JP2019039634A - Heat treatment device - Google Patents

Abstract

To develop a heat treatment device of a structure hardly damaging a heating object like a glass substrate.SOLUTION: A heat treatment device 1 has a heating chamber 2 heating a heating object, and performs heat-treatment on the thin plate-like heating object in the heating chamber 2. Support members supporting the heating objects in a flat state are placed in several stages in the heating chamber 2. The heating objects are placed on the support members on the stages and multiple pieces of the heating objects can be placed vertically with spaces. Stopper members 27 restricting movement of the heating objects are provided in the vicinity of end parts of a setting area for setting the heating objects, and the stopper member 27 has a contact part 30 allowing an end part of the heating object to contact. The contact part 30 is tilted in the expanding direction of an upper part.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 2

Description

  The present invention relates to a heat treatment apparatus for heat-treating a thin plate-like object to be heated such as a glass substrate with hot air or the like.

Patent Document 1 discloses a heat treatment apparatus for heat treating a glass substrate or the like. The heat treatment apparatus disclosed in Patent Document 1 is a flat panel display (FPD) such as a liquid crystal display (LCD), a plasma display panel (PDP), an organic EL display, or the like. Used for production.
One type of heat treatment apparatus is one that introduces hot air at a predetermined temperature into a heating chamber.
As an example of the heat treatment apparatus, there is a structure in which a mounting shelf is arranged in a heating chamber.
For example, a glass substrate on which a specific solution is previously applied to a glass plate or the like is placed between the steps of the mounting shelf using a robot hand. Then, hot air is introduced into the heating chamber, the glass plate is exposed to the hot air, dried or heat-treated (fired), and then the treated glass plate is taken out using the robot hand.

Some mounting shelves have a structure in which support members for supporting a substrate are provided in a plurality of stages in the vertical direction.
The support member may be composed of, for example, a bar, a beam, or a plate.

JP 2006-46894 A

As described above, the glass substrate may be inserted into the heating chamber using, for example, a robot hand and installed on a predetermined stage of the mounting shelf. Then, hot air is circulated in the heating chamber to dry and fire the glass substrate.
Here, the size of the glass substrate, which is an object to be heated, varies, and there is a large area or a thin thickness. In particular, in recent years, an extremely thin glass substrate having an area of approximately 1.0 square meters or more and a thickness of 0.5 mm may be heat-treated.

When a thin glass substrate having a large area is exposed to hot air, the glass substrate may be displaced and moved in the width direction (lateral direction) by the wind. In the present specification, the direction in which the glass substrate is inserted into the heating chamber is referred to as the “longitudinal direction of the glass substrate”, and the direction orthogonal thereto is referred to as the “width direction of the glass substrate”.
The heat-treated glass substrate is taken out of the heating chamber by a robot hand or the like and sent to the next process. Here, if the glass substrate that has moved in the width direction from the regular position is placed on the next process device by a robot hand or the like, the mounting position of the glass substrate on the next process device may deviate from the regular position. is there.

Therefore, the present inventors provided a stopper member for restricting the movement of the glass substrate in the test chamber. The manufactured stopper member is plate-shaped and is installed in a vertical posture. The plate surface of the stopper member faces the glass substrate side.
In the prototype heat treatment apparatus, the stopper members are arranged at both ends of the installation area where the glass substrate is installed, and stop when they hit the stopper member when the glass substrate is displaced in the width direction. Therefore, even if the glass substrate moves, the installation position of the glass substrate is within an allowable range, and when the glass substrate is moved to the next process apparatus, the glass substrate is installed at a normal position of the next process apparatus. Therefore, it was possible to perform the predetermined processing with the next process apparatus without any trouble.

However, the prototype heat treatment apparatus has an unexpected problem.
That is, when a glass substrate is heat-treated using a prototyped heat treatment apparatus, the glass substrate is more often broken or broken than before.
As a result of investigating the cause, it was found that a minute crack was generated in the side portion of the glass substrate, and this crack led to the crack of the glass substrate in the subsequent steps.
Furthermore, when the cause was pursued, it was found that the crack described above occurred when the glass substrate was taken out of the heating chamber using a robot hand.

That is, the glass substrate is laid flat on the support member in the heating chamber. When taking out the glass substrate, for example, as shown in FIG. 8, the fork-like holding member 110 of the robot hand is inserted into the lower surface side of the glass substrate to be taken out, and the holding member 110 is raised to scoop up and hold the glass substrate. The member 110 is retracted and the glass substrate is taken out of the heating chamber.
At this time, the edge side of the glass substrate may move in the width direction and hit the stopper member, and when the edge side further moves upward, the edge may be rubbed and damaged.
This will be described below.

In the prototype heat treatment apparatus, the support member 100 is composed of two support pieces 101 as shown in FIG. The two support pieces 101 are rod-shaped members, and are installed in the forward direction with respect to the insertion direction (vertical direction) of the glass substrate 105. Further, the two support pieces 101 are installed in parallel at a certain distance.
The stopper member 102 is provided on the outer side in the width direction of each support piece 101. Each stopper member 102 is installed in a vertical posture (vertical posture) as shown in FIG.
As shown in FIG. 8A, the interval W between the stopper members 102 is wider than the natural width Wa of the glass substrate 105.

When the glass substrate 105 is placed on the support piece 101, the glass substrate 105 is slightly bent by its own weight, and is deformed into a convex shape as shown in FIG. 8B.
Therefore, the apparent width Wb of the glass substrate 105 is shorter than the original width Wa. As described above, the interval W between the stopper members 102 is wider than the natural width Wa of the glass substrate 105, and the apparent width Wb of the glass substrate 105 in the state of being installed on the support member 100 is the original width. Since it is shorter than Wa, the end of the glass substrate 105 does not hit the stopper member 102.

  The glass substrate 105 is exposed to hot air in a heating chamber and dried and fired. Further, the glass substrate 105 may be exposed to hot air and shift in the width direction. For example, as shown in FIG. 8C, the end portion approaches one stopper member 102.

When drying and baking on the glass substrate 105 are completed, the claw portion 111 of the fork-like holding member 110 of the robot hand is inserted under the glass substrate 105 as shown in FIG. The interval between the claw portions 111 is narrower than the interval between the support pieces 101.
Subsequently, the holding member 110 is raised to scoop up the glass substrate 105.
Here, the glass substrate 105 is supported by the two support pieces 101, and the glass substrate 105 having a downwardly convex shape as shown in FIG. 8B is supported at the center by the claw portion 111 of the holding member 110. As a result, as shown in FIG. Then, in the middle of the process, the glass substrate 105 is in a straight state as shown in FIG. 8E, the apparent width returns to the original width Wa, the end of the glass substrate 105 approaches one stopper member 102, It comes into contact with the stopper member 102.
In this state, the glass substrate 105 rises as shown in FIG. 8F, and the end of the glass substrate 105 is rubbed and damaged by the one stopper member 102.

  The present invention has been developed based on the above-described knowledge, and an object of the present invention is to develop a heat treatment apparatus having a structure that hardly damages an object to be heated such as a glass substrate.

  Invention of Claim 1 for solving an above-described subject is a heat processing apparatus which has a heating chamber which heats a to-be-heated object, and heat-treats a thin-plate-like to-be-heated object in the heating chamber, The heating In a heat treatment apparatus in which a support member that supports the object to be heated in a flat position is installed in the room, and the object to be heated can be installed on the support member, an installation area in which the object to be heated is installed There is a stopper member that regulates the movement of the object to be heated near the end of the object. The stopper member has a contact part with which the end of the object to be heated can come into contact. It is the heat processing apparatus characterized by inclining in the direction.

The heat treatment apparatus of the present invention has a stopper member that restricts the movement of the object to be heated in the width direction, and the stopper member has a contact portion that can be in contact with the end of the object to be heated in the width direction. For this reason, even if the thin plate-like object to be heated is displaced during the heat treatment, the position of the object to be heated is not easily deviated from the predetermined range.
Moreover, the contact part of the stopper member employ | adopted by this invention inclines in the direction which upper direction spreads. Therefore, when the object to be heated is moved upward, the space between the contact portion and the object to be heated tends to gradually spread, and the object to be heated does not easily hit the stopper member. Further, the object to be heated is not easily rubbed against the stopper member.

  According to a second aspect of the present invention, the contact portion has an inclined surface that faces the object to be heated and is inclined in a direction in which the upper part expands, and the vertical side of the inclined surface is against the object to be heated. The heat treatment apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the heat treatment apparatus is folded toward the opposite side.

  According to the heat treatment apparatus of the present invention, the vertical side of the inclined surface has a rounded shape, and the object to be heated is hardly damaged.

  The invention according to claim 3 is the heat treatment apparatus according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the contact portion is a smooth surface subjected to a smoothing process.

  According to the heat treatment apparatus of the present invention, since the contact portion of the stopper member is a smooth surface, the object to be heated is hardly damaged.

  The invention according to claim 4 is the heat treatment apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the contact portion has a hardened layer formed by surface treatment.

  According to the heat treatment apparatus of the present invention, the contact portion of the stopper member has high hardness and is hardly damaged by contact with the object to be heated. Therefore, the stopper member maintains smoothness even after long-term use and hardly damages the object to be heated.

  According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, the support member is installed over a plurality of stages, the stopper member has a plurality of the contact portions, and the stopper member is attached to a predetermined position. 5. The heat treatment apparatus according to claim 1, wherein each contact portion is positioned in the vicinity of an end portion of the installation region of each stage.

  According to the present invention, it is easy to attach and position the stopper member.

  According to a sixth aspect of the present invention, a traveling direction when the heated object is inserted into the heating chamber is defined as a vertical direction of the heated object, and a direction orthogonal to the traveling direction is defined as the heated object. When the width direction is defined, the stopper member is in the vicinity of the end in the width direction of the installation region, and restricts the movement of the object to be heated in the width direction. The heat treatment apparatus according to any one of 5 to 5.

  According to the present invention, it is difficult to damage the side in the width direction of the object to be heated.

  In a state where the object to be heated is held in contact with the support member, it is desirable that an angle of deflection of the end portion of the object to be heated is less than 5 degrees.

  It is desirable that the contact portion has a portion inclined in a range of 5 degrees or more and 20 degrees or less with respect to the vertical direction.

According to the heat treatment apparatus of the present invention, even if a thin plate-like object to be heated is displaced during heat treatment, the position of the object to be heated is unlikely to deviate from a predetermined range.
Moreover, according to the heat processing apparatus of this invention, a to-be-heated material is hard to get damaged.

It is a see-through | perspective perspective view which shows the internal structure of the heat processing apparatus of embodiment of this invention. (A) is a front view of the shelf member built in the heat processing apparatus of FIG. 1, (b) is the enlarged view in the circle | round | yen. (A) is sectional drawing of the shelf member incorporated in the heat processing apparatus of FIG. 1, (b) is the enlarged view in the circle | round | yen. It is an expansion perspective view of the edge part of the shelf member incorporated in the heat processing apparatus of FIG. It is a fragmentary perspective view of the stopper member employ | adopted with the heat processing apparatus of FIG. (A) thru | or (e) is explanatory drawing which shows the behavior of the glass substrate in the heat processing apparatus of FIG. 1, and its enlarged view in a circle. (A) (b) is a perspective view which shows the modification of a stopper member. (A) thru | or (f) is explanatory drawing which shows the behavior of the glass substrate in the heat processing apparatus of a prior art, and its enlarged view in a circle.

Embodiments of the present invention will be further described below.
As shown in FIG. 1, the heat treatment apparatus 1 of the present embodiment has a heating chamber 2 for heating an object to be heated, and a shelf member 3 is installed in the heating chamber 2. The shelf member 3 functions as a mounting shelf that holds the glass substrate 105 that is an object to be heated in a substantially horizontal posture, and that accommodates a plurality of the substrates at a certain interval in the vertical direction.
In the present embodiment, the shelf member 3 is separate from the main body portion of the heat treatment apparatus 1.
The main body portion of the heat treatment apparatus 1 has a heating chamber 2 in the center of the outer member 5 indicated by a two-dot chain line. There is an opening 6 on the front side of the heating chamber 2, and the opening 6 on the front side of the heating chamber 2 is opened and closed by a door 7 indicated by a two-dot chain line.
The entire inner surface of the heating chamber 2, that is, the surface facing the opening 6 is an air outlet 8, and a filter 10 is attached.

  In the present embodiment, there is a side ventilation path 11 on the side surface of the heating chamber 2. In addition, a heater chamber 12 is provided above the heating chamber 2, and an electric heater 13 is provided. There is a ventilation opening 20 between the side ventilation path 11 and the heater chamber 12, and the side ventilation path 11 and the heater chamber 12 communicate with each other via the ventilation opening 20. On the back side of the heating chamber 2, there is a back side ventilation path 21. The back side ventilation path 21 connects the heater chamber 12 and the air blowing port 8 of the heating chamber 2 described above, and is provided with a blower 23.

In the heat treatment apparatus 1, the air in the heating chamber 2 circulates through the side ventilation passage 11 and the like, and the air circulating through the heater chamber 12 is circulated by the blower 23 provided in the back side ventilation passage 21. It is adjusted to a predetermined temperature.
That is, the air in the heating chamber 2 is sucked by the negative pressure of the blower 23 and flows from the vicinity of the front opening 6 to the side ventilation passage 11. The air that has passed through the side ventilation path 11 enters the heater chamber 12 through the ventilation opening 20, contacts the electric heater 13, and is adjusted to a predetermined temperature. The heating chamber 2 has a temperature sensor (not shown), and the electric heater 13 is controlled so that the temperature detected by the temperature sensor becomes a predetermined temperature.

The air adjusted to a predetermined temperature in the heater chamber 12 is sucked and pressurized by the blower 23, and is supplied into the heating chamber 2 through the back side ventilation path 21 and the blower port 8.
Since the heat treatment apparatus 1 of the present embodiment heats an object to be heated, the air introduced into the heating chamber 2 is at a high temperature. In addition, air flows in the heating chamber 2 with a certain wind speed. In the present embodiment, the inside of the heating chamber 2 is in a state where hot air circulates.

Next, the shelf member 3 will be described.
The shelf member 3 is separate from the main body portion of the heat treatment apparatus 1 as shown in FIG. The shelf member 3 is configured such that a support member 15 (FIGS. 3 and 4) and a stopper member 27 (FIGS. 2 and 4) are installed in a housing 25.
As shown in FIGS. 1, 2, and 3, the casing 25 of the shelf member 3 is covered with a bottom surface 45, a top surface 46, and left and right side surfaces 47, 48, and the front and back surfaces are open.

The support member 15 supports the glass substrate 105 in a flat state in the heating chamber 2, and in this embodiment, the support member 15 is configured by two support pieces 26a and 26b at each stage as shown in FIG. . In the present embodiment, the support member 15 is installed in a plurality of stages at predetermined intervals in the height direction so as to accommodate a large number of glass substrates 105.
The support pieces 26a and 26b constituting the support member 15 are rod-shaped as shown in FIGS. The support pieces 26a and 26b are supported by a number of brackets 43 that are cantilevered from the side surfaces 47 and 48 of the housing 25 as shown in FIGS.
The support pieces 26a and 26b are in a horizontal posture, are parallel to the side surfaces 47 and 48 of the housing 25, and are installed in the insertion direction of the object to be heated.
At both ends in the longitudinal direction of the support pieces 26a, 26b, front / rear direction positioning members 42 for preventing the positional displacement of the glass substrate 105 in the longitudinal direction are provided (FIGS. 2 and 4).

The stopper member 27 is made by bending a metal plate such as stainless steel, and has a structure in which a plurality of contact portions 30 are connected by connecting portions 31 as shown in FIGS. ing.
The contact part 30 is a part which comprises the plane inclined on the basis of the attachment attitude | position like FIG. 2, FIG.
As shown in FIGS. 2 and 4, the connecting portion 31 is a portion that functions as an attachment portion attached to the housing 25 of the shelf member 3 and a function of connecting the plurality of contact portions 30.
As shown in FIG. 5, the connecting portion 31 has a strip shape. And the protrusion piece part 35 protrudes from the one side of the connection part 31 by the fixed space | interval. The protruding piece 35 constitutes the same plane as the connecting portion 31 described above.

  The free end side of the protruding piece portion 35 is bent in the vertical direction as shown in FIG. 5 to form the contact portion 30 described above. However, the bending line 36 is inclined with respect to the axis 37 of the connecting portion 31. Therefore, the contact portion 30 is a flat surface that intersects and is inclined with respect to the connecting portion 31 as shown in FIG. That is, if the plane which comprises the contact part 30 is extended virtually, it will cross | intersect the connection part 31. FIG. The contact portion 30 is inclined with respect to the vertical posture (vertical posture) with the attached posture as a reference.

The free end side of the contact part 30 is further folded back. In the present embodiment, the folded portion 38 is folded to the extent that it is substantially parallel to the contact portion 30. Therefore, the folding line 40 is considerably rounded. In addition, the bending form of the folding | returning part 38 of this embodiment is a form called hemming bending.
The free end side of the contact portion 30, that is, the folding line 40 corresponds to the vertical side of the inclined surface when the stopper member 27 is attached, and is folded toward the opposite side with respect to the object to be heated. .

Moreover, in this embodiment, the contact part 30 is smoothed and cured.
Specifically, the contact portion 30 is subjected to an electrolytic polishing process, and a smoothing process and a curing process are performed simultaneously. Here, the electrolytic polishing is a method in which the work side is used as an anode and immersed in an electrolytic solution, and a counter electrode is used as a cathode to conduct electricity.
In the present embodiment, the stopper member 27 is made of stainless steel. When stainless steel is electropolished, a large amount of current flows through the convex portions of the minute irregularities on the surface, and the convex portions are melted and smoothed. Of the dissolved metal components, chromium combines with oxygen to form an oxide film on the surface of the workpiece. As a result, the surface of the workpiece is cured.
In this embodiment, after the stopper member 27 is molded, the contact portion 30 is subjected to electropolishing as post-processing. Therefore, the contact part 30 has high smoothness and high hardness.

The stopper member 27 is attached to the shelf member 3 as shown in FIGS. Specifically, the connecting portion 31 of the stopper member 27 is fixed to the opening end surface of the housing 25 by screws 41 and attached to the shelf member 3.
In a state where the stopper member 27 is attached, each contact portion 30 is at a height equivalent to the support pieces 26a and 26b. That is, in the state where the stopper member 27 is attached, each contact portion 30 has the same height as the support member 15, and the end portion of the glass substrate 105 when the glass substrate 105 is moved in the width direction by being blown by hot air. Can touch.
Moreover, each contact part 30 is located outside support piece 26a, 26b. In this embodiment, since the glass substrate 105 is installed on the support pieces 26a and 26b and accommodated in the shelf member 3, each contact portion 30 is positioned near the end of the installation area where the glass substrate 105 is installed. It becomes.

Each contact portion 30 is inclined toward the glass substrate 105 and in the direction in which the upper portion expands. The inclination angle A of each contact portion 30 is not less than 5 degrees and not more than 20 degrees.
When the inclination angle of the contact portion 30 is less than 5 degrees, when the glass substrate 105 is raised, the end portion of the glass substrate 105 is difficult to come off and may be caught by the contact portion 30. Further, if the inclination angle exceeds 20 degrees, there is a concern that the end portion rides on the contact portion 30 when the glass substrate 105 is moved in the width direction by the wind pressure.
A more desirable inclination angle A of the contact portion 30 is not less than 5 degrees and not more than 15 degrees. If the inclination angle A of the contact portion 30 is around 15 degrees, even if the glass substrate 105 moves in the width direction by wind pressure, the end portion is difficult to ride on, and the function as a stopper member is not impaired. Further, when the glass substrate 105 is raised, a sufficient draft can be secured.

Next, the function of the heat treatment apparatus 1 of the present embodiment will be described.
The heat treatment apparatus 1 of the present embodiment also heats the glass substrate 105 using the glass substrate 105 as an object to be heated.
Also in this embodiment, the glass substrate 105 is laid flat on the support pieces 26 a and 26 b in the heating chamber 2. That is, each glass substrate 105 is installed in a substantially horizontal posture if bending is ignored.
When taking out the glass substrate 105, for example, as shown in FIG. 6, the fork-like holding member 110 is inserted into the lower surface side of the glass substrate 105 to be taken out in the heating chamber 2, and the holding member 110 is raised to raise the glass substrate. The glass substrate 105 is taken out from the heating chamber 2 by scooping up 105 and retracting the holding member 110.

  Also in this embodiment, the contact part 30 of the stopper member 27 is provided on the outer side in the width direction of the support pieces 26a and 26b.

When the glass substrate 105 is placed on the support pieces 26a and 26b, the glass substrate 105 is slightly bent by its own weight, and is deformed into a downwardly convex shape as shown in FIG.
The glass substrate 105 is exposed to hot air in the heating chamber 2 and dried and fired. Further, the glass substrate 105 is exposed to hot air and shifted in the width direction, and the end portion may approach the contact portion 30 of the stopper member 27 as shown in FIG.

When drying and baking on the glass substrate 105 are completed, the claw portion 111 of the fork-shaped holding member 110 of the robot hand is inserted under the glass substrate 105 as shown in FIG. The interval between the claw portions 111 is narrower than the interval between the support pieces 26a and 26b.
Subsequently, the holding member 110 is raised to scoop up the glass substrate 105.
Here, the glass substrate 105 is supported by two support pieces 26a and 26b, and the one that has a downwardly convex shape as shown in FIG. 6C supports the central portion by the claw portion 111 of the holding member 110. As a result, the shape is deformed upward as shown in FIG. Then, in the middle stage, the glass substrate 105 is in a straight state as shown in FIG. 6D, and the apparent width returns to the original width Wa. In some cases, the end of the glass substrate 105 approaches one stopper member 27 and comes into contact with one stopper member 27.

In this state, the glass substrate 105 rises as shown in FIG. Here, the stopper member 27 employed in the present embodiment is inclined in a direction in which the contact portion 30 extends upward. Therefore, as the glass substrate 105 is raised, the actual contact position of the contact portion 30 is away from the end portion of the glass substrate 105.
Further, when the glass substrate 105 is lifted from the support pieces 26a and 26b, the glass substrate 105 is bent into a convex shape, and the apparent width is shortened. Therefore, when the glass substrate 105 is raised, the contact portion 30 of the stopper member 27 is gradually separated from the end portion of the glass substrate 105 and there is little opportunity to rub against the end portion of the glass substrate 105.

In addition, the stopper member 27 employed in the present embodiment has the contact portion 30 smoothed, and there are few large unevenness as well as large unevenness, and even if the glass substrate 105 is rubbed, the glass substrate 105 is hardly damaged.
Furthermore, the contact portion 30 of the stopper member 27 employed in the present embodiment has a curved end portion, and does not have a return of the end portion or fuzz.
For example, if the end portion of the contact portion 30 is a cut surface that is cut off, there is a slight return or fuzz, and there is a concern that the glass substrate 105 may be damaged when rubbed against the glass substrate 105.
On the other hand, since the contact part 30 of this embodiment is a site | part by which all the parts corresponded to the vertical side of the contact part 30 were bend | folded, there is no micro return and fluff.
That is, the vertical sides of the contact portion 30 are a folding line 36 on the connecting portion 31 side and a folding line 40 on the free end side, both of which are bent rounded surfaces, so there is no return or fluff, and glass The glass substrate 105 is hardly damaged even if it comes into contact with the substrate 105.
Therefore, in the heat treatment apparatus 1 of this embodiment, the glass substrate 105 is hardly damaged when the glass substrate 105 is taken out.

In this embodiment, the glass substrate 105 is supported by rod-like support pieces 26a and 26b arranged in two rows.
When the glass substrate 105 is installed on the support pieces 26a and 26b, it is desirable that the glass substrate 105 is in a horizontal posture, but in practice, it is inevitable that the glass substrate 105 is bent somewhat.
It is recommended that the deflection angle B (FIG. 6a) of the free end of the glass substrate 105 be less than 5 degrees. When designing the heat treatment apparatus 1, the bending angle B of the free end is obtained by bending calculation or experiment, and the number and interval of the support pieces 26 a and 26 b can be set so that the bending angle B is less than 5 degrees. desirable.

In the embodiment described above, the contact portion 30 is smoothed and cured by performing an electropolishing treatment on the surface of the contact portion 30, but a mechanical technique such as buffing or the like is employed as the smoothing treatment. You may use together chemical methods, such as a grinding | polishing process, and mechanical methods, such as a buff grinding | polishing.
In addition, as a curing process, a nitriding method can be considered.
One of the nitriding treatments is an isonite (registered trademark) treatment or a pulsonite (registered trademark) treatment. The former Isonite (registered trademark) treatment is a salt bath soft nitriding treatment, which is a method of generating nitride on the surface of a workpiece mainly at 570 degrees Celsius or 580 degrees Celsius.
The latter Pulsonite (registered trademark) treatment is a salt bath soft nitriding treatment at a low temperature, and is a method of generating nitride on the surface of a workpiece mainly at 480 degrees Celsius or 520 degrees Celsius.

In the embodiment described above, the contact portion 30 of the stopper member 27 forms an inclined plane. However, like the stopper member 50 shown in FIG. You may form the contact part 51 which inclines in the direction which spreads.
Moreover, you may make the depth direction of the contact part 30 longer like the stopper member 52 shown in FIG.7 (b).
In the embodiment described above, the free end side of the contact portion 30 is folded back by about 180 degrees, but the folding angle may be smaller. For example, it may be bent about 90 degrees.

  In the embodiment described above, the stopper member 27 has a plurality of contact portions 30, and by attaching one stopper member 27, the stopper member 27 can correspond to the support members 15 in a plurality of stages. However, the present invention is not limited to this configuration, and a stopper member 27 having only one contact portion 30 may be attached to each stage.

In the embodiment described above, the support member 15 is installed in a plurality of steps in the height direction, but the number of steps of the support member 15 is arbitrary, and may be only a single step (one step).
The same applies to the stopper member 27, and only one stage may be used.

  In the embodiment described above, the shelf member 3 is separate from the main body portion of the heat treatment apparatus 1 and has a structure that can be detached from the main body portion of the heat treatment apparatus 1. It may be integral and cannot be extracted.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Heat processing apparatus 2 Heating chamber 3 Shelf member 15 Support member 26a, 26b Support piece 27, 50, 52 Stopper member 30 Contact part 36 Folding line 38 Folding part 40 Folding line 105 Glass substrate (to-be-heated object)

Claims (8)

A heat treatment apparatus having a heating chamber for heating an object to be heated and heat-treating a thin plate-like object to be heated in the heating chamber, wherein a support member for supporting the object to be heated in a flat position is installed in the heating chamber In the heat treatment apparatus capable of installing the object to be heated on the support member,
There is a stopper member that restricts the movement of the object to be heated in the vicinity of the end of the installation area where the object to be heated is installed, and the stopper member has a contact portion that can contact the end of the object to be heated. The heat treatment apparatus is characterized in that the contact portion is inclined in a direction in which the upper part expands.   The contact portion has an inclined surface that faces the object to be heated and is inclined in a direction in which the upper part expands, and a vertical side of the inclined surface is folded back toward the opposite side with respect to the object to be heated. The heat treatment apparatus according to claim 1, wherein:   The heat treatment apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the contact portion is a smooth surface subjected to a smoothing process.   The heat treatment apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the contact portion has a hardened layer formed by surface treatment.   The support member is installed over a plurality of steps, the stopper member has a plurality of the contact portions, and in a state where the stopper member is attached at a predetermined position, each contact portion is provided at each step. The heat treatment apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the heat treatment apparatus is located in the vicinity of an end of the installation area.   When the moving direction when inserting the object to be heated into the heating chamber is defined as the longitudinal direction of the object to be heated, and when the direction perpendicular to the traveling direction is defined as the width direction of the object to be heated, The heat treatment according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein the stopper member is in the vicinity of the end in the width direction of the installation region, and restricts movement of the object to be heated in the width direction. apparatus.   The heat treatment according to any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein, in a state where the object to be heated is held in contact with the support member, a deflection angle of an end portion of the object to be heated is less than 5 degrees. apparatus.   The heat treatment apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 7, wherein the contact portion has a portion inclined in a range of 5 degrees or more and 20 degrees or less with respect to a vertical direction.

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