JP4360548B2 - Continuous heat treatment furnace - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a continuous heat treatment furnace in which heat treatment is performed by placing a material to be processed on a large number of rollers and transporting the inside of a heating furnace.

  As shown in FIG. 5, a roller hearth kiln that performs heat treatment while conveying a glass substrate used in a flat display panel (FDP) on a roller is a glass substrate 1 that is a material to be processed. Is placed on a setter 2 made of a ceramic plate or the like, and heat-treated by carrying it through a heating furnace 4 by a conveyor made up of a large number of rollers 3. A large number of rollers 3 are arranged so that their rotation axes are parallel to each other and are arranged to be linearly arranged at equal intervals in a direction perpendicular to the rotation axis, and one drive end side in the axial direction is like a chain or a gear. By being driven to rotate through the transmission device, the rollers 3 rotate in synchronization so that the rotation angles of the rollers 3 always coincide. For this reason, if a breakage occurs in the roller 3, the driving force from the drive end side is not transmitted to the driven end side from the breakage position of the roller 3, and the rotation stops. This hinders the conveyance of the glass substrate 1 placed on the setter 2. However, since the number of rollers 3 is actually very large, it is difficult to always detect a breakage accident of each roller 3 by visual inspection. Each roller 3 is rotated using a micro switch or the like. , A large number of microswitches and the like are required, and the detection device is too expensive.

  Therefore, conventionally, a semicircular light shielding body is attached to each driven end of each roller 3 so as to align the phase, and a pair of upper and lower projectors are arranged before and after the driven end portions of the plurality of rollers 3. There has been a continuous heat treatment furnace that detects a breakage accident of each roller 3 (see, for example, Patent Document 1). In this case, since all of the rollers 3 rotate with the semicircular light shields aligned in phase, the light from the upper set of projectors is emitted only when the semicircular portions of these light shields come to the lower position. Only when these semicircular parts reach the upper position after a half turn, the light from the lower set of projectors reaches the light receiver. Therefore, by detecting that the upper and lower light receivers alternately receive light, it is possible to confirm that all the rollers 3 are rotating without causing a breakage accident. If any roller 3 breaks and the semicircular portion of the light shield of the roller 3 stops at the lower position, the light from the lower set of projectors is always blocked, and this semicircular portion is located at the upper position. When stopped at, light from the upper set of projectors is always blocked. Further, when this semicircular portion stops at the other right and left positions, the light from the two upper and lower light projectors is always blocked. Therefore, by detecting that one of the upper and lower light receivers or both of the upper and lower light receivers does not receive light, it is possible to reliably detect that one of the rollers 3 has broken.

  However, in the conventional continuous heat treatment furnace, it is necessary to align all phases of the semicircular light shields attached to the driven end of each roller 3, and there is a problem that this phase adjustment work becomes extremely troublesome. . That is, if the rotation angle of the roller 3 is adjusted on the driving end side, a fine angle adjustment cannot be performed by meshing the sprockets of the chain or the gear teeth. Since it is necessary to make the mounting structure such that the body can rotate with respect to the roller 3 and can be fixed at an arbitrary angle, the component configuration becomes complicated.

Further, in the conventional continuous heat treatment furnace, detection is performed by blocking or passing light that travels linearly through the space from the light projector to the light receiver with a semicircular light shield, so that each roller 3 is linearly formed. There is also a problem that the conveyor direction is limited to a linear direction because it is necessary to line up. In addition, there is a problem in that the arrangement of the projector and the receiver is not flexible, and there is a possibility that it may become an obstacle to the design of the continuous heat treatment furnace. Further, even when the rotation stop of the roller 3 is detected, there is a problem that there is no means for checking which roller 3 has caused the breakage accident.
Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 3-87592

In the present invention, by detecting the light by guiding it with the two sets of fixed-side optical paths and the rotation-side optical paths of each roller, it is possible to reliably detect a roller breakage accident, making adjustment easy and freedom of design. It is intended to provide a continuous heat treatment furnace with a high degree.

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The invention according to claim 1 is a continuous heat treatment furnace in which heat treatment is performed by placing a material to be processed on a large number of rollers whose driving end side is driven to rotate synchronously and transporting the inside of the heating furnace. A pair of rotation-side light guide terminals connected via a rotation-side optical path through which light passes are arranged at the peripheral edge of the end, and as light input / output ends outside the peripheral edge of the driven end of each roller Two or more sets of fixed-side light guide terminals that form one pair are arranged, and one fixed-side light guide terminal of each set in each roller is the other fixed-side light-guide terminal of the corresponding set of adjacent rollers, It is connected through a fixed optical path through which light passes.

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According to the first aspect of the present invention, a pair of rotation-side light guide terminals through which light passes is provided at the driven end of each roller, and the pair of rotation-side light guide terminals is provided by two or more sets of fixed-side light guide terminals. Since the passage state of the light passing between them can be detected alternately with the rotation of the roller, it is possible to reliably detect that one of the rollers has caused a breakage accident and has stopped rotating. That is, the pair of fixed-side light guide terminals of each set is arranged so that light passes through the pair of rotation-side light guide terminals at least once during one rotation of the roller. If adjusted so that the timing of light passage matches, as long as all rollers continue to rotate normally, each pair of fixed-side light guide terminals in each roller at least once per rotation Will pass the light at the same time. However, when any one or more rollers stop rotating, if this roller stops in a state where none of the fixed-side light guiding terminals pass light, all the sets are fixed over the entire period of one rotation. When the side light guide terminals do not pass light at the same time and this roller stops in a state where only one of the fixed side light guide terminals allows light to pass, all other sets except this set The fixed-side light guiding terminal of the light does not pass through the light simultaneously over the entire period of one rotation. Therefore, if it is detected for each pair that a pair of fixed-side light guiding terminals of all the rollers simultaneously transmit light in any one rotation period, one of the rollers rotates due to a breakage accident. It is possible to reliably detect that has stopped.

  In addition, since the pair of fixed-side light guide terminals of each set is connected between the rollers via a fixed-side optical path that is not necessarily linear, these rollers are not limited to linear and can be arbitrarily selected as necessary. It will be possible to arrange in the layout. In addition, since the timing at which light passes can be synchronized by adjusting the arrangement of the fixed-side light guide terminals, the phase of each roller can be easily adjusted. Furthermore, since the fixed side optical path can be arbitrarily laid out, the degree of freedom in design can also be improved. Furthermore, it is possible to easily identify the roller that has caused the breakage accident by individually detecting the light passing state for each roller by a method such as switching the fixed-side optical path.

  Note that the rotation-side optical path and the fixed-side optical path can be configured not only by a space but also by an optical fiber or the like, and an optical system such as a mirror, a prism, or a lens can be used. For example, if a mirror or a prism is used, the optical path can be bent, and if an optical fiber is used, the path can be arbitrarily passed like an electric wire.

  Hereinafter, the best embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. In these drawings, the same reference numerals are given to constituent members having functions similar to those of the conventional example shown in FIG.

  This embodiment demonstrates the roller 3 of the conveyor used with the same roller hearth kiln as a prior art example. Each of these rollers 3 is made of a ceramic roller, and is arranged so as to be freely rotatable. These rollers 3 have a sprocket 5 fixed to the right drive end of FIG. 2B, and each roller 3 is driven to rotate synchronously by a chain transmission. Each of these rollers 3 has a driven end on the left side in FIG. In addition, it is not necessary that all the rollers 3 used in the roller hearth kiln are rotationally driven in synchronization, and the plurality of rollers 3 for each predetermined section may be rotationally driven in synchronization with each other. .

  As shown in FIG. 2, the driven end portion of the roller 3 is provided with a rotating side conductor 6 and rotating side conductive terminals 7 and 7. The rotation-side conductor 6 is a conductive metal rod embedded in a groove formed in the diameter direction on the driven end surface of the roller 3 made of an insulator. The rotation-side conductive terminals 7 and 7 are surfaces where both end surfaces of the rotation-side conductor 6 are exposed on the outer peripheral surface of the driven end portion of the roller 3. Here, the case where the rotation-side conductive terminals 7 and 7 are constituted by both end faces of the metal rod of the rotation-side conductor 6 is shown, but for example, a metal made of a contact material having wear resistance and low contact resistance What embedded the board in the outer peripheral part of the driven end part of the roller 3 can also be used as a rotation side conductive terminal (rotation side conduction terminal). In this case, both ends of the metal rod of the rotation side conductor 6 are connected to the metal plates of these rotation side conductive terminals. Moreover, since the rotation side conductor 6 should just be the rotation side conduction path which has electroconductivity, it can also be comprised with the electric wire, a printed wiring pattern, etc. which connect between rotation side conductive terminals.

  Two sets of fixed conductive terminals (fixed conductive terminals), that is, a pair of first conductive terminals 8 and 8 and a pair of second conductive terminals 9 and 9 are provided outside the outer peripheral surface of the driven portion of the roller 3. Has been placed. The pair of first conductive terminals 8, 8 are contact terminals made of a conductive metal material, a carbon material, or the like disposed on both outer sides in the horizontal direction on the outer peripheral surface of the driven portion of the roller 3. The terminals 9 and 9 are also contact terminals made of a conductive metal material, a carbon material, or the like disposed on both outer sides in the vertical direction on the outer peripheral surface of the driven portion of the roller 3. The first conductive terminals 8 and 8 and the second conductive terminals 9 and 9 are pushed out toward the rotation center of the roller 3 by another spring member (not shown) and the elasticity of the first conductive terminal 8 and the second conductive terminal 9 and 9 respectively. Since the movement is restricted at a position slightly closer to the front than the outer peripheral surface of the roller 3, the rotation-side conductive terminal 7 that actually protrudes slightly from the outer peripheral surface of the roller 3 is thereby obtained. , 7 is pressed and contacted only. Therefore, when the roller 3 is rotationally driven via the sprocket 5, the first conductive terminals 8 and 8 are rotated side conductive when the rotation side conductor 6 faces the horizontal direction as shown in FIG. The second conductive terminal 9 comes into contact with the terminals 7 and 7 and is conducted through the rotation-side conductor 6, and when the roller 3 rotates 90 ° and the rotation-side conductor 6 faces in the vertical direction. , 9 come into contact with the rotation-side conductive terminals 7, 7 and are conducted through the rotation-side conductor 6.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the first set of first conductive terminals 8 and 8 arranged outside the outer peripheral surface of the driven portion of each roller 3 is the same as the first conductive terminals 8 and 8 of the adjacent rollers 3. The second conductive terminals 9 and 9 of the second set are connected in series via the first electric wire 10 and the second conductive terminals 9 and 9 of the adjacent roller 3 and the second electric wire 11. . That is, for example, the first conductive terminal 8 on the left side of the first set in the middle roller 3 is connected to the first conductive terminal 8 on the right side of the roller 3 adjacent to the left side via the first electric wire 10, and the right first conductive terminal 8. The one conductive terminal 8 is connected to the first conductive terminal 8 on the left side of the roller 3 adjacent to the right side via another first electric wire 10. In addition, the second conductive terminal 9 on the upper side of the second set is connected to the lower second conductive terminal 9 on the left side of the roller 3 via the second electric wire 11, and the lower second conductive terminal 9 is The second conductive terminal 9 on the upper side of the roller 3 adjacent to the right side is connected via another second electric wire 11.

  In many of the above rollers 3, the sprocket 5 is usually attached to the chain transmission device so that the rotating side conductors 6 are all directed in the same direction. However, the portion provided with the rotation-side conductor 6 and the rotation-side conductive terminals 7 and 7 at the driven end portion of the roller 3 is a separate part, and the rotation-side conductor 6 is attached when the component is attached to the driven end of the roller 3. You may adjust so that all may face the same direction. Moreover, even if the rotation-side conductor 6 of each roller 3 faces an arbitrary direction, the position of the rotation direction when the first conductive terminals 8 and 8 and the second conductive terminals 9 and 9 are arranged is adjusted, When the rotation-side conductive terminals 7 and 7 of any roller 3 are in contact with, for example, the first conductive terminals 8 and 8, all the other rollers 3 also have the rotation-side conductive terminals 7 and 7 as the first conductive terminals 8 and 8. You may make it contact. However, in the following description, it is assumed that the rotation side conductors 6 of all the rollers 3 are aligned.

  The plurality of rollers 3 having the above-described configuration are rotationally driven synchronously via the sprocket 5. First, as shown in FIG. 1A, when the rotation-side conductors 6 of the respective rollers 3 face the vertical direction, The rotation-side conductive terminals 7 and 7 of the roller 3 are in contact with the second conductive terminals 9 and 9, and only the second electric wire 11 connecting these second conductive terminals 9 and 9 in series is simultaneously conducted. Next, as shown in FIG. 1B, when each roller 3 rotates 45 ° and the rotation-side conductor 6 faces in an oblique direction, the rotation-side conductive terminals 7 and 7 of all the rollers 3 become the first conductive. A first electric wire 10 and a second electric wire which are not in contact with any of the terminals 8 and 8 and the second conductive terminals 9 and 9 and are connected in series with the first conductive terminals 8 and 8 and the second conductive terminals 9 and 9. 11 are blocked together. Further, as shown in FIG. 1C, when each roller 3 is further rotated by 45 ° and the rotation-side conductor 6 is directed in the horizontal direction, the rotation-side conductive terminals 7 and 7 of all the rollers 3 are the first conductive. Only the 1st electric wire 10 which contacted the terminals 8 and 8 and connected these 1st electroconductive terminals 8 and 8 in series will conduct simultaneously. As the rollers 3 rotate, the same operation is repeated thereafter.

  The first electric wire 10 in which the first conductive terminals 8 and 8 of all the rollers 3 are connected in series and the second electric wire 11 in which the second conductive terminals 9 and 9 are connected in series constantly monitor the conduction state. For example, in the case of the first electric wire 10, the conduction state is monitored by applying a voltage between the first electric wires 10 and 10 connected to the first conductive terminals 8 of the rollers 3 at both ends, and a current between them. What is necessary is just to detect as conduction | electrical_connection when it flows. Therefore, when all these rollers 3 are rotating normally, as shown in FIG. 3 (a), the first electric wire 10 becomes conductive once every half rotation of each roller 3, The two electric wires 11 become conductive after a quarter of a turn later than this. However, if one of the rollers 3 does not rotate due to a breakage accident, the first electric wire 10 and the second electric wire 11 are normally cut off after that. When the rotating side conductor 6 at the driven end of the roller 3 is accidentally stopped in the vertical direction, as shown in FIG. 3B, the second electric wire 11 rotates half of the rollers 3. However, the first electric wire 10 remains blocked. Further, when the rotation side conductor 6 at the driven end of the roller 3 is accidentally stopped in the horizontal direction, the first electric wire 10 becomes conductive once every half rotation of each roller 3. The second electric wire 11 remains cut off.

  As a result, if the conduction state of the two pairs of the first conductive terminals 8 and 8 and the second conductive terminals 9 and 9 is monitored, it is possible to reliably detect a breakage accident of one of the rollers 3. . Moreover, since the first conductive terminals 8 and 8 and the second conductive terminals 9 and 9 of each roller 3 are connected by the first electric wire 10 and the second electric wire 11, for example, there is no problem even if there is a shielding object between the rollers 3. In addition to improving the degree of freedom in design, these rollers 3 are not limited to a straight line, and can be arranged in an arbitrary layout if necessary. Furthermore, each roller 3 can also arrange | equalize a phase by adjusting the position of the rotation direction of the 1st conductive terminals 8 and 8 and the 2nd conductive terminals 9 and 9, instead of aligning the direction of the rotation side conductor 6. FIG. Therefore, this phase adjustment can be easily performed.

  In the above-described embodiment, the first conductive terminals 8 and 8 and the second conductive terminals 9 and 9 are in direct contact with the rotation-side conductive terminals 7 and 7 at the driven end of the roller 3 to conduct. When the first conductive terminals 8 and 8 and the second conductive terminals 9 and 9 approach the rotation-side conductive terminals 7 and 7, they are electrostatically coupled or magnetically or electromagnetically coupled to each other. May be made conductive. For example, if the first conductive terminals 8 and 8 and the second conductive terminals 9 and 9 are close to the rotation-side conductive terminals 7 and 7, the capacitance between them increases and a capacitor is interposed. If an AC voltage is applied, a current will flow, and this makes it possible to detect conduction.

  In the above embodiment, each roller 3 is provided with two sets of fixed-side conductive terminals (fixed-side conductive terminals) of the first conductive terminals 8 and 8 and the second conductive terminals 9 and 9. The fixed side conductive terminals described above can also be provided. Further, in the above-described embodiment, the first conductive terminals 8, 8 and the second conductive terminals 9, 9 and the rotation-side conductive terminals 7, 7 are arranged at point-symmetric positions around the rotation axis of the roller 3. Although the case has been shown, it is also possible to arrange at a position that is not symmetrical. In this case, however, the conductive state is usually once per rotation of the roller 3.

  In the above embodiment, the first electric wire 10 and the second electric wire 11 are used to connect the first conductive terminals 8 and 8 and the second conductive terminals 9 and 9 between the rollers 3. A fixed-side conductor (fixed-side conduction path) such as a metal rod or a printed wiring pattern can also be used. Furthermore, by making it possible to switch the fixed-side conductor using a switch or the like, it is possible to easily detect the conduction state of each roller 3 and identify the roller 3 that has caused the breakage accident. Become.

  In the above embodiment, the case where the conduction state is detected using electricity has been described. However, as shown in FIG. 4, the conduction can be detected by the passage of light. That is, a groove-shaped slit 12 in the diameter direction is formed on the driven end face of each roller 3, and this slit 12 becomes a rotation side optical path (rotation side conduction path), and both ends of the slit 12 are the rotation side light guides. Terminal (rotation side conduction terminal). Then, mirrors 13 and 13 are arranged above and below the outer peripheral surface of the driven end portion of these rollers 3, and this is used as a first set of fixed-side light guide terminals (fixed-side conduction terminals). Moreover, two sets of light projecting and receiving devices are arranged at both ends of the plurality of rollers 3 arranged. With such a configuration, the light emitted from the first set of projectors is received by passing through these slits 12 while being reflected by the mirrors 13 and 13 only when the slits 12 of each roller 3 face the vertical direction. The light emitted from the second set of projectors reaches the light receiver directly through the slits 12 only when the slits 12 of the rollers 3 face the horizontal direction. At this time, the outer space at both ends of the slit 12 facing in the horizontal direction becomes a second set of fixed-side light guide terminals (fixed-side conduction terminals). Accordingly, also in this case, two sets of light receivers receive light once every half rotation of the roller 3, and at least if the driven end of any roller 3 stops rotating due to a breakage accident, at least Since any one of the light receivers does not receive light, this breakage accident can be reliably detected. However, although the case where the space between the slit 12 and the space between the mirrors 13 is a rotation side optical path (rotation side conduction path) or a fixed side optical path (fixation side conduction path) is shown here, a transparent resin or glass, An optical path can be formed by an optical fiber or the like, and an optical system such as a prism or a lens can be used in addition to the mirror 13. Furthermore, by making it possible to switch the optical path using such an optical system, it is possible to easily detect the light passing state of each roller 3 and identify the roller 3 that has caused the breakage accident. It becomes.

FIG. 5 is a side view illustrating a change in a conduction state between fixed-side conductive terminals according to rotation of a roller, according to an embodiment of the present invention. 1 shows an embodiment of the present invention, and is a side view (a) and a partially omitted front view (b) showing a configuration of a roller. The time chart which shows one Embodiment of this invention, Comprising: When the roller is rotating normally (a), and the case where a breakage accident has occurred (b) The time chart which shows the conduction state of the 1st electric wire and the 2nd electric wire It is. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 illustrates an embodiment of the present invention, and is a side view illustrating an example of detecting a conduction state using light. It is a partial omission longitudinal cross-section side view which shows a prior art example and is a part of a roller hearth kiln.

3 Roller 6 Rotating Side Conductor 7 Rotating Side Conducting Terminal 8 First Conducting Terminal 9 Second Conducting Terminal 10 First Electric Wire 11 Second Electric Wire 12 Slit 13 Mirror

Claims (1)

In a continuous heat treatment furnace that performs heat treatment by placing the material to be processed on a large number of rollers that are driven to rotate synchronously on the driving end side, and conveying the inside of the heating furnace,
A pair of rotation-side light guide terminals connected via a rotation-side optical path through which light passes are arranged at the peripheral edge portion of the driven end portion of each roller,
Two or more sets of fixed-side light-guiding terminals that form a pair as a light input / output end are disposed outside the peripheral edge of the driven end of each roller,
One fixed-side light guide terminal of each set in each roller is connected to the other fixed-side light guide terminal of the corresponding set of adjacent rollers via a fixed-side optical path through which light passes. Continuous heat treatment furnace.

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