JP3936662B2 - Heat treatment method and apparatus for aluminum wheel - Google Patents

Description

[0001]
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a heat treatment method for an aluminum wheel and an apparatus for carrying out the method.
[0002]
[Prior art]
As wheels for vehicles such as automobiles and aircraft wheels, cast aluminum wheels made of aluminum alloy or forged aluminum wheels (in the present invention, these are collectively referred to as aluminum wheels) are often used for weight reduction. It was.
[0003]
In the manufacturing process of this aluminum wheel, as a heat treatment step before finishing, generally, solution treatment, subsequent quenching and tempering (aging treatment) are performed to adjust strength and toughness. Specifically, an aluminum wheel is heated to a predetermined solution temperature in a solution furnace, then immersed in water and rapidly cooled, and then tempered in an aging furnace. The high-temperature aluminum wheel after solution treatment is immersed in water while being loaded on the tray and rapidly cooled, and then charged into an aging furnace (for example, Patent Documents 1 and 2). reference.).
[0004]
[Patent Document 1]
JP 2002-21264 A (page 1-2, FIGS. 1 to 3)
[Patent Document 2]
Japanese Patent No. 2574248 (2nd page, FIG. 10, FIG. 11)
[0005]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
However, in the conventional heat treatment method, as described above, the aluminum wheels are water-cooled together with the loaded tray, so that the tray that does not require heat treatment is cooled and the cooled tray is reheated in an aging furnace. The loss is great. That is, since the tray heated to a high temperature (for example, 450 to 550 ° C.) by passing through the solution furnace is rapidly cooled by water cooling and lowered to about 60 to 80 ° C., the tray is charged into the aging furnace. However, it is necessary to heat the tray by an amount corresponding to the amount of heat deprived (loss of heat) due to the water cooling, which is not preferable in terms of energy saving because the fuel cost of the aging furnace increases.
[0006]
Furthermore, after unloading the aluminum wheels after heat treatment, the tray is loaded with untreated aluminum wheels and put into the heat treatment process, where it is repeatedly used. Since it is repeatedly received, there is a problem in that the distortion progresses in a short period and the life is short.
[0007]
The present invention is intended to solve the above-mentioned conventional problems, and an aluminum wheel heat treatment method capable of saving energy during heat treatment of the aluminum wheel and extending the life of the rack for loading the aluminum wheel, and its An object is to provide an apparatus.
[0008]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
In order to achieve the above object, the aluminum wheel heat treatment method according to claim 1 is characterized by stacking aluminum wheels on a rack having a plurality of stages of work support portions, solution treatment, and then aging treatment after water cooling. In the aluminum wheel heat treatment method, the solution-treated aluminum wheels are unloaded from the rack and cooled with water, and the emptied rack is transferred to the inlet of the aging furnace. It is characterized by stacking aluminum wheels and performing aging treatment.
[0009]
A heat treatment apparatus for an aluminum wheel according to claim 2 is a solution furnace for stacking aluminum wheels on a rack having a plurality of stages of work support parts to perform solution treatment, and a water tank for water-cooling the solution treatment product. And an aluminum wheel heat treatment apparatus having an aging furnace for aging the water-cooled aluminum wheel, the aluminum wheel is unloaded from the rack reaching the extraction port of the solution furnace and immersed in the water tank. Wholesale / water cooling means, rack transfer means for transferring the emptied rack to the inlet portion of the aging furnace, and loading means for stacking water-cooled aluminum wheels on the empty rack Features.
[0010]
According to the first and second aspects of the invention, the aluminum wheel after solution treatment is unloaded from the rack and cooled with water, but the emptied rack is transferred to the inlet of the aging furnace without cooling with water. Since the aluminum wheels after water cooling are stacked and subjected to aging treatment, the rack does not cool down by water cooling, and the amount of heat corresponding to this temperature drop compared to the case of water cooling the conventional aluminum wheel together with the rack, The amount of input heat in the aging furnace is small, and rack distortion due to repeated heating and water cooling can be prevented.
[0011]
A heat treatment apparatus for an aluminum wheel according to claim 3 is a solution furnace for stacking aluminum wheels on a rack having a plurality of stages of work support portions to perform solution treatment, and a water tank for water-cooling the solution treatment product. And an aging furnace for aging treatment of the water-cooled aluminum wheel, the solution furnace and the aging furnace are arranged in parallel, and a charging table is provided outside the charging port of the aging furnace. The water tank is provided from the position outside the extraction port of the solution furnace to the rear end position of the charging table, and the extraction position facing the extraction port is supported above the water tank so as to be able to traverse on the gantry. A traversing table that is traversed between a charging position facing the charging table, an elevator that is supported by the traversing table so as to be movable up and down; Forks arranged in multi-stages corresponding to the workpiece support portions of the rack, and forwardly engaged with and disengaged from the bottom surface of the aluminum wheel on the delivery roller of the extraction port and on the work support portion of the rack on the loading table A position where the support surface of each fork is positioned above a predetermined amount above each work support portion of the rack, and a cooling position of the water tank. A fork that is driven up and down through the lifting platform between the lowering position where it is submerged in water, and an empty tray that is provided on the lifting platform and is sent out from the delivery roller when the lifting platform is lowered. A tray receiving / sending device for receiving and holding the tray and feeding the tray onto the loading table.
[0012]
A heat treatment apparatus for an aluminum wheel according to claim 4 is a solution furnace for stacking aluminum wheels in a rack having a plurality of stages of work support portions and performing a solution treatment, and a water tank for water-cooling the solution treatment product. And an aging furnace for aging treatment of the aluminum wheel after water cooling, in which the solution furnace and the aging furnace are arranged in parallel, and the aging furnace is disposed from an outer position of the extraction port of the solution furnace. The water tank is provided over a position outside the charging inlet, and is transversely driven between an extraction position facing the extraction port and a charging position facing the extraction port, which is supported in a traverse manner on the gantry above the water tank. A traverse base, a traverse base supported by the traverse base, and a platform arranged in a multi-stage corresponding to each work support portion of the rack. A forward position for engaging with and disengaging from the bottom surface of the aluminum wheel on the work support portion of the rack on the feeding roller of the extraction port and the charging roller of the inlet, and a retracted position capable of being immersed in the water tank Between the raised position where the support surface of each fork is positioned a predetermined amount above the work support portion of the rack and the lowered position where it is submerged in the cooling water of the water tank. A fork that is driven up and down via a table, and an empty tray that is provided on the elevator table and that is sent out from the delivery roller when the elevator table is in a lowered state, and holds the tray on the loading roller And a tray receiving / sending device for sending to the printer.
[0013]
According to the third and fourth aspects of the present invention, the aluminum wheels are unloaded from the rack that has reached the extraction port of the solution furnace by the transverse drive of the transverse platform, the elevation drive of the elevator platform, and the fore-and-aft drive of the fork. Only the aluminum wheels can be cooled with water by immersing them inside, and the trays that have been emptied by the tray receiving / sending device on the descending lift platform are received, and the trays are received at the inlet of the aging furnace after the traversing drive of the traversing platform. -By sending out the rack by the delivery device, the rack can be transferred to the inlet without water cooling, and the aluminum wheels after water cooling are stacked in this rack by driving the elevator up and down and front and rear forks. Can be loaded. As a result, the rack is used for aging treatment of the aluminum wheel without lowering the temperature by water cooling. Like the first and second aspects of the invention, the input heat amount in the aging furnace can be reduced, and the rack can be prevented from being consumed.
[0014]
In addition, the rack that has been emptied can be transported only by using a traverse table and a lifting platform, which are used for loading / unloading, water cooling and loading of aluminum wheels, and installing a tray receiving / sending device on the lifting platform. The structure of the tray transfer means is simple and equipment costs can be reduced.
[0015]
The aluminum wheel heat treatment apparatus according to claim 5 is the aluminum wheel heat treatment apparatus according to claim 3 or 4, wherein the aluminum wheel heat treatment apparatus is driven toward and away from the left and right side surfaces of the aluminum wheel supported on the fork in the retracted position. An anti-slip tool is provided on the lifting platform.
[0016]
According to the fifth aspect of the present invention, the slip stopper is driven closer to and away from the left and right side portions of the aluminum wheel according to the size (diameter) of the aluminum wheel, so that it can be reduced during transverse movement in the water tank. Smooth cooling and transfer of aluminum wheels of different sizes by preventing the size of the aluminum wheels from being greatly displaced from the top of the forks and falling off the forks or hindering loading into empty racks after water cooling. Can be done.
[0017]
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
The embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to a first example shown in FIGS. 1 to 3, 1 is a solution furnace, 2 is an inlet, and 3 is an extraction port. Reference numeral 4 denotes a front chamber inside the charging port, and 5 denotes a rear chamber inside the extraction port, each having partition doors 4a and 5a for partitioning from the heating chamber. Reference numeral 11 denotes an aging furnace arranged in parallel with the solution furnace 1 and in the direction of conveying the processed product in the opposite direction, 12 is its inlet, and 13 is an extraction port. Reference numeral 14 denotes a front chamber inside the loading inlet, and 15 denotes a rear chamber inside the extraction port, each having partition doors 14a and 15a for partitioning from the heating chamber. An aluminum wheel 20 is a product to be processed and is stacked in a plurality of stages on a rack 21 (whose structure will be described later), and is transported in the furnace in the solution furnace 1 and the aging furnace 11 in this stacked state. These are heated to a predetermined temperature according to the material and subjected to solution treatment and aging treatment after water cooling to be described later, and these types of heating means and in-furnace conveying means are known types. In this example, a hot air circulation type heating means and a tray pusher type conveying means using a radiant tube as a heating source are used, but illustration thereof is omitted.
[0018]
16 is a roller-driven charging table provided outside the charging port 12 of the aging furnace 11, 17 is a water tank for water-cooling the solution treatment product, and this water tank 17 is a solution furnace as shown in FIG. 1 from the outer position of one extraction port 3 to the rear end portion 16a of the charging table 16.
[0019]
As shown in FIGS. 11 to 13, the rack 21 for stacking the aluminum wheels 20 includes a rack main body 22 made of a frame assembly and a tray 23 for supporting the rack main body 22. A support portion 24 is provided so that a plurality (four in this example) of aluminum wheels 20 can be loaded per stage. The rack body 22 and the tray 23 are detachably connected by pins 25 that pass through the bottom beam of the rack body 22 and are dropped into the pin holes of the tray 23. The rack body 22 is made of a stainless steel frame in a three-dimensional lattice shape, and a pair of strips extending in the front-rear direction (furnace length direction) are fixed on the cross beams 26a, 26b or 27a, 27b to form one aluminum wheel. A work support 24 for 20 supports is formed. Between the pair of strips forming the work support 24, the cross beams 26a and 26b have a notch 28 with a part cut away, and the cross beams 27a and 27b have a notch with a whole intermediate part cut out. A portion 29 is formed, and these notches 28 and 29 function as a space for inserting and removing the fork 64 described later. In FIG. 13, the vertical column portion of the rack body 22 and the cross beam portion extending in the front-rear direction are schematically shown by chain lines.
[0020]
1 to 4, reference numeral 31 denotes a traversing base, which is provided with wheels 35 that roll on rails 34, 34 provided on an upper beam 33 of a base 32 fixed on the foundation. Is supported on a gantry 32 so as to be traversable in a transverse direction perpendicular to the furnace length direction of the solution furnace 1 (and the aging furnace 11) above the water tank 17. Reference numeral 36 denotes a driving machine that drives the wheels 35 in a chain. By this driving machine 36, the traversing platform 31 is shown as an extraction position facing the extraction port 3 of the solution furnace 1 shown by a solid line in FIG. A transverse drive is performed between the charging position facing the charging table 16 (rear end portion 16a).
[0021]
Reference numeral 41 denotes a lifting platform supported by the traversing platform 31 so as to be movable up and down, and includes rollers 43 that are engaged with four guide members 42 suspended from and fixed to the traversing platform 31. Yes. Reference numeral 44 denotes a drive sprocket that is chain-driven by a driving machine 45 provided on the traverse base 31, and 46 is a driven sprocket that is rotatably supported by a connecting member 47 that connects the lower ends of the guide member 42. The longitudinally looped drive chain 48 wound is attached to a bracket 49 fixed to the lifting platform 41 on one side (attachment point P), and attached to a bracket 51 fixed to the balance weight 50 on the other side. (Mounting point Q). The balance weight 50 is guided so as to move up and down along a guide rail 52 fixed to the guide member 42, and 53 is a guide shoe that engages with the guide rail 52. The lift table 41 is driven up and down by a drive unit 45 through these drive systems.
[0022]
The elevator 41 is provided with equipment for transporting the rack 21 and the aluminum wheel 20. First, in FIGS. 2 to 4, reference numeral 55 denotes a rack receiving / sending device which is driven forward / reversely by a driving device 56. Two rows of roller conveyors 57, 57 that support 21 trays 23 and transfer them in the front-rear direction (furnace length direction, the same applies hereinafter) are installed on the upper surface of the elevator 41.
[0023]
2, 3, and 5, reference numeral 61 denotes a moving base that is supported on the lower surface of the lifting / lowering base 41 by a guide rail 62 so as to be movable in the front-rear direction, and 63 is fixed to the moving base 61 downwardly. A vertical beam 64 is a fork having a base fixedly attached to the vertical beam 63. As shown in FIG. 3, the forks 64 are arranged in a multi-stage shape at vertical intervals corresponding to the work support portions 24 of the rack 21, and the bottom surface of the aluminum wheel 20 on the work support portion 24 is shown in FIG. It is arranged at a planar position where it can be supported.
[0024]
Reference numeral 66 denotes a front / rear drive device for the moving table 61, which rotatably supports a screw rod 67 extending in the front / rear direction on the lower surface side of the lifting / lowering table 41. A female screw block 68 screwed to the screw rod 67 is fixedly attached to the moving table 61. The screw rod 67 is chain-driven by a driving machine 69. The fork 64 that is driven by the front / rear drive device 66 and is integrated with the moving table 61 is located immediately above the water tank 17 shown in FIG. 3 and can be immersed in the water tank 17, and the extraction port 3 of the solution furnace 1. A forward and backward drive is performed between the feed roller 6 (inside) and the charging table 16 of the aging furnace 11, and the forward movement position of the aluminum wheel 20 on the work support 24 of the rack 21. . Further, the fork 64 is driven up and down together with the lifting platform 41 by the drive unit 45, and the upper surface of the support surface 64 a is positioned above the work support portion 24 of the rack 21 by a predetermined amount, and the cooling water in the water tank 17. It is driven up and down between the lowered position where it is submerged, and the operation will be described later.
[0025]
Next, FIGS. 6 to 10 show an anti-slip tool 71 that is driven toward and away from both the left and right side surfaces of the aluminum wheel 20 supported on the fork 64 and its drive mechanism. When the aluminum wheel supported on the fork 64 is a small-diameter aluminum wheel 20a, the aluminum wheel 20a is inclined in the left-right direction indicated by the arrow P when moving in the water tank 17, or the fork 64, and a pair of left and right slip stoppers that are driven closer to the left and right side surfaces of the aluminum wheel 20 (the small-diameter aluminum wheel 20a is also collectively referred to as the aluminum wheel 20). Two sets 71 and 71 are provided in accordance with two rows of forks 64. In FIGS. 6 and 7, the misalignment stopper 71 and the devices other than the portion that directly supports and drives this are schematically shown by chain lines.
[0026]
As shown in FIG. 6, the stopper 71 is provided with a metal mesh stopper sheet 73 on the inner surface of a frame assembly 72 in which a steel plate is framed in a plane, facing the side surface of the aluminum wheel 20 on each fork 64. As many as the number of aluminum wheels 20 (12 in this example) are fixed, and a bracket 74 (see FIGS. 9 and 10) for holding and driving a slip stopper is placed inside the frame assembly 72 in two upper and lower portions. A total of four, two on each step, are stuck and fixed.
[0027]
Reference numeral 75 denotes a support frame that is vertically fixed to the lower surface of the lifting / lowering base 41. The support frame includes a frame assembly in which four support columns 76 are connected by horizontal beams 77 and 78. An intermediate portion of a triangular plate-shaped swing plate 80 (see FIGS. 9 and 10) is swingably attached to a tip end side of each of the four arms 79 in two stages by a support shaft 81 extending in the vertical direction. A bracket 74 of a stopper 71 is rotatably connected to one end portion of the swing plate 80 by a pin 82, whereby the stopper 71 is supported at two positions per one arm 79. It is supported in an upright position at the outside position. Reference numeral 83 denotes a reinforcing support whose upper end is fixedly attached to the lifting platform 41. The intermediate part of each arm 79 is fixedly attached to the intermediate part and the lower part thereof.
[0028]
On the other hand, 85 is a drive mechanism for driving the stopper 71, and two systems are provided opposite to the two stoppers 71, and the cylinder portion is fixedly attached to a bracket 86 fixed to the lower surface of the lift 41. The cylinder 87 is used as a driving machine. A transmission shaft 88 extending in the vertical direction is rotatably supported on the rear surface portion of each support column 76 of the support frame 75 via bearings provided at three upper and lower portions, and a drive lever 89 (see FIG. 8) is provided on the upper portion thereof. The base of is fixed. A slide block 91 is supported on the lower side of the bracket 86 through a guide rail 90 so as to be movable in the front-rear direction. A piston rod of an air cylinder 87 is connected to the rear end of the slide block 91, and is connected to the front end. The two pivoted links 92 and 92 are pin-connected to the tip portions of the drive levers 89 and 89, respectively. As a result, the protrusion / retraction operation of the piston rod of the air cylinder 87 is converted into the rotational motion of the two transmission shafts 88 and 88 (however, the respective shafts rotate in opposite directions) and transmitted downward.
[0029]
93 is a driven lever whose base is fixedly attached to the transmission shaft 88 at the upper position of each arm 79. The triangular plate-like swing plate pivotally attached to the distal end of the driven lever 93 and the intermediate portion of each arm 79. The other end of 80 is rotatably connected by a pin 95 with a connecting rod 94 made of flat steel. As shown in FIG. 9, the connecting rod 94 extends in the front-rear direction (therefore, in a direction parallel to the arm 79 and the stopper 71). The connecting rod 94, the swing plates 80 and 80, and the stopper 71 are on a plane. When the transmission shaft 88 is driven to rotate in the direction indicated by the arrow Q in FIG. 9, for example, by the air cylinder 87 described above, the rotation of the rocking plates 80 and 80 is effected via the connecting rod 94. The movement in the direction of arrow R and the movement of the stopper 71 due to this swing in the direction of arrow S (the direction approaching the aluminum wheel 20) are converted. While maintaining the parallel state, the aluminum wheel 20 is driven toward or away from both left and right side surfaces.
[0030]
In order to perform the heat treatment of the aluminum wheel 20 by the heat treatment apparatus 100 having the above-described configuration, the aluminum wheel 20 is stacked in the rack 21 and is sequentially charged into the furnace from the charging port 2 of the solutionizing furnace 1 and conveyed in the furnace. The solution treatment is performed while heating to a predetermined temperature. When the solution-treated product is water-cooled, the ramp 31 is stopped at the extraction position indicated by the solid line in FIG. 1 and the fork 64 has a support surface 64a that is a predetermined amount (for example, lower than the bottom surface of each aluminum wheel 20 on the rack 21). 20 to 30 mm) is held at the insertion position located on the lower side, and when the solution treatment product reaches the rear chamber 5 as shown in FIG. The fork 64 is driven forward from the retracted position shown in FIG. 3 as shown in FIG. 15A, and is inserted below the bottom surface of each aluminum wheel 20. At this time, since the rack 21 has notches 28 and 29 between the work support portions 24 of the rack body 22, the fork 64 enters these notches and is inserted without interfering with the rack body 22.
[0031]
Next, the fork 64 is lifted and driven by the drive unit 45 (together with the lifting platform 41), and each aluminum wheel 20 is further moved up after being transferred onto the support surface 64a of the fork 64. ) Reaches a raised position located above the workpiece support 24 by a predetermined amount (for example, 20 to 30 mm), the raising drive is stopped, and the fork 64 is driven backward in this state [see FIG. 15 (b)]. When 64 reaches the retreat position, the retreat is stopped.
[0032]
In this state, according to the size of the aluminum wheel 20, as shown in FIG. 9, in the case of the aluminum wheel 20 a having a smaller size (smaller diameter) than the standard, the slip stopper 71 is attached to the aluminum wheel 20 a by the drive mechanism 85 described above. Driven close to the left and right side portions, the gap with the side portions is maintained at a predetermined small value as indicated by a chain line 96 in FIG. The drive of the slip stopper 71 may be performed in advance according to the size of the aluminum wheel 20 until the fork 64 is retracted. In the processing of the large-sized aluminum wheel 20, What is necessary is just to return to the state of a continuous line illustration.
[0033]
Next, the elevator 41 is driven downward, and the aluminum wheels 20 unloaded from the rack 21 as described above are immersed in the water tank 17 while being supported on the forks 64, and are cooled with water. In the lowered state of the elevator 41, the upper surface of the roller conveyor 57 of the rack receiving / delivery device 55 on the elevator 41 and the upper surface of the delivery roller 6 in the rear chamber 5 of the solution furnace 1 are substantially flush. The rack 21 that is in an empty state and unloaded by loading and unloading the aluminum wheels 20 is transferred onto the roller conveyor 57 as shown in FIGS. 14 and 15C by the rotational drive of the delivery roller 6 and the roller conveyor 57. Then, while being held on the roller conveyor 57 as shown in FIG. 14, the traversing base 31 (therefore, the aluminum wheel 20 on the fork 64 and the empty rack 21 on the lifting base 41) is traversed by the drive unit 36, 2 is moved to the charging position indicated by a chain line 37. At this time, the aluminum wheel 20 moves transversely while being immersed in the water tank 17, and water cooling is continued, and an excessive lateral shift of the aluminum wheel 20 during the movement is prevented by the slip stopper 71.
[0034]
When the traversing table 31 reaches the charging position, the empty rack 21 on the lifting table 41 is driven by driving the roller conveyor 57 on the lifting table 41 and the loading table 16 outside the aging furnace 11 where the conveying surface is substantially flush with the roller conveyor 57. Is transferred onto the charging table 16 [see FIG. 15 (d)], and then when the predetermined water cooling time has elapsed, the fork 64 has its support surface 64a positioned above the respective work support portions 24 of the rack 21 by a predetermined amount. As shown in FIG. 15 (e), the fork 64 is driven forward to the forward position and then lowered to the insertion position. As a result, the aluminum wheel 20 on the fork 64 is transferred onto the work support portions 24 of the empty rack 21, so that the aluminum wheel 20 in the stacked state passes through the charging table 16 and is an aging furnace. 11 and perform aging treatment.
[0035]
The fork 64 after loading the aluminum wheels on the empty rack 21 is moved back to the retracted position, and then traversed to the extraction position, and the same process as described above for the next extracted product in the solution furnace 1. Then, the aluminum wheel 20 is loaded and unloaded by the fork 64, loaded after water cooling and water cooling, and the empty rack 21 is transferred by the rack receiving / sending device 55, so that the heat treatment of the aluminum wheel 20 is sequentially performed. Do it.
[0036]
As described above, the rack 21 heated to the same temperature as the aluminum wheel 20 in the solution furnace 1 is transferred from the extraction port 3 to the charging table 16 in an empty state without being cooled by water, Since the water-cooled aluminum wheels 20 are stacked and then loaded into the aging furnace 11, the temperature of the rack 21 is lowered by this water cooling as compared with the conventional case where the rack 21 is also water-cooled together with the aluminum wheels 20. The amount of heat input in the aging furnace 11 can be reduced by the amount of heat corresponding to the minute (strictly, the difference between this temperature drop and some temperature drop due to air radiation), and energy saving in the aging furnace 11 can be achieved. Further, distortion of the rack 21 due to repeated heating and water cooling can be avoided.
[0037]
In this example, since the charging table 16 is provided outside the charging port 12 of the aging furnace 11, the aluminum wheel 20 after water cooling is racked even when the aging treatment in the aging furnace 11 is delayed, for example. In this example, up to two stacks can be temporarily stored on the charging table 16, and the charging table 16 can be used as a buffer station that can perform water cooling and solution treatment on the previous process side without any problem. Is.
[0038]
Next, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to a second example shown in FIG. Compared with the heat treatment apparatus 100 of the first example, the heat treatment apparatus 101 of the present invention omits the charging table 16 provided outside the charging port 12 of the aging furnace 11 in the first example, and installs the aging furnace 11. The inlet 12 is positioned at a position corresponding to the rear end portion 16a of the charging table 16, and the water tank 17 is provided from the outer position of the extraction port 3 of the solution furnace 1 to the outer position of the inlet 12 of the aging furnace 11. However, the rest of the configuration is the same as in the first example, and the same parts as those in FIG.
[0039]
And in this 2nd example, the rack 21 emptied by the bulk loading / unloading of the aluminum wheels 20 is directly placed on the loading / unloading port 12 of the aging furnace 11 by the rack receiving / sending device 55 from the lifting table 41 at the loading position. The aluminum wheels 20 are transferred to the empty rack 21 on the charging roller 18 in the front chamber 14 on the inner side, and the water-cooled aluminum wheels 20 are stacked in a stacked manner by the fork 64, and then an aging treatment is performed. The other steps, the operation of the apparatus, and the like are all the same as in the first example, and thus detailed description thereof is omitted.
[0040]
In this example, as compared with the first example, the installation space for the apparatus and the equipment cost can be reduced as much as the charging table 16 is not provided.
[0041]
The present invention is not limited to the above examples. For example, depending on the type of the in-furnace transfer device, the rack 21 may have a structure in which the rack body 22 and the tray 23 are integrated. Specific shapes and structures of the lifting platform 41, the fork 64, etc., their drive mechanisms, etc. may be other than those described above. Also, as a means for transferring the empty rack to the aging furnace loading section, in addition to those using the horizontal movement of the horizontal platform as in each of the above examples, another type of transfer having a horizontal mechanism different from the horizontal platform is provided. An apparatus may be used, and the stopper 71 may be omitted when the size of the aluminum wheel 20 does not change greatly. Further, the solution furnace 1 and the aging furnace 11 may have a furnace structure other than the above examples, such as one having no front chamber or rear chamber, and the delivery roller 6 of the extraction port 3 of the solution furnace 1. May be provided outside the extraction port 3.
[0042]
In each of the above examples, the solution furnace and the aging furnace are arranged in parallel, so that the aluminum wheel can be loaded and unloaded by driving the front and rear of the fork, and the apparatus can be simplified, and after the aging treatment Unloading aluminum wheels from the rack sent out from the aging furnace, stacking new aluminum wheels in this rack in multiple stages, and supplying the solution to the solution furnace for recycling and use, the aging furnace extraction port and solution in the proximity Although it has the advantage that it can be carried out quickly and without taking up space between the inlet of the furnace, the present invention also has a solution furnace and an aging furnace arranged in series or orthogonally. It can be applied even in such a case.
[0043]
【Example】
By using the apparatus of the first example (however, the rack 21 is made of stainless steel and one piece of weight = 450 kg), the aluminum wheel (made of aluminum alloy and one piece of weight = 20 kg) is applied for one hour by the method of the first example. Solution treatment at a heating temperature of 530 ° C. is performed in the solution furnace 1 at a processing speed of 80 pieces per unit, immersed in 80 ° C. cooling water in 17 parts of a water bath, water-cooled, and then aging at a heating temperature of 150 ° C. in the aging furnace 11 When the treatment was performed, the temperature of the rack 21 transferred onto the charging table 16 without performing water cooling was 140 ° C.
[0044]
Therefore, for comparison, after the solution treatment under the same conditions as in the conventional method, the aluminum wheel and the rack 21 were water-cooled under the same conditions as above, and the temperature of the rack 21 after water cooling was 65 ° C. Therefore, according to the present invention, the temperature difference (140−65 = 75 ° C.) of the rack 21 before charging the aging furnace, the specific heat of the rack components, the rack weight, and the amount of rack used (for loading 24 aluminum wheels) The amount of heat input in the aging furnace 11 can be reduced only by the heat quantity = 12578 Kcal / hour, which is calculated as a product of 80/24 = 3.3 pieces / hour), and the fuel cost corresponding to this input heat quantity can be reduced.
[0045]
Further, when the rack (tray) is cooled with water according to the conventional method, the rack distortion becomes excessive due to repeated use for about 6 months, and the rack 21 becomes unusable according to the above embodiment. Almost no distortion was detected.
[0046]
【The invention's effect】
As described above, according to the present invention, after aluminum wheels are stacked in a rack and subjected to a solution treatment, only the aluminum wheels unloaded from the rack are water-cooled, and empty racks are not directly water-cooled and installed in the aging furnace. Since it was transferred to the inlet and aluminum wheels after water cooling were stacked on top of this and subjected to aging treatment, the heated rack that exited the solution furnace entered the aging furnace without being cooled by water cooling. Therefore, the amount of heat input to the aging furnace can be reduced, energy saving can be achieved, rack distortion due to repeated heating and water cooling can be prevented, and the life of the rack can be extended.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a plan view of a heat treatment apparatus showing a first example of an embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 2 is a side view taken along the line AA in FIG.
FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view taken along line BB in FIG.
4 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line CC in FIG. 3;
5 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line DD in FIG. 3. FIG.
6 is a cross-sectional view taken along line EE (cross-sectional view taken along line FF in FIG. 7) of the slip prevention device portion in FIG. 2;
7 is a side view taken along the line GG in FIG. 6;
8 is a cross-sectional view taken along line HH in FIG.
9 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line II of FIG.
10 is an enlarged sectional view taken along line JJ of FIG.
FIG. 11 is a front view of a rack used in the apparatus shown in FIG.
12 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line KK of FIG.
13 is an enlarged sectional view taken along line LL of FIG.
14 is a view corresponding to FIG. 3, showing a use state of the apparatus of FIG.
15 is a process explanatory view showing a transfer / cooling process by the apparatus of FIG. 1; FIG.
FIG. 16 is a plan view of a heat treatment apparatus showing a second example of the embodiment of the invention.
[Explanation of symbols]
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Solution furnace, 3 ... Extraction port, 6 ... Delivery roller, 11 ... Aging furnace, 12 ... Charge inlet, 16 ... Charge table, 16a ... Rear end part, 17 ... Water tank, 18 ... Charge roller, 20 ... Aluminum wheel, 20a ... Aluminum wheel, 21 ... Rack, 24 ... Work support, 31 ... Traverse base, 32 ... Mounting base, 41 ... Lifting base, 45 ... Drive machine, 48 ... Drive chain, 55 ... Rack receiving / sending device, 57 ... Roller conveyor, 61 ... Moving table, 64 ... Fork, 64a ... Supporting surface, 66 ... Front / rear drive device, 71 ... Stop stopper, 85 ... Drive mechanism, 87 ... Air cylinder, 100 ... Heat treatment device, 101 ... Heat treatment device .

Claims (5)

In an aluminum wheel heat treatment method in which aluminum wheels are stacked on a rack having multiple stages of work support sections and subjected to solution treatment, and then subjected to aging treatment after water cooling, the aluminum wheels after solution treatment are collectively loaded from the rack. An aluminum wheel that is water-cooled after being wholesaled, transferred to an inlet portion of an aging furnace, the aluminum rack after water cooling is stacked on the empty rack, and an aging treatment is performed. Heat treatment method. A solution furnace that stacks aluminum wheels on a rack with multiple stages of work support, solution treatment, a water tank for water-cooling solution-treated products, and an aging furnace that age-treats aluminum wheels after water cooling An aluminum wheel heat treatment apparatus comprising: an unloading / water-cooling means for unloading the aluminum wheels from the rack reaching the extraction port of the solution furnace and immersing them in the water tank; and the empty rack. A heat treatment apparatus for an aluminum wheel, comprising: a rack transfer means for transferring to an inlet portion of an aging furnace; and a loading means for stacking water-cooled aluminum wheels on the empty rack. Solution furnace for stacking aluminum wheels on a rack with multiple stages of work support, solution treatment, water tank for water cooling the solution treatment products, and aging furnace for aging the aluminum wheels after water cooling In the aluminum wheel heat treatment apparatus, the solution furnace and the aging furnace are arranged in parallel, a charging table is provided on the outside of the charging port of the aging furnace, and from the position outside the extraction port of the solution furnace While providing the water tank over the rear end position of the charging table,
A traverse base that is traversed between an extraction position that is supported in a traversable manner on a gantry above the water tank and that opposes the extraction port, and a charging position that opposes the charging table,
A lifting platform supported by the traversing platform so as to be movable up and down;
A fork that is supported by the lifting platform so as to be movable back and forth, and is arranged in multiple stages corresponding to the work support parts of the rack, the work support part of the rack on the delivery roller of the extraction port and on the loading table The fork is driven back and forth between a forward position that engages and disengages with the bottom surface of the upper aluminum wheel and a retracted position that can be immersed in the water tank, and the support surface of each fork is a predetermined amount above each work support portion of the rack A fork that is driven up and down through the lifting platform between a rising position located at a lower position where the water tank is submerged in the cooling water of the water tank,
A tray receiving / sending device which is provided on the lifting platform and receives and holds an empty tray sent from the feeding roller in the lowered state of the lifting platform, and sends the tray onto the loading table;
An aluminum wheel heat treatment apparatus characterized by comprising: A solution furnace that stacks aluminum wheels on a rack with multiple stages of work support, solution treatment, a water tank for water-cooling solution-treated products, and an aging furnace that age-treats aluminum wheels after water cooling In the aluminum wheel heat treatment apparatus, the solution furnace and the aging furnace are arranged in parallel, and the water tank is provided from the position outside the extraction port of the solution furnace to the position outside the inlet of the aging furnace,
A traverse base that is traversed between an extraction position opposed to the extraction port and an insertion position opposed to the loading port, supported in a traversable manner on a gantry above the water tank,
A lifting platform supported by the traversing platform so as to be movable up and down;
A fork that is supported by the lifting platform so as to freely move back and forth and is arranged in multiple stages corresponding to the work support portions of the rack, and the work of the rack on the feeding roller of the extraction port and the charging roller of the charging port The fork is driven back and forth between a forward position that engages and disengages with the bottom surface of the aluminum wheel on the support and a retractable position that can be immersed in the water tank, and the support surface of each fork is located at each work support of the rack. A fork that is driven up and down through the lifting platform between a rising position located above the fixed amount and a lowering position where the water tank is submerged in the cooling water;
A tray receiving / sending device which is provided on the lifting platform and receives and holds an empty tray fed from the feeding roller in the lowered state of the lifting platform, and sends the tray onto the charging roller;
An aluminum wheel heat treatment apparatus characterized by comprising: The heat treatment apparatus for an aluminum wheel according to claim 3 or 4, wherein a slip stopper that is driven toward and away from the left and right side surfaces of the aluminum wheel supported on the fork in the retracted position is provided on the lifting platform.

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