JP4051694B2 - Door device in heat treatment furnace - Google Patents

Description

[0001]
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a door device in a heat treatment furnace. Various heat treatment furnaces such as an atmospheric furnace, a vacuum furnace, a batch furnace, or a continuous furnace are used for heat treatment of materials to be processed such as metal materials and ceramic materials. In these heat treatment furnaces, one or two or more treatment chambers for heat treating the material to be treated are formed, and the material to be treated is loaded, discharged or transferred to the treatment chamber. The opening is provided with a door device for hermetically sealing the opening and maintaining the processing chamber at a predetermined atmospheric gas, pressure or temperature. The present invention relates to an improvement of such a door device.
[0002]
[Prior art]
Conventionally, as a door device as described above, a cylinder, a first gate valve and a second gate valve attached to the cylinder rod end via a link mechanism, and the first gate valve and the second gate valve are accommodated. A pressurizing chamber is proposed (Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 63-161114). This door device lowers the cylinder rod and lowers the first gate valve and the second gate valve until they contact a stopper provided below the opening of the processing chamber, and then further lowers the cylinder rod. Through the link mechanism, the first gate valve and the second gate valve are expanded to the left and right to contact the peripheral edge of the opening of the processing chamber. In this state, the pressurizing gas is fed into the pressurizing chamber to By making the pressure higher than the pressure in the processing chamber, the first gate valve and the second gate valve are brought into close contact with the periphery of the opening of the processing chamber to seal the opening. However, in such a conventional door device, not only the first gate valve and the second gate valve are moved up and down by the cylinder mechanism, but they are also extended to the left and right through the link mechanism to come into contact with the periphery of the opening of the processing chamber. Therefore, the structure is complicated, malfunction is likely to occur, the entire device including the cylinder is large, and the pressurizing gas is fed into the pressurizing chamber that houses the first gate valve and the second gate valve. Since the pressure in the pressurizing chamber is made higher than the pressure in the processing chamber, there are many problems such as the need for a large amount of pressurizing gas.
[0003]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
The problem to be solved by the present invention is that the conventional door device has a complicated structure, is likely to cause malfunction, is large in size, and requires a large amount of pressurized gas.
[0004]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
The present invention that solves the above-described problems is a door device for sealing an opening of a processing chamber in a heat treatment furnace, the first gate valve equipped to be movable up and down with respect to the opening, and the first partition A second gate valve engaged with the first gate valve while being able to move forward and backward while maintaining a sealing property between the valve, a pressurizing means connected to a sealed chamber surrounded by both gate valves and / or a pressure reduction And the interval in the material transfer direction between the first gate valve and the second gate valve is variable by changing the pressure in the sealed chamber with the pressurizing unit and / or the pressure reducing unit. The present invention relates to a door device in a heat treatment furnace.
[0005]
The door device according to the present invention is also for sealing the opening of the processing chamber in the heat treatment furnace, and the door is an inlet for charging the material to be processed into the processing chamber by the opening of the processing chamber. In some cases, it is used as a loading door, and when the opening of the processing chamber is a loading outlet for discharging the processing material from the processing chamber, the opening of the processing chamber further supplies the material to be processed. In the case of a transfer port for transferring from one process chamber to another process chamber adjacent thereto, it is used as an intermediate door.
[0006]
The door device according to the present invention is capable of moving forward and backward with respect to the first gate valve while maintaining a sealing property between the first gate valve equipped to be able to move up and down with respect to the opening of the processing chamber and the first gate valve. And a pressurizing means and / or a pressure reducing means connected to a sealed chamber surrounded by both of the gate valves, and the pressure means and / or the pressure reducing means By changing the pressure in the sealed chamber, the distance in the material transfer direction between the first gate valve and the second gate valve is made variable.
[0007]
For example, a cylinder mechanism can be adopted as the lifting means for the first gate valve. In this case, the first gate valve is suspended from the cylinder rod end. As a means for maintaining the sealing performance between the first gate valve and the second gate valve, for example, an O-ring or bellows can be employed. For example, a compressor can be used as the pressurizing means in the sealed chamber surrounded by the first gate valve and the second gate valve, and a vacuum pump can be used as the pressure reducing means. Since the second gate valve is engaged with the first gate valve so as to be able to advance and retreat, when the sealed chamber surrounded by both the gate valves is pressurized by the pressurizing means, both the gate valves expand and the first gate valve expands. The distance between the valve and the second gate valve in the material transfer direction is increased. Conversely, when the pressure in the sealed chamber surrounded by both gate valves is reduced by the pressure reducing means, both gate valves are narrowed, and the interval in the material transfer direction between the first gate valve and the second gate valve is narrowed.
[0008]
As means for engaging the second gate valve with respect to the first gate valve so as to be able to advance and retract, both gate valves are formed in a flat bottom container shape, and the side surface of the second gate valve is formed on the side surface of the first gate valve. For example, a means for slidably engaging via an O-ring as a sealing material can be employed. As another means, a means for attaching the second gate valve to the first gate valve via a cylindrical expansion / contraction member such as a bellows as a sealing material can be employed. In these engaging means, a spring is interposed between the first gate valve and the second gate valve so that the restoring force of the spring restores the interval in the material transfer direction of both gate valves. You can also Therefore, when a spring is interposed, one of the pressurizing means and the decompressing means in the pressurizing chamber surrounded by both gate valves can be omitted.
[0009]
When the door formed by both gate valves is used as a charging door for sealing the inlet of the processing chamber in the heat treatment furnace, the door formed by both gate valves to the position facing the inlet. After the lowering, as described above, the interval between both gate valves is increased, and either gate valve is brought into close contact with the peripheral edge of the inlet, and the inlet is sealed. The same applies to the case where the door formed by both gate valves is used as a loading door for sealing the loading port of the processing chamber in the heat treatment furnace. When the door formed by both gate valves is used as an intermediate door for sealing the transfer port of one processing chamber in the heat treatment furnace and the transfer port of another processing chamber adjacent thereto, After lowering the door formed by the valve to a position facing these transfer ports, as described above, the interval between both the gate valves is widened, and the first gate valve is brought into close contact with the periphery of the transfer port of one processing chamber. At the same time, the second gate valve is brought into close contact with the peripheral edges of the transfer ports of the other processing chambers, and these transfer ports are sealed.
[0010]
In the door device according to the present invention, unlike the conventional device, a link mechanism for expanding both gate valves to the left and right is not necessary, and the lifting means of both gate valves function only to lift and lower both gate valves. Therefore, the structure is simple, no malfunction occurs, and the entire apparatus including the lifting means is small. Further, the door device according to the present invention is provided with a large pressurizing chamber that accommodates both gate valves including the time of raising and lowering as in the conventional device, and the pressure gas is fed into the pressurizing gas to the processing chamber. The pressure does not need to be higher than the pressure, and a small sealed chamber surrounded by both gate valves may be pressurized and / or decompressed, so that a small amount of gas for pressurization is required.
[0011]
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
FIG. 1 is a longitudinal sectional view in the furnace length direction illustrating a door device according to the present invention. Here, the case where the door formed of both gate valves is used as an intermediate door is shown. As a whole, processing chambers 41 and 42 are formed in a heat treatment furnace 11 (not shown) surrounded by heat insulating materials 31 and 32 lined on the furnace shell 21. The processing chamber 41 and the processing chamber 42 are connected to each other, and transfer ports 51 and 52 are opened to face them. A cylinder cylinder 61 is attached to the furnace shell 21 raised between the processing chamber 41 and the processing chamber 42, and a cylinder rod 61 a of the cylinder cylinder 61 is inserted into the furnace shell 21.
[0012]
A flat-bottomed container-like first gate valve 71 is suspended from the tip of the cylinder rod 61 a, and an O-ring 81 is attached to the outer bottom surface of the first gate valve 71. The first gate valve 71 is engaged with a second gate valve 72 having a flat bottom container, and an O-ring 82 is attached to the outer bottom surface of the second gate valve 72. An O-ring 91 is attached to the outer surface of the second gate valve 72, and the outer surface of the second gate valve 72 can slide with respect to the inner surface of the first gate valve 71 via the O-ring 91. Thus, the sealed chamber 101 is formed surrounded by the first gate valve 71 and the second gate valve 72.
[0013]
An air supply / exhaust port 71 a communicating with the sealed chamber 101 is provided on the upper side surface of the first gate valve 71, and a pressure-resistant hose 111 having a bend is connected to the air supply / exhaust port 71 a. The proximal end side is branched and connected to a compressor 121 and a vacuum pump 122 via valves 131 and 132.
[0014]
In FIG. 1, after the first gate valve 71 and the second gate valve 72 are lowered to the position facing the transfer ports 51 and 52 via the cylinder rod 61 a, the valve 131 is opened and the compressor 121 passes through the pressure hose 111. By feeding a predetermined atmospheric gas into the sealed chamber 101 and pressurizing the sealed chamber 101, the first gate valve 71 and the second gate valve 72 are expanded to the left and right, and the first gate valve 71 and the second gate valve 72. The O-ring 81 attached to the outer bottom surface of the first gate valve 71 is brought into close contact with the peripheral edge of the transfer port 51 at the same time as the second gate valve. The O-ring 82 attached to the outer bottom surface of 72 is brought into close contact with the peripheral edge of the transfer port 52, and the transfer ports 51 and 52 are sealed. When the transfer ports 51 and 52 are opened, the valve 131 is closed, the compressor 121 is stopped, then the valve 132 is opened, the vacuum pump 122 is operated to exhaust the atmospheric gas in the sealed chamber 101, and the inside of the sealed chamber 101 is exhausted. By reducing the pressure, the first gate valve 71 and the second gate valve 72 are narrowed toward the center, and the distance in the material transfer direction between the first gate valve 71 and the second gate valve 72 (the space in the left-right direction) is narrowed. Then, the 1st gate valve 71 and the 2nd gate valve 72 are raised through the cylinder rod 61a.
[0015]
FIG. 2 is a longitudinal sectional view in the furnace length direction illustrating another door device according to the present invention. Here, the case where the door formed of both gate valves is used as an intermediate door is shown. As a whole, processing chambers 43 and 44 are formed in a furnace of a heat treatment furnace 12 (not shown) surrounded by heat insulating materials 33 and 34 lining the furnace shell 22. The processing chamber 43 and the processing chamber 44 are connected to each other, and transfer ports 53 and 54 are opened relative to these. A cylinder cylinder 62 is attached to the furnace shell 22 raised between the processing chamber 43 and the processing chamber 44, and a cylinder rod 62 a of the cylinder cylinder 62 is inserted into the furnace shell 22.
[0016]
A flat bottom container-shaped first gate valve 73 is suspended from the tip of the cylinder rod 62 a, and an O-ring 83 is attached to the outer bottom surface of the first gate valve 73. The first gate valve 73 is engaged with a flat bottom-bottomed second gate valve 74 and an O-ring 84 is attached to the outer bottom surface of the second gate valve 74. An O-ring 92 is attached to the outer surface of the second gate valve 74, and the outer surface of the second gate valve 74 can slide with respect to the inner surface of the first gate valve 73 via the O-ring 92. Yes. A spring 73b is interposed between the first gate valve 73 and the second gate valve 74, and the sealed chamber 102 is formed surrounded by the first gate valve 73 and the second gate valve 74. .
[0017]
An air supply / exhaust port 73a that communicates with the sealed chamber 102 is provided on the upper side surface of the first gate valve 73, and a pressure-resistant hose 112 that is bent is connected to the air supply / exhaust port 73a. The proximal end side of the pressure hose 112 is connected to the compressor 123 via the valve 133 and is branched and connected to the exhaust valve 134.
[0018]
In FIG. 2, after the first gate valve 73 and the second gate valve 74 are lowered to the position facing the transfer ports 53 and 54 via the cylinder rod 62 a, the valve 133 is opened and the compressor 123 passes through the pressure hose 112. A predetermined atmosphere gas is fed into the sealed chamber 102 and the inside of the sealed chamber 102 is pressurized to expand the first gate valve 73 and the second gate valve 74 to the left and right, and the first gate valve 73 and the second gate valve 74. The O-ring 83 attached to the outer bottom surface of the first gate valve 73 is brought into close contact with the peripheral edge portion of the transfer port 53 at the same time as the second material is transferred. The O-ring 84 attached to the outer bottom surface of 74 is brought into close contact with the peripheral edge of the transfer port 54, and the transfer ports 53 and 54 are sealed. When opening the transfer ports 53 and 54, the valve 133 is closed, the compressor 123 is stopped, and then the exhaust valve 134 is opened to exhaust the atmospheric gas in the sealed chamber 102, while the first force is restored by the restoring force of the spring 73b. After narrowing the gate valve 73 and the second gate valve 74 closer to the center and narrowing the distance (the distance in the left-right direction) in the material transfer direction between the first gate valve 73 and the second gate valve 74, the cylinder rod 62a is The first gate valve 73 and the second gate valve 74 are raised.
[0019]
FIG. 3 is a longitudinal sectional view in the furnace length direction illustrating still another door device according to the present invention. Here, the case where the door formed of both gate valves is used as an intermediate door is shown. As a whole, treatment chambers 45 and 46 are formed in a furnace of a heat treatment furnace 13 (not shown) surrounded by heat insulating materials 35 and 36 lined on the furnace shell 23. The processing chamber 45 and the processing chamber 46 are connected to each other, and transfer ports 55 and 56 are opened to face them. A cylinder cylinder 63 is attached to the furnace shell 23 raised between the processing chamber 45 and the processing chamber 46, and a cylinder rod 63 a of the cylinder cylinder 63 is inserted into the furnace shell 23.
[0020]
A flat bottom container-shaped first gate valve 75 is suspended from the tip of the cylinder rod 63 a, and an O-ring 85 is attached to the outer bottom surface of the first gate valve 75. The first gate valve 75 is engaged with a flat bottom-bottomed second gate valve 76 oppositely, and an O-ring 86 is attached to the outer bottom surface of the second gate valve 76. A cylindrical bellows 75b is attached between the side face of the first gate valve 75 and the side face of the second gate valve 76, and is surrounded by the first gate valve 75, the second gate valve 76, and the bellows 75b. Thus, a sealed chamber 103 is formed.
[0021]
An air supply / exhaust port 75a communicating with the sealed chamber 103 is provided on the upper side surface of the first gate valve 75, and a pressure-resistant hose 113 having a bend is connected to the air supply / exhaust port 75a. The proximal end side is branched and connected to a compressor 124 and a vacuum pump 125 via valves 135 and 136.
[0022]
FIG. 3 shows that after the first gate valve 75 and the second gate valve 76 are lowered to the position facing the transfer ports 55 and 56 via the cylinder rod 63a, the valve 135 is opened and the compressor 124 is connected via the pressure hose 113. A predetermined atmosphere gas is fed into the sealed chamber 103 and the inside of the sealed chamber 103 is pressurized to expand the first gate valve 75 and the second gate valve 76 to the left and right, and the first gate valve 75 and the second gate valve 76. The O-ring 85 attached to the outer bottom surface of the first gate valve 75 is brought into close contact with the peripheral edge portion of the transfer port 55 at the same time as the interval in the material feed direction with respect to 76 (in the left-right direction) is increased. An O-ring 86 attached to the outer bottom surface of the gate valve 76 is brought into close contact with the peripheral edge of the transfer port 56, and the transfer ports 55 and 56 are sealed. When opening the transfer ports 55 and 56, the valve 135 is closed, the compressor 124 is stopped, then the valve 136 is opened, the vacuum pump 125 is operated to exhaust the atmospheric gas in the sealed chamber 103, and the inside of the sealed chamber 103 is exhausted. By reducing the pressure, the first gate valve 75 and the second gate valve 76 are narrowed toward the center, and the distance (the distance in the left-right direction) of the material transfer method between the first gate valve 75 and the second gate valve 76 is narrowed. Then, the 1st gate valve 75 and the 2nd gate valve 76 are raised via the cylinder rod 63a.
[0023]
FIG. 4 is a longitudinal sectional view in the furnace length direction illustrating still another door device according to the present invention. Here, the case where the door formed of both gate valves is used as a loading door is shown. The whole is surrounded by a heat insulating material 37 lined in the furnace shell 24 in a furnace of a heat treatment furnace 14 (not shown) to form a processing chamber 47. An outlet 57 is opened in the processing chamber 47. The furnace shell 24 is extended and extended toward the loading port 57 side of the processing chamber 47, and a support plate 24 a is attached to an end portion of the furnace shell 24, and an extraction port 57 a facing the loading port 57 is attached to the support plate 24 a. Has been established. A cylinder tube 64 is attached to the furnace shell 24 raised on the loading port 57 side of the processing chamber 47, and a cylinder rod 64 a of the cylinder tube 64 is inserted into the furnace shell 24.
[0024]
A flat bottom container-shaped first gate valve 77 is suspended from the tip of the cylinder rod 64 a, and an O-ring 87 is attached to the outer bottom surface of the first gate valve 77. The first gate valve 77 is engaged with a second gate valve 78 having a flat bottom container shape, and an O-ring 88 is attached to the outer bottom surface of the second gate valve 78. An O-ring 93 is attached to the outer surface of the second gate valve 78, and the outer surface of the second gate valve 78 is slidable with respect to the inner surface of the first gate valve 77 via the O-ring 93. Thus, a sealed chamber 104 is formed surrounded by the first gate valve 77 and the second gate valve 78.
[0025]
An air supply / exhaust port 77a that communicates with the sealed chamber 104 is provided on the upper side surface of the first gate valve 77, and a pressure-resistant hose 114 that is bent is connected to the air supply / exhaust port 77a. The proximal end side is branched and connected to the compressor 126 and the vacuum pump 127 via valves 137 and 138.
[0026]
FIG. 4 shows that the first gate valve 77 and the second gate valve 78 are lowered through the cylinder rod 64a to a position facing the outlet 57 and the extraction port 57a, and then the valve 137 is opened to connect the pressure hose 114 from the compressor 126. Then, a predetermined atmospheric gas is fed into the sealed chamber 104 and the interior of the sealed chamber 104 is pressurized to expand the first gate valve 77 and the second gate valve 78 to the left and right, and the first gate valve 77 and the second gate valve are expanded. The O ring 87 attached to the outer bottom surface of the first gate valve 77 is brought into close contact with the peripheral portion of the loading outlet 57 by widening the interval (horizontal direction interval) in the material transfer (unloading) direction with the valve 78. At the same time, the O-ring 88 attached to the outer bottom surface of the second gate valve 78 is brought into close contact with the peripheral edge of the extraction port 57a, and the loading port 57 is sealed. When opening the outlet 57, the valve 137 is closed, the compressor 126 is stopped, then the valve 138 is opened, the vacuum pump 127 is operated to exhaust the atmospheric gas in the sealed chamber 104, and the pressure in the sealed chamber 104 is reduced. As a result, the first gate valve 77 and the second gate valve 78 are narrowed toward the center, and the distance (horizontal direction distance) between the first gate valve 77 and the second gate valve 78 in the direction of material transfer (discharging). After narrowing, the first gate valve 77 and the second gate valve 78 are raised through the cylinder rod 64a.
[0027]
【The invention's effect】
As is apparent from the above, the present invention described above has an effect that the structure is simple, no malfunction occurs, the entire apparatus is small, and the required amount of pressurizing gas is small.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a longitudinal sectional view in a furnace length direction illustrating a door device according to the present invention.
FIG. 2 is a longitudinal sectional view in the furnace length direction illustrating another door device according to the present invention.
FIG. 3 is a longitudinal sectional view in the furnace length direction illustrating still another door device according to the present invention.
FIG. 4 is a longitudinal sectional view in the furnace length direction illustrating still another door device according to the present invention.
[Explanation of symbols]
11-14 ... Heat treatment furnace 41-47 ... Processing chamber 51-56 ... Transfer port 57 ... Loading port 61a-64a ... Cylinder rod 71, 73, 75, 77 ... First partition Valve, 72, 74, 76, 78, second gate valve, 73b, spring, 75b, bellows, 81-88, 91-93, O-ring, 101-104, sealed chamber, 121, 123, 124,126 ・ Compressor, 122,125,127 ・ ・ Vacuum pump

Claims (4)

A door device for sealing an opening of a processing chamber in a heat treatment furnace, maintaining a sealing property between the first gate valve and the first gate valve equipped to be movable up and down with respect to the opening. A second gate valve engaged with the first gate valve so as to be capable of moving back and forth, and a pressurizing means and / or a pressure reducing means connected to a sealed chamber surrounded by the two gate valves, A door device in a heat treatment furnace characterized in that the interval in the material transfer direction between the first gate valve and the second gate valve is variable by changing the pressure in the sealed chamber with the pressure reducing means.   The first gate valve and the second gate valve are formed in a flat bottom container shape, and the side surface of the second gate valve slides with respect to the side surface of the first gate valve via a sealing material. The door device in the heat treatment furnace according to Item 1.   The door device in the heat treatment furnace according to claim 1, wherein the second gate valve is attached to the first gate valve via a cylindrical elastic member. A spring is interposed between the first gate valve and the second gate valve, and the restoring force of the spring restores the distance in the material transfer direction between the first gate valve and the second gate valve. The door device in the heat treatment furnace according to claim 2 or 3, wherein the door device is provided.

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