquid tank and circulating it. However, even in this case, if the coolant recovered from the cooling chamber and the coolant circulated after cooling with the heat exchanger are not uniformly mixed in the coolant tank, the coolant is circulated into the cooling chamber. The coolant may not be cooled to the desired temperature. If the cooling liquid cannot be cooled to a desired temperature in this way, the next object to be processed cannot be sufficiently cooled, and the next process may be adversely affected or the quality of the resulting product may be impaired.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and an object of the present invention is to provide a heat treatment apparatus including a cooling medium circulation device that cools a cooling medium to a desired temperature and circulates it in a cooling chamber. It is to provide.

  The heat treatment apparatus of the present invention is a heat treatment apparatus provided with a cooling device main body that cools an object to be processed by bringing a cooling medium into contact with the object to be processed accommodated therein, and the cooling device main body includes the cooling device. A cooling medium circulation device is provided that collects the cooling medium used for cooling in the main body, cools at least a part of the collected cooling medium, and circulates the cooling medium in the cooling device main body. A heat treatment apparatus that cools at least a part of the recovered cooling medium while the object to be processed is cooled in step (1).

  In the heat treatment apparatus, the cooling medium circulation device includes a recovery path for recovering the cooling medium from the cooling apparatus main body, a cooling medium tank for storing the cooling medium recovered by the recovery path, and the cooling medium tank. A first circulation path for deriving and bringing the cooling medium into contact with the cooling means, cooling, and then returning the cooled cooling medium back into the cooling medium tank; and upstream of the cooling means in the first circulation path And a second circulation path that circulates the cooling medium led out from the cooling medium tank to the cooling apparatus body by connecting to the cooling apparatus body, and the first circulation path includes the second circulation path. The present invention is characterized in that a pump for sending the cooling medium led out from the cooling medium tank to the downstream side of the first circulation path is provided.

  Moreover, in the said heat processing apparatus, the injection nozzle which injects a cooling medium to the discharge port of the 1st piping which forms the said 1st circulation path is provided, and the said injection nozzle is a centerline along the horizontal direction of the said cooling medium tank. It arrange | positions in the cooling medium stored in this cooling medium tank in the state inclined in the horizontal direction with respect to the said centerline while arrange | positioning in the vicinity.

Further, in the heat treatment apparatus, when the cooling medium is jetted out in the cooling medium as the spray nozzle, the cooling medium is sucked in using the negative pressure, so that the amount of the cooling medium supplied from the first pipe It is characterized by using a stirring spray nozzle that ejects a large amount of cooling medium.
In the heat treatment apparatus, a constant flow valve is provided in the first circulation path.

  According to the heat treatment apparatus of the present invention, the cooling device main body is provided with the cooling medium circulation device that cools at least a part of the recovered cooling medium and circulates it to the cooling device main body. During this time, by cooling at least a part of the cooling medium recovered by the cooling medium circulation device, the cooling medium can be cooled to a desired temperature and circulated through the cooling device main body. Therefore, the cooling process of the workpiece in the cooling chamber of the cooling device main body can be performed satisfactorily.

It is a longitudinal cross-sectional view which shows schematic structure of one Embodiment of the heat processing apparatus which concerns on this invention. It is a schematic diagram for demonstrating schematic structure of an example of a cooling device. It is a top view of a cooling water tank. It is a figure for demonstrating schematic structure of an injection nozzle.

Hereinafter, the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. In the following drawings, the scale of each member is appropriately changed to make each member a recognizable size.
FIG. 1 is a longitudinal sectional view showing a schematic configuration of an embodiment of a heat treatment apparatus according to the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram for explaining a schematic configuration of an example of a cooling apparatus.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the heat treatment apparatus M is an apparatus in which a cooling device R, an intermediate transfer device H, two heating devices K1, and a heating device K2 are combined. In addition, although the actual heat processing apparatus is provided with three heating apparatuses, the 3rd heating apparatus is not shown by the relationship which has shown the center longitudinal cross-section of the cooling device R in FIG.

  The cooling device R shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 includes a cooling device main body RH that cools the workpiece X by bringing the cooling medium into contact with the workpiece X accommodated in the cooling chamber RS, as shown in FIG. A cooling medium circulation device RJ provided in the cooling device main body RH for collecting the cooling medium used for cooling in the cooling device main body RH, cooling it, and circulating it to the cooling device main body RH. ing.

As shown in FIG. 1, the cooling device main body RH includes a cooling chamber 1, a plurality of cooling nozzles 2, a plurality of mist headers 3 and the like.
The cooling chamber 1 is a vertical cylindrical container (a container whose central axis is in the vertical direction), and the internal space is the cooling chamber RS. The upper portion of the cooling chamber 1 is connected to the intermediate transfer device H, and the cooling chamber 1 is formed with an opening that allows the cooling chamber RS to communicate with the internal space (transfer chamber HS) of the intermediate transfer device H. The workpiece X is carried into / out of the cooling chamber RS through this opening.

  The plurality of cooling nozzles 2 are discretely arranged around the workpiece X accommodated in the cooling chamber RS. More specifically, the plurality of cooling nozzles 2 are multistage (specifically, five stages) in the vertical direction around the workpiece X, and are spaced apart in the circumferential direction of the cooling chamber 1 (cooling room RS). In such a state, they are discretely arranged so as to surround the object to be processed X as a whole and so that the distance from the object to be processed X is as equal as possible.

  For example, the plurality of cooling nozzles 2 belonging to the uppermost stage are grouped into two nozzle groups, and a mist header 3 is individually provided for each nozzle group. On the other hand, the plurality of cooling nozzles 2 belonging to the lowest stage and the middle three stages are grouped into three nozzle groups, and a mist header 3 is individually provided for each nozzle group. Each cooling nozzle 2 of each nozzle group is adjusted so that the direction of the nozzle axis is directed to the workpiece X, and the cooling medium circulation device RJ shown in FIG. The cooling medium supplied from the pump 4 is sprayed toward the workpiece X.

  Moreover, as shown in FIG. 1, the several cooling nozzle 2 which belongs to the uppermost stage is arrange | positioned in the position higher than the upper end of the to-be-processed object X in a perpendicular direction. On the other hand, the plurality of cooling nozzles 2 belonging to the lowermost stage are arranged at a height substantially equal to the lower end of the workpiece X. Furthermore, the plurality of cooling nozzles 2 belonging to the uppermost stage are arranged inside the cooling nozzles 2 of the other stages, that is, spaced from the inner surface of the cooling chamber 1 than the cooling nozzles 2 of the other stages.

  Here, the cooling medium is a liquid having a lower viscosity than the cooling oil generally used for cooling the heat treatment, and water is used in the present embodiment. The injection holes of the cooling nozzle 2 are shaped so that cooling water as a cooling medium becomes droplets having a uniform and constant particle diameter at a predetermined spray angle. In addition, the spray angle of each cooling nozzle 2 and the interval between the cooling nozzles 2 adjacent to each other are the outer circumferences of the droplets ejected from the cooling nozzle 2 and the droplets located on the outer peripheral side ejected from the adjacent cooling nozzle 2. It is set so as to cross or collide with the side droplet.

  That is, such a plurality of cooling nozzles 2 spray the cooling water toward the workpiece X so as to totally surround the workpiece X with an aggregate of droplets of the cooling medium, that is, a mist of cooling water. Is. The cooling water mist is preferably formed around the workpiece X by droplets having a uniform particle diameter and a uniform concentration.

  The cooling apparatus main body RH of the present embodiment cools the workpiece X using such a cooling water mist, that is, cools the workpiece X by mist. The cooling conditions such as the cooling temperature and cooling time in the cooling device main body RH are appropriately set according to the purpose of the heat treatment in the workpiece X, the material of the workpiece X, and the like.

  Here, in addition to the mist cooling of the workpiece X using the cooling water mist described above, the cooling device body RH can perform cooling (immersion cooling) in which the workpiece X is immersed in the cooling water. In this immersion cooling, the workpiece X in the cooling chamber 1 is immersed and cooled by cooling water (cooling medium) supplied from a plurality of ejection nozzles 8 arranged at the bottom of the cooling chamber RS. . That is, a switching valve 9a and a switching valve 9b are provided on the discharge side (downstream side) of the cooling pump 4 of the cooling medium circulation device RJ shown in FIG. Alternatively, cooling water is supplied to the jet nozzle 8. As the cooling pump 4, a cooling pump having a minimum variation in cooling water discharge pressure over time is selected.

  The cooling medium circulation device RJ stores the first recovery path 30 and the second recovery path 31 for recovering the cooling water from the cooling apparatus main body RH, and the cooling water recovered by the first recovery path 30 and the second recovery path 31. A cooling water tank 32 (cooling medium tank), a first circulation path 33 connected to the cooling water tank 32, and a second circulation path 34 branched from the first circulation path 33.

  The first recovery path 30 is formed by a pipe having one end connected to the bottom of the cooling device main body RH and the other end connected to the cooling water tank 32, and has an opening / closing valve 35 in the pipe. In addition, the piping which forms the 1st collection path 30 is attached to the upper cover (not shown) with which the other end side was attached to the said cooling water tank 32 in this embodiment. Therefore, this piping discharges the cooling water collected from the cooling device main body RH onto the water surface of the cooling water stored in the cooling water tank 32 from the other end side opening.

  The second recovery path 31 is formed by a pipe having one end connected to the upper part of the cooling device main body RH and the other end connected to the cooling water tank 32. In the present embodiment, the pipe forming the second recovery path 31 is also attached to the upper lid (not shown) attached to the cooling water tank 32 at the other end side, and is therefore stored in the cooling water tank 32 from the other end side opening. The cooling water collected from the cooling device main body RH is discharged onto the water surface of the cooling water thus formed.

  Here, the first recovery path 30 is used to recover the cooling water collected at the bottom of the cooling chamber RS when the workpiece X is mist cooled in the cooling device main body RH. Is used to overflow and recover the cooling water accumulated in the cooling chamber RS when the workpiece X is immersed and cooled in the cooling device main body RH.

  The cooling water tank 32 is a general rectangular parallelepiped water tank, and has two drain ports 36 on the bottom surface on one short side as shown in FIG. 3 which is a plan view of the cooling water tank 32. A drain pipe (not shown) is connected to each drain port 36, and these drain pipes are connected to one first pipe (not shown).

  The first piping connected to the drain pipe forms a first circulation path 33 as shown in FIG. One end side of the first circulation path 33 is connected to the bottom surface of the cooling water tank 32 through the drain pipe, and the other end side is arranged on the bottom side in the cooling water tank 32. The cooling pump 4 is provided in the first pipe forming the first circulation path 33. Thereby, the cooling water in the cooling water tank 32 is led out from the drain port 36 and flows through the first circulation path 33. Here, the cooling pump 4 is normally operated at normal time. Therefore, the cooling pump 4 is operated to cool the workpiece X in the cooling chamber RS (cooling device main body RH) and is operated in the cooling water tank 32. The cooling water is allowed to flow through the first circulation path 33.

  Further, in the first pipe forming the first circulation path 33, a heat exchanger 37 as a cooling means is disposed on the downstream side of the cooling pump 4. The heat exchanger 37 is a known one that exchanges heat between cooling water sent from a cooler (chiller) (not shown) and cooling water flowing through the first pipe (first circulation path 33). The cooling water flowing through one circulation path 33 is configured to be cooled to about 30 ° C., for example.

  A constant flow valve 38 is disposed between the cooling pump 4 and the heat exchanger 37 in the first pipe that forms the first circulation path 33. Under such a configuration, the first circulation path 33 leads the cooling water in the cooling water tank 32 to contact the heat exchanger 37 and cools, and then cools the cooling water into the cooling water tank 32 again. It is supposed to be returned.

  Further, the first circulation path 33 is branched downstream of the cooling pump 4 and upstream of the constant flow valve 38, and therefore upstream of the heat exchanger 37, and is connected to the cooling device main body RH. A circulation path 34 is provided. That is, a second pipe that forms the second circulation path 34 is provided in connection with the first pipe that forms the first circulation path 33. The second pipe that forms the second circulation path 34 is branched into a pipe that forms the first branch path 39 and a pipe that forms the second branch path 40.

  The piping forming the first branch path 39 is provided with a plurality of branch pipes 41 respectively connected to the mist header 3, and the first branch path 39 is connected to the cooling device main body RH via these branch pipes 41. doing. That is, the cooling water led out from the cooling water tank 32 and flowing through the first branch path 39 of the second circulation path 34 is sprayed from the cooling nozzle 2 into the cooling chamber RS via the branch pipe 41 and the mist header 3. Each branch pipe 41 is provided with a switching valve 9b.

  Moreover, the piping which forms the 2nd branch path 40 is connected to the header (not shown) connected to the said ejection nozzle 8, respectively, Thereby, the 2nd branch path 40 is also connected to the cooling device main body RH. . That is, the cooling water led out from the cooling water tank 32 and flowing through the second branch path 40 of the second circulation path 34 is ejected from the ejection nozzle 8 into the cooling chamber RS via the header. Note that a switching valve 9 a is provided in the pipe forming the second branch path 40.

  As shown in FIG. 3, an injection nozzle 42 is provided in the first pipe disposed on the other end side of the first circulation path 33, that is, on the bottom side in the cooling water tank 32. This injection nozzle 42 is disposed below the surface of the cooling water stored in the bottom of the cooling water tank 32 and stores the circulating cooling water returned from the first circulation path 33 and circulated. By injecting into the cooled cooling water, the cooling water in the cooling water tank 32 is caused to convect and function to stir and mix.

  In order to enhance such an agitation effect, the injection nozzle 42 is arranged in the center line along the horizontal direction of the cooling water tank 32, in the longitudinal direction of the long side when the cooling water tank 32 having a rectangular shape in plan view in the present embodiment is viewed in plan. It is arranged in the vicinity of the center line C along and on one short side of the cooling water tank 32, and the jet flow is arranged so as to intersect the center line C. For example, the injection nozzle 42 is disposed in a state inclined in the horizontal direction with respect to the center line C so that the angle θ formed by the injection flow of the injection nozzle 42 and the center line C is about 30 °. The injection nozzle 42 is disposed on the short side where the drain port 36 is formed, and is disposed toward the side opposite to the drain port 36.

  By arranging the injection nozzle 42 in this way, the cooling water in the cooling water tank 32 is greatly convected by the cooling water injected from the injection nozzle 42 as shown by the arrows in FIG. Thereby, the cooling water recovered from the cooling chamber RS by the first recovery path 30 or the second recovery path 31 and stored in the cooling water tank 32, and the cooling water returned and circulated by the first circulation path 33, Are uniformly mixed.

  Further, in the present embodiment, as the injection nozzle 42, a stirring injection nozzle in which a plurality of openings 42b are formed in a cylindrical tube wall 42a as shown in FIG. 4 is used. The agitating / injecting nozzle (injecting nozzle 42) is attached to the tip of the first pipe 43 forming the first circulation path 33 by screwing or the like, and is supplied with cooling water from the first pipe 43. When injecting, the negative pressure is used to suck the cooling water in the cooling water tank 32 from the opening 42b.

  Thereby, in addition to the amount of cooling water supplied by the first pipe 43, the cooling water sucked from the opening 42b is also injected, so that a larger amount of cooling water than the amount of cooling water supplied by the first pipe 43 can be ejected. It has become. For example, when the amount of cooling water supplied through the first pipe 43 is 40 L / min, the cooling water sprayed (spouted) from the stirring spray nozzle is designed to be about 120 L / min, three times.

  Therefore, in this embodiment, the inside of the cooling water tank 32 can be more convected and stirred by using the stirring spray nozzle shown in FIG. 4 as the spray nozzle 42. Thereby, the cooling water collected from the cooling chamber RS and stored in the cooling water tank 32 can be more uniformly mixed with the cooling water returned by the first circulation path 33. Note that such a stirring injection nozzle (injection nozzle 42) is arranged at the bottom of the cooling water tank 32 so that the cooling water can be sucked and injected from the opening 42b even when the cooling water stored in the cooling water tank 32 decreases. Is done.

  Further, in the present embodiment, as shown in FIG. 2, the amount of cooling water flowing through the first pipe forming the first circulation path 33 is set between the cooling pump 4 and the heat exchanger 37 in the first circulation path 33. A constant flow valve 38 is provided to keep it constant. This constant flow valve 38 is, for example, a cooling water tank that passes through the first circulation path 33 when the output of the cooling pump 4 is increased to increase the water supply amount in order to increase the injection pressure of the cooling water of the cooling nozzle 2 in the cooling chamber RS. This is because the amount of cooling water returned to 32 is kept at a constant amount, and thereby the amount of cooling water sent to the second circulation path 34 is sufficiently increased.

  Without such a constant flow valve 38, even if the output of the cooling pump 4 is increased and the amount of water supplied is increased, the amount of cooling water returned to the cooling water tank 32 through the first circulation path 33 is increased. The amount of cooling water sent to the second circulation path 34 is not sufficiently increased, and it becomes difficult to increase the injection pressure of the cooling water from the cooling nozzle 2 to a desired pressure. However, by providing the constant flow valve 38, it is possible to easily increase the injection pressure of the cooling water from the cooling nozzle 2 to a desired pressure by increasing the output of the cooling pump 4.

  Returning to FIG. 1, the intermediate transfer device H includes a transfer chamber 10, a cooling chamber mounting table 11, a cooling chamber lifting table (not shown), a cooling chamber lifting cylinder 13, a pair of transfer rails 14, a pusher cylinder 15, and a pusher cylinder 16. The heating chamber lifting platform 17 and the heating chamber lifting cylinder 18 are provided. The transfer chamber 10 is a container provided between the cooling device R, the heating device K1, and the heating device K2, and the internal space is the transfer chamber HS. The workpiece X is loaded into the transfer chamber 10 from a loading / unloading port (not shown) by an external transfer device while being stored in a container (storage container) such as a basket.

  The cooling chamber mounting table 11 is a support table on which the workpiece X is placed when the workpiece X is cooled by the cooling device R, and supports the workpiece X so that the bottom of the workpiece X is exposed as widely as possible. To do. The cooling chamber mounting table 11 is provided on a cooling chamber elevator (not shown). The cooling chamber lift is a support that supports the cooling chamber mounting table 11, that is, a support that supports the workpiece X via the cooling chamber mounting table 11, and is fixed to the tip of the movable rod of the cooling chamber lifting cylinder 13. Has been.

  The cooling chamber elevating cylinder 13 is an actuator that moves the cooling chamber elevating table up and down (up and down). That is, the cooling chamber elevating cylinder 13 and the cooling chamber elevating table are dedicated conveying devices for the cooling device R, and the workpiece X placed on the cooling chamber placing table 11 is conveyed from the conveying chamber HS to the cooling chamber RS. At the same time, it is transferred from the cooling chamber RS to the transfer chamber HS.

  The pair of transfer rails 14 are laid on the floor in the transfer chamber 10 so as to extend in the horizontal direction. These conveyance rails 14 are guide members (guide members) for conveying the workpiece X between the cooling device R and the heating device K1. The pusher cylinder 15 is an actuator that presses the workpiece X when the workpiece X in the transfer chamber 10 is transferred toward the heating device K1. The pusher cylinder 16 is an actuator that presses the workpiece X when the workpiece X is transported from the heating device K1 to the cooling device R.

  That is, the pair of transport rails 14, the pusher cylinder 15, and the pusher cylinder 16 are dedicated transport devices that transport the workpiece X between the heating device K 1 and the cooling device R. 1 shows a pair of transport rails 14, a pusher cylinder 15, and a pusher cylinder 16, but an actual intermediate transport device H includes a total of three pairs of transport rails 14, a pusher cylinder 15, and a pusher cylinder 16. I have. That is, the conveyance rail 14, the pusher cylinder 15, and the pusher cylinder 16 are provided not only for the heating device K1, but also for the heating device K2, and for a third heating device (not shown).

  The heating chamber lift 17 is a support table on which the workpiece X is placed when the workpiece X is transferred from the intermediate transfer device H to the heating device K1. That is, the workpiece X is conveyed right above the heating chamber elevator 17 by being pushed rightward in FIG. 1 by the pusher cylinder 15. The heating chamber elevating cylinder 18 is an actuator that moves the workpiece X on the heating chamber elevating platform 17 up and down (up and down). That is, the heating chamber elevating table 17 and the heating chamber elevating cylinder 18 are dedicated conveying devices for the heating device K1, and the workpiece X placed on the heating chamber elevating table 17 is transferred from the conveying chamber HS to the inside of the heating device K1. It is transferred to the heating chamber KS and transferred from the heating chamber KS to the transfer chamber HS.

  The heating device K1 and the heating device K2 basically have the same configuration. Therefore, the configuration of the heating device K1 will be described below as a representative. The heating device K1 includes a heating chamber 20, a heat insulating container 21, a plurality of heaters 22, a vacuum exhaust pipe 23, a vacuum pump 24, a stirring blade 25, a stirring motor 26, and the like.

  The heating chamber 20 is a container provided on the transfer chamber 10, and the internal space is the heating chamber KS. The heating chamber 20 is a vertical cylindrical container (a container whose central axis is in the vertical direction), similar to the cooling chamber 1 described above, but is smaller than the cooling chamber 1. The heat insulating container 21 is a vertical cylindrical container provided in the heating chamber 20 and is formed of a heat insulating material having a predetermined heat insulating performance.

  The plurality of heaters 22 are rod-shaped heating elements, and are provided at predetermined intervals in the circumferential direction in the heat insulating container 21 in a vertical posture. The plurality of heaters 22 heats the workpiece X accommodated in the heating chamber KS to a desired temperature (heating temperature). The heating conditions such as the heating temperature and the heating time are appropriately set according to the purpose of the heat treatment for the workpiece X, the material of the workpiece X, and the like.

  Here, the heating condition includes the degree of vacuum (pressure) in the heating chamber KS (heating chamber 20). The vacuum exhaust pipe 23 is a pipe that communicates with the heating chamber KS, and has one end connected to the upper part of the heat insulating container 21 and the other end connected to the vacuum pump 24. The vacuum pump 24 is an exhaust pump that sucks air in the heating chamber KS through the vacuum exhaust pipe 23. The degree of vacuum in the heating chamber KS is determined by the amount of air exhausted by the vacuum pump 24.

  The agitating blade 25 is a rotating blade provided in an upper part in the heat insulating container 21 in a posture in which the direction of the rotation axis is a vertical direction (vertical direction). The stirring blade 25 is driven by the stirring motor 26 to stir the air in the heating chamber KS. The stirring motor 26 is a rotational drive source provided on the heating chamber 20 so that the output shaft is in the vertical direction (up and down direction). The output shaft of the stirring motor 26 located on the heating chamber 20 is axially coupled to the rotating shaft of the stirring blade 25 located in the heating chamber 20 so as not to impair the airtightness (sealability) of the heating chamber 20. ing.

  Although not shown in FIG. 1, the heat treatment apparatus according to this embodiment includes a dedicated control panel (control apparatus). The control panel includes an operation unit for a user to set and input various conditions for heat treatment, and each driving unit such as the cooling pump 4, the heater 22, various cylinders, and the vacuum pump 24 based on a control program stored in advance therein. And a control unit that executes heat treatment on the workpiece X according to the setting information. Such a control panel controls the cooling pump 4 so that it is continuously operated without being stopped at the normal time as described above.

  Next, the operation (heat treatment method) of the heat treatment apparatus configured as described above, particularly the operation of the cooling apparatus (cooling treatment method) will be described in detail. The operation of this heat treatment apparatus is executed mainly by the control panel based on setting information. As is well known, there are various types of heat treatment depending on the purpose. Below, the operation | movement in the case of quenching the to-be-processed object X as an example of heat processing is demonstrated.

  The quenching is completed, for example, by heating the workpiece X to a temperature T1 and then rapidly cooling it to a temperature T2, holding it at the temperature T2 for a certain time, and then slowly cooling it. The workpiece X accommodated in the intermediate transfer device H from the loading / unloading port by the external transfer device is transferred onto the heating chamber lifting / lowering base 17 by the operation of, for example, the pusher cylinder 15, and further, the heating chamber lifting / lowering cylinder 18. Is activated and is accommodated in the heating chamber KS.

  Then, when the workpiece X is heated to the temperature T1 by energizing the heater 22 for a certain time, the heating chamber elevating cylinder 18 is operated, and the pusher cylinder 16 is further operated to operate the cooling chamber mounting table 11. Transported up. Then, the cooling chamber elevating cylinder 13 is operated to be conveyed to the cooling chamber RS.

The workpiece X transported to the cooling chamber RS is subjected to a preset cooling process, that is, a mist cooling or immersion cooling process.
When the workpiece X is mist-cooled in the cooling chamber RS, after the conveyed workpiece X is accommodated in the cooling chamber RS, the second circulation on the discharge port side of the cooling pump 4 that is continuously operated. A branch path of the path 34 is defined as a first branch path 39 by the switching valve 9a and the switching valve 9b. As a result, the cooling water supply destination is selected as the cooling nozzle 2, and the cooling water droplets are ejected from the cooling nozzle 2 toward the workpiece X. That is, the workpiece X is mist cooled by the cooling water droplets ejected from the cooling nozzle 2. In this mist cooling, the cooling water sprayed from the plurality of cooling nozzles 2 is continuously returned to the cooling water tank 32 via the first recovery path 30 shown in FIG.

  Further, when the workpiece X is immersed and cooled, first, the cooling water supply destination is selected as the cooling nozzle 2 in the same manner as the mist cooling before the workpiece X is accommodated in the cooling chamber RS. By ejecting cooling water droplets from the cooling nozzle 2, the cooling water is accumulated to some extent in the cooling chamber RS. Subsequently, the switching valve 9a and the switching valve 9b are switched so that the cooling water supply destination is the injection nozzle 8. By supplying the cooling medium from the plurality of ejection nozzles 8 in this way, the cooling chamber RS is filled with cooling water. Next, immersion cooling is performed by accommodating the workpiece X in the cooling chamber RS filled with cooling water. Thereby, the to-be-processed object X is immersed in cooling water, and is rapidly cooled to temperature T2. This immersion cooling is performed for a predetermined time. In this immersion cooling, cooling water is continuously supplied from the plurality of ejection nozzles 8 into the cooling chamber RS, whereby the cooling water in the cooling chamber RS is agitated. The Further, the cooling water overflowed in the cooling chamber RS is returned to the cooling water tank 32 via the second recovery path 31 shown in FIG. When such immersion cooling is completed, the on-off valve 35 is opened, and the cooling water in the cooling chamber RS is returned to the cooling water tank 32 in a short time via the first recovery path 30, thereby the workpiece X The state changes from a state immersed in a cooling medium to a state left in the air in a short time.

During the cooling of the workpiece X in the cooling device main body RH, the cooling medium circulation device RJ operates as follows.
When the cooling water supplied for cooling from the first recovery path 30 or the second recovery path 31 is returned to the cooling water tank 32, a part of the cooling water is continuously circulated from the drain port 36 by the cooling pump 4 that is operated continuously. It leads to the path 33.

  A part of the cooling water flowing through the first circulation path 33 passes through the constant flow valve 38 and is heat-exchanged by the heat exchanger 37, and is cooled to a predetermined temperature, for example, about 30 ° C. Further, the remaining portion flows through the second circulation path 34 and is guided into the cooling chamber RS to be used for cooling the workpiece X. For example, even if the output of the cooling pump 4 is increased so as to increase the jet pressure from the cooling nozzle 2 and the amount of cooling water led out from the drain port 36 to the first circulation path 33 is increased, the first circulation path 33. Since the amount of the cooling water flowing through the heat exchanger 37 therein is kept constant by the constant flow valve 38, the jet pressure from the cooling nozzle 2 can be reliably increased. In addition, since the amount of cooling water flowing to the heat exchanger 37 is maintained constant by the constant flow valve 38 in this way, the cooling capacity for cooling the heat exchanger 37 is also substantially constant without greatly fluctuating. Can be maintained. Therefore, the load of the cooler (chiller) connected to the heat exchanger 37 and circulating the cooling water to the heat exchanger 37 is also stably maintained.

  The cooling water that has been heat-exchanged and cooled by the heat exchanger 37 is jetted into the cooling water tank 32 through the jet nozzle 42 (stirring jet nozzle) shown in FIG. At that time, since the injection nozzle 42 is arranged so as to cause convection in the cooling water tank 32 as described above, the cooling water in the cooling water tank 32 has a large convection in the horizontal direction as indicated by an arrow in FIG. Form. Thereby, the inside of the cooling water tank 32 is agitated and returned from the first recovery path 30 or the second recovery path 31, and the relatively high-temperature cooling water after the cooling process of the workpiece X and the first circulation path 33. The returned low-temperature cooling water cooled by the heat exchanger 37 is well mixed. Accordingly, the cooling water in the cooling water tank 32 is adjusted to a low temperature suitable for cooling in the cooling chamber RS.

  In addition, since the cooling pump 4 is continuously operated without being stopped while the cooling of the workpiece X by the cooling device main body RH is stopped, the cooling water in the cooling water tank 32 is supplied to the first circulation path 33. Is continuously cooled and maintained at a desired low temperature.

  In the cooling medium circulation device RJ of the present embodiment, a part of the cooling water collected by the cooling medium circulation device RJ is cooled while the workpiece X is being cooled in the cooling chamber RS of the cooling device body RH. Thus, the cooling water can be cooled to a desired temperature and circulated in the cooling chamber RS of the cooling device body RH. Therefore, the cooling process of the workpiece X in the cooling chamber RS can be performed satisfactorily.

  Further, since the cooling pump 4 is provided in the first circulation path 33 of the cooling medium circulation device RJ, when the cooling in the cooling chamber RS is stopped, and thereby the supply of the cooling water to the second circulation path 34 is stopped. In addition, since the cooling pump 4 circulates the cooling water between the first circulation path 33 and the cooling water tank 32, there is no hindrance to the operation, and therefore, the continuous operation can be performed stably.

  In addition, in the state where the injection nozzle 42 provided at the discharge port of the first pipe 43 forming the first circulation path 33 is inclined in the horizontal direction with respect to the center line C along the horizontal direction of the cooling water tank 32, the cooling water tank Since the cooling water is arranged in the cooling water 32, the jet flow from the jet nozzle 42 causes the cooling water in the cooling water tank 32 to cause convection in the horizontal direction, and is therefore cooled by the heat exchanger 37 (cooling means). The cooling water circulated after the cooling and the cooling water recovered from the cooling chamber RS can be uniformly mixed in the cooling water tank 32. Therefore, it is possible to sufficiently cool the cooling water to the required temperature, and the cooling process of the workpiece X in the cooling chamber RS can be performed better.

  Further, as the injection nozzle 42, when the cooling water is injected (spouted) in the stored cooling water, the cooling water is sucked in by using the negative pressure, so that the amount of cooling water supplied by the first pipe 43 is larger. Since the agitation nozzle for ejecting the cooling water is used, the inside of the cooling water tank 32 can be more convected and agitated, whereby the cooling water recovered from the cooling chamber RS and stored in the cooling water tank 32 The cooling water returned by the first circulation path 33 can be mixed more uniformly.

  Further, since the constant flow valve 38 is provided in the first circulation path 33, for example, in order to increase the injection pressure of the cooling water from the cooling nozzle 2 in the cooling chamber RS, the output of the cooling pump 4 is increased to increase the water supply amount. At this time, by keeping the amount of cooling water returned to the cooling water tank 32 through the first circulation path 33 at a constant amount, the amount of cooling water sent to the second circulation path 34 is sufficiently increased, and the injection pressure of the cooling nozzle 2 is increased. Can be increased. In addition, since the cooling capacity for cooling the heat exchanger 37 can be maintained substantially constant, the cooler (chiller) that is connected to the heat exchanger 37 and circulates cooling water therethrough is also overloaded. And can be stably maintained at an appropriate load.

  As mentioned above, although preferred embodiment of this invention was described referring drawings, this invention is not limited to the said embodiment. Various shapes, combinations, and the like of the constituent members shown in the above-described embodiments are examples, and various modifications can be made based on design requirements and the like without departing from the spirit of the present invention.

  For example, in the above-described embodiment, the injection nozzle 42 is arranged so as to cause convection in the horizontal direction in the cooling water tank 32. However, in addition to convection in the horizontal direction, convection can also be caused in the vertical direction. The injection nozzle 42 may be disposed so as to be inclined in the vertical direction.

Moreover, although the said embodiment demonstrated the heat processing apparatus provided with the cooling device R, the intermediate conveyance apparatus H, and three heating devices, this invention is not limited to this, For example, the cooling device R and a single heating chamber Can also be applied to a heat treatment apparatus of a type adjacent to each other through an opening / closing door.
Moreover, although the cooling device R of the said embodiment is a type which accommodates the to-be-processed object X in the cooling chamber RS from upper direction, this invention is not limited to this, The to-be-processed object X is side. (Horizontal direction) or a type that is accommodated in the cooling chamber RS from below is also applicable.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 2 ... Cooling nozzle, 4 ... Cooling pump (pump), 8 ... Injection nozzle, 30 ... 1st collection path, 31 ... 2nd collection path, 32 ... Cooling water tank (cooling medium tank), 33 ... 1st circulation path, 34 ... 2nd circulation path, 37 ... Heat exchanger (cooling means), 38 ... Constant flow valve, 42 ... Injection nozzle (stirring injection nozzle), 43 ... 1st piping, C ... Center line, M ... Heat treatment apparatus, R ... Cooling device, RH ... cooling device body, RJ ... cooling medium circulation device, RS ... cooling chamber, K1 ... heating device, K2 ... heating device, X ... processed object

Claims (5)

A heat treatment apparatus including a cooling device main body that cools an object to be processed by bringing a cooling medium into contact with the object to be processed contained therein,
The cooling device body is provided with a cooling medium circulation device that collects the cooling medium used for cooling in the cooling device body, cools at least a part of the collected cooling medium, and circulates the cooling medium in the cooling device body,
The cooling medium circulating apparatus cools at least a part of the collected cooling medium while the workpiece is cooled by the cooling apparatus main body. The cooling medium circulation device derives a cooling path for recovering the cooling medium from the cooling apparatus body, a cooling medium tank for storing the cooling medium recovered by the recovery path, and a cooling medium in the cooling medium tank. A first circulation path for bringing the cooling medium into contact with the cooling means and cooling and then returning the cooled cooling medium to the cooling medium tank again; and branching upstream of the cooling means in the first circulation path; A second circulation path for circulating the cooling medium led out from the cooling medium tank to the cooling device main body by connecting to the main body,
2. The heat treatment apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the first circulation path is provided with a pump that sends the cooling medium led out from the cooling medium tank to the downstream side of the first circulation path. An injection nozzle for injecting a cooling medium is provided at the discharge port of the first pipe forming the first circulation path,
The spray nozzle is disposed in the vicinity of the center line along the horizontal direction of the cooling medium tank, and is disposed in the cooling medium stored in the cooling medium tank in a state inclined in the horizontal direction with respect to the center line. The heat treatment apparatus according to claim 2, wherein   As the injection nozzle, when the cooling medium is ejected in the cooling medium, the cooling medium is sucked in by utilizing the negative pressure, and thereby the stirring medium is ejected more than the amount of the cooling medium supplied by the first pipe. 4. A heat treatment apparatus according to claim 3, wherein an injection nozzle is used.   The heat treatment apparatus according to any one of claims 2 to 4, wherein a constant flow valve is provided in the first circulation path.

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