JP5407153B2 - Single-chamber vacuum heat treatment furnace - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a single-chamber vacuum heat treatment furnace used when performing heat treatment such as quenching on a metal product, and a method for preventing oxidation of an object to be processed in the single-chamber vacuum heat treatment furnace.

  Conventionally, as an apparatus of this type, an article to be processed is inserted and installed in an opening of the furnace body from the opening of the furnace body, and after closing the opening, the inside of the furnace body is evacuated and the furnace of the furnace body A coolant is supplied into a cooling jacket provided on the wall to cool the furnace wall, the article to be processed is heated and heat-treated, and then gas is introduced into the furnace body and the cooling gas is supplied. It is known that the article to be treated is cooled to cool the article to be processed, and then the opening is opened to replace the article to be treated with a new article to be treated and sequentially heat-treat the article to be treated.

  Such an apparatus is provided with a cooling jacket provided on the furnace wall in order to prevent the furnace wall from becoming high temperature during the heat treatment of the workpiece and the work environment from deteriorating and the furnace wall from deteriorating. The wall is cooled.

  By the way, in such a single chamber type vacuum heat treatment, when the furnace door is opened after the vacuum heat treatment and the article to be treated is taken out to the outside, if the inner surface temperature of the furnace body is lower than the outside air temperature due to the cooling treatment, it flows into the furnace. Moisture in the outside air has condensed on the inner surface of the furnace body. Then, when a new article to be treated is placed in the furnace and heated in this state, water droplets condensed during the vacuum heat treatment gradually vaporize to become water vapor, which oxidizes and colors the surface of the article to be treated.

In Patent Document 1 below, as a pre-process and / or a post-process of vacuum heat treatment of the vacuum heat treatment of the article to be processed, the cooling gas is circulated in the furnace with the furnace door closed, and this cooling gas is provided in the furnace. To the product to be processed by preventing the condensation on the inner surface of the furnace body by heating the entire interior of the furnace to a temperature that is sufficiently higher than the evaporation temperature of moisture and preventing the product from being oxidized and colored. A method for preventing oxidation and coloration of the resin is disclosed.
JP 2006-10097 A

  However, in the conventional technique, since the refrigerant is supplied into the cooling jacket provided on the furnace wall of the furnace body, it takes a considerable time to raise the temperature of the inner surface of the furnace body even if the heated cooling gas is circulated. . Therefore, it is necessary to wait until processing of the next processed product is started, and as a result, there is a problem that processing efficiency of the processed product is deteriorated.

  The present invention has been made in consideration of such circumstances, and its purpose is to effectively prevent condensation in a short time and improve work efficiency to obtain a good product to be processed. An object of the present invention is to provide a method for preventing oxidation of articles to be processed in a mold vacuum heat treatment furnace and a single chamber vacuum heat treatment furnace.

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention proposes the following means.
That is, the present invention provides a furnace body in which a cooling jacket is provided on a furnace wall, and a processing space for an object to be processed is formed inside the furnace wall, as a first solution for a single-chamber vacuum heat treatment furnace, The cooling gas is supplied by a heating device that heats an article to be processed installed in the furnace body, a cooling gas supply device that supplies cooling gas into the processing space, and a heat exchanger that is installed in the processing space. A single-chamber vacuum comprising: a first refrigerant circulation system that cools the article to be processed; a decompression device that depressurizes the processing space; and a second refrigerant circulation system that supplies refrigerant to the cooling jacket. In the heat treatment furnace, a means is adopted in which the second refrigerant circulation system includes a refrigerant heating unit that heats the refrigerant.

  As a second solving means related to the single-chamber vacuum heat treatment furnace, in the first solving means of the single-chamber vacuum heat treatment furnace, the second refrigerant circulation system cools the refrigerant supplied to the cooling jacket. A sensor configured to include a cooling unit and the refrigerant heating unit; and a sensor that measures the temperature of the refrigerant; and a control device that controls the refrigerant heating unit and the refrigerant cooling unit based on an output signal of the sensor; Use the means of providing.

  As a third means for solving the single-chamber vacuum heat treatment furnace, in the second solution means for the single-chamber vacuum heat treatment furnace, the furnace body has an opening for carrying in / out the article to be processed therein. A furnace door that opens and closes the opening, and a lock mechanism that releases the closure of the opening by the furnace door, and the control device closes the furnace door during cooling of the workpiece. In addition, a means is adopted in which a lock mechanism control unit is provided that is released when the temperature of the refrigerant is maintained at a temperature equal to or higher than the ambient temperature outside the furnace for a predetermined time after cooling.

  As a first solution of the method for preventing oxidation of the article to be processed in the single-chamber vacuum heat treatment furnace, the article to be treated is inserted and installed in the furnace body from the opening of the furnace body, and the opening is closed. After evacuating the inside of the furnace body, supplying a refrigerant into a cooling jacket provided on the furnace wall of the furnace body to cool the furnace wall, heating the article to be processed, and heating the article The cooling gas is introduced into the furnace body and the cooling gas is cooled to cool the article to be processed, and then the opening is opened to replace the article to be processed with a new article to be processed sequentially. A method for preventing oxidation of an object to be processed in a single-chamber vacuum heat treatment furnace for performing heat treatment of the object to be processed, wherein after the object to be processed is cooled, the refrigerant is heated to raise the temperature of the furnace wall to thereby increase the temperature of the object to be processed. Preventing generation of water vapor during heat treatment of the treated product To prevent oxidation of the goods, to adopt the means of.

In the first solution of the method for preventing oxidation of the article to be processed in the single chamber vacuum heat treatment furnace, as the second means for solving the oxidation of the article to be processed in the single chamber vacuum heat treatment furnace, the temperature of the refrigerant is set. A means of charging and / or extracting the article to be processed while maintaining a temperature higher than the ambient temperature outside the furnace and for a predetermined time is employed.
As a third solution of the method for preventing oxidation of the article to be processed in the single-chamber vacuum heat treatment furnace, in the second solution of the method for preventing oxidation of the article to be treated in the single-chamber vacuum heat treatment furnace, the temperature of the refrigerant is A means is adopted in which the furnace door of the furnace main body is closed until the temperature is higher than the ambient temperature outside the furnace and is maintained for a predetermined time.

  According to the present invention, since the refrigerant heating unit that heats the refrigerant supplied to the cooling jacket provided on the furnace wall is provided, the inner surface of the furnace body is directly heated. Thereby, dew condensation on the inner surface of the furnace body can be effectively prevented in a short time, and work efficiency can be improved to obtain a good product to be processed.

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.
FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an overall configuration of a single-chamber vacuum heat treatment furnace A according to an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view taken along line AA in FIG. In FIG. 1, the heating chamber R is shown in a sealed state, and in FIG. 2, the heating chamber R is shown in an open state.

  As shown in FIG. 1, a single chamber vacuum heat treatment furnace A includes a furnace body 1, a heating device 2, a cooling gas supply device 3, a decompression device 4, a cooling device 5, a refrigerant circulation system 6, and a control. Device 8.

  The furnace body 1 has a processing space S for the article W to be processed formed therein by a furnace wall 11 and is formed in a substantially cylindrical shape. The furnace body 1 is installed on the floor F so that the legs 17 formed on the peripheral surface are positioned on the lower side so that the central axis (the central axis of the cylinder) is horizontal.

The furnace body 1 includes a container body 12, a furnace door 13, a lock mechanism 14, and a cooling jacket 15.
The container body 12 is formed of a furnace wall 11a and has a substantially cylindrical shape with one end serving as an opening 12a. The heating device 2 and the like are accommodated inside the container body 12 and the opening. The workpiece W is charged and extracted from 12a. As shown in FIG. 2, two parallel floor portions formed in parallel to each other along the central axis direction of the furnace body 1 from the opening 12 a to the vicinity of the other end portion are formed below the inside of the container body 12. 12b is formed. A flange portion 12c is formed on the furnace wall 11a surrounding the periphery of the opening portion 12a.

  The furnace door 13 has a substantially disk shape formed by the furnace wall 11b, and opens and closes the opening 12a. A flange portion 13a is formed on the periphery of the furnace door 13 so as to overlap the flange portion 12c when the opening portion 12a is closed.

  The lock mechanism 14 releases the blockage of the opening 12 a by the furnace door 13. Specifically, it comprises a clamp ring 14a that engages the flange portion 12c and the flange portion 13a, and a drive mechanism 14b that tightens the clamp ring 14a, and is firmly fixed in a state where the flange portion 12c and the flange portion 13a are in close contact with each other. The container body 12 can be sealed.

  The cooling jacket 15 (15a, 15b) is provided in the furnace wall 11 (11a, 11b) so as to surround the processing space S, and includes supply ports 15a1, 15b1 to which the refrigerant C is supplied, respectively. Discharge ports 15a2 and 15b2 for discharging the refrigerant C are provided. The cooling jackets 15a and 15b are independent ones that do not communicate directly.

The heating device 2 is supported by the parallel floor portion 12 b and is accommodated in the container trunk portion 12. The heating device 2 includes a box-shaped heat insulating material 22 provided with wheels 21, a heater 26, and a hearth 27.
The wheel 21 is attached so that the heating chamber R configured by the box-shaped heat insulating material 22 can move in the central axis direction of the furnace body 1 on the parallel floor portion 12b.

The box-shaped heat insulating material 22 is made of ceramic fiber and is provided so as to constitute the heating chamber R. That is, the heating chamber R includes a floor plate 22a on which the wheels 21 are provided, a front wall 22b provided on the opening 12a side, a back wall 22c provided so as to face the front wall 22b, and the furnace body 1 It is composed of side walls 22d and 22e provided so as to be parallel to each other along the central axis, and the top plate 22f, and can accommodate the article to be processed W.
The box-shaped heat insulating material 22 is provided with a thermocouple (not shown) for measuring the temperature of the heating chamber R, and this measurement signal is transmitted to the control device 8.

  The front wall 22b is provided with a heating chamber door 23b in which a carry-in / out port 23a for the article W to be processed is formed and which can be opened and closed. Further, the floor plate 22a is provided with a cooling gas introduction port 24a and a floor lid 24b that can be opened and closed. The top plate 22f is formed with a cooling gas discharge port 25a and can be opened and closed. A canopy 25b is provided.

  The floor cover 24b is driven vertically by a pneumatic cylinder 24c provided at the lower part outside the furnace, and the canopy 25b is driven horizontally by a pneumatic cylinder 25c provided at the side part outside the furnace. The heating chamber door 23b is opened and closed by an opening / closing device (not shown).

  Thus, in the state where the loading / unloading port 23a is closed by the heating chamber door 23b, the heating chamber R is sealed by closing the floor lid 24b and the canopy 25b, and heating is performed by opening the floor lid 24b and the canopy 25b. The room R communicates with the outside.

The heater 26 is provided in the heating chamber R so as to surround the workpiece W when the workpiece W is carried into the heating chamber R.
The hearth 27 is composed of a plurality of rod-like members parallel to the central axis of the furnace body 1 and is provided on the floor plate 22a.

  The cooling gas supply device 3 supplies the cooling gas G to the processing space S, and the decompression device 4 exhausts the outside air flowing in from the opening 12a to decompress the processing space S.

The cooling device 5 includes a blower 51 and a heat exchanger 52.
The blower 51 includes a cooling fan 51a that blows the cooling gas G and a fan motor 51b that rotates the cooling fan 51a. The cooling fan 51a is located inside the furnace and the fan motor 51b is located outside the furnace. As shown in FIG.
The heat exchanger 52 includes a plurality of heat transfer tubes through which the refrigerant C flows, and the plurality of heat transfer tubes are provided in the upper part of the furnace body 1 so as to surround the cooling fan 51a.

  The refrigerant circulation system (first refrigerant circulation system, second refrigerant circulation system) 6 includes a cooling jacket 15, a heat exchanger 52, a refrigerant tank 61, a circulation pump 62, and a three-way valve 63 in parallel. The refrigerant cooling unit 64 and the refrigerant heating unit 65 that are arranged, and a pipe 66 (66a to 66m) that are sequentially arranged between them, are roughly configured.

The refrigerant tank 61 functions as a storage tank for the refrigerant C, and is configured such that a constant refrigerant C is always stored. In the present embodiment, oil is used as the refrigerant C.
The refrigerant tank 61 is provided with a thermocouple 71 so that the temperature of the refrigerant C stored in the refrigerant tank 61 is measured, and an output signal is continuously supplied to the control device 8.

The circulation pump 62 communicates with the refrigerant tank 61 through a pipe 66a, and sends out the refrigerant C stored in the refrigerant tank 61 to the pipe 66b.
The three-way valve 63 is an electric type, and is connected to a pipe 66b, a pipe 66c communicating with the refrigerant cooling unit 64, and a pipe 66d communicating with the refrigerant heating unit 65. That is, by operating this three-way valve 63, the system path of the refrigerant C sent from the circulation pump 62 can be switched to either the pipe 66c or the pipe 66d.

The refrigerant cooling unit 64 cools the refrigerant C by exchanging heat with the refrigerant C flowing in from the pipe 66c, and communicates with the pipe 66e from which the cooled refrigerant C flows out.
The refrigerant heating unit 65 heats the refrigerant C by exchanging heat with the refrigerant C flowing in from the pipe 66d, and communicates with the pipe 66f that flows out the heated refrigerant C.

The pipe 66e and the pipe 66f communicate with each other to form one pipe, and then branch into three pipes. That is, the pipe 66g connected to the supply port 15a1 of the cooling jacket 15a, the pipe 66h connected to the supply port 15b1 of the cooling jacket 15b, and the pipe 66i connected to the heat exchanger 52 are branched.

The refrigerant C flowing into the cooling jackets 15a and 15b from the pipes 66g and 66h flows through the cooling jacket 15 surrounding the processing space S, and then flows into the pipes 66j and 66k from the discharge ports 15a2 and 15b2, respectively. Thus, the refrigerant is stored in the refrigerant tank 61 communicating with the pipes 66j and 66k. Similarly, the refrigerant C that has flowed through the heat transfer tube of the heat exchanger 52 is stored in the refrigerant tank 61 via the pipe 66m.
In this way, the refrigerant circulation system 6 is configured.

The control device 8 controls the operation of the heating device 2, the cooling gas supply device 3, the decompression device 4, the cooling device 5, and the circulation pump 62 of the refrigerant circulation system 6.
For example, during the heat treatment of the article to be processed W, the control device 8 energizes the heater 26 to heat the article to be processed W to a desired temperature, and pipes the circulation system so that the refrigerant C is cooled. 66c and the refrigerant cooling unit 64 is operated to cool the refrigerant C. Similarly, during the cooling process, if the set temperature is higher than the furnace temperature, the refrigerant C is cooled. Note that the temperature and time of the heat treatment and the cooling treatment are appropriately changed depending on the type of metal of the article to be processed W and the type of heat treatment.

  The controller 8 raises the temperature of the refrigerant C when the temperature of the refrigerant C is lower than the set temperature t after the cooling of the article to be processed W until the charging of the new article to be processed W is completed. . Specifically, the three-way valve 63 is operated to switch the refrigerant circulation system to the pipe 66d, and the refrigerant heating unit 65 is operated to heat the refrigerant. The set temperature t of the refrigerant C is generally set to a temperature (a temperature that exceeds the outside air temperature by about 10 ° C.) that can effectively prevent condensation on the inner surface of the furnace body 1. Further, an output signal is supplied to the control device 8 from a temperature sensor (not shown) provided outside the furnace.

  Further, the control device 8 includes a lock mechanism control unit 81. The lock mechanism control unit 81 closes the furnace door 13 while the workpiece W is being cooled, and is released when the temperature of the refrigerant C is maintained at a set temperature t or more and for a predetermined time T after cooling. is there.

  Next, the operation of the single-chamber vacuum heat treatment furnace A having the above configuration will be described. FIG. 3 shows a part of the processing steps of the single chamber vacuum heat treatment furnace A. In the following description, a case where a plurality of workpieces W are quenched will be described. A sufficient time has passed since the most recent heat treatment before the heat treatment, and the furnace temperature becomes the same as the outside air temperature. ing. In addition, it is assumed that the refrigerant C is always circulating in the refrigerant circulation system 6.

  First, the furnace door 13 is opened to open the opening 12a, the heating chamber R is exposed to the outside, the heating chamber door 23b is opened, and the carry-in / out port 23a is opened.

  Next, the loading / extracting table on which the workpiece W is placed at substantially the same height as the hearth 27 is abutted against the opening 12a. Then, after the workpiece W is charged into the heating chamber R, the charging / extracting base is separated from the opening 12a, the heating chamber door 23b is closed, and the loading / unloading port 23a is closed. Further, the furnace door 13 is closed so that the flange portion 13a is superimposed on the flange portion 12c, the clamp ring 14a is tightened by the drive mechanism 14b, and the container body portion 12 is sealed.

  Next, the decompression device 4 is operated to decompress the processing space S. At this time, the cooling gas introduction port 24a of the floor plate 22a and the cooling gas discharge port 25a of the top plate 22f in the heating chamber R are open. Then, after the predetermined degree of vacuum is reached, the pneumatic cylinders 24c and 25c are operated to drive the floor lid 24b and the canopy 25b, thereby closing the cooling gas introduction port 24a and the cooling gas discharge port 25a, respectively.

  Next, the workpiece W is heated at a predetermined temperature for a predetermined time by energizing the heater 26. At this time, the temperature of the refrigerant C rises due to the furnace wall 11 and the heat exchanger 52 being heated by the radiation from the heater 26, so that the refrigerant cooling section 64 is made with the system path of the refrigerant circulation system 6 as the pipe 66 c. To cool the refrigerant C and cool the furnace wall 11.

  After the heat treatment, the pneumatic cylinders 24c and 25c are operated again, the floor lid 24b and the canopy 25b are driven, the cooling gas introduction port 24a and the cooling gas discharge port 25a are opened, and the cooling gas supply device 3 is operated. Cooling gas G is supplied (see FIG. 2).

  At the same time, the cooling device 5 is driven to circulate the cooling gas G in the processing space S. At this time, the cooling gas G is cooled by exchanging heat with the refrigerant C flowing inside the heat transfer tube of the heat exchanger 52, and the heat received by the refrigerant C from the cooling gas G is radiated by the refrigerant cooling unit 64. . In addition, in the heating chamber R, it circulates so that it passes through the hearth 27 from the cooling gas inlet 24a and is discharged from the cooling gas outlet 25a.

The control device 8 that has detected the completion of the cooling process (step S1) measures the temperature of the refrigerant C and determines whether the temperature of the refrigerant C is higher than the set temperature t (step S2).
If the determination in step S2 is “No”, that is, if the temperature of the refrigerant C is lower than the set temperature t, it is determined whether the passage of the refrigerant circulation system 6 by the three-way valve 63 is the pipe 66c (step). S3).

  When the determination in step S3 is “Yes”, the three-way valve 63 is operated to switch the refrigerant circulation system 6 to the direction of the pipe 66d (step S4). In the present embodiment, as described above, the refrigerant cooling section 64 is operated with the piping of the refrigerant circulation system 6 used as the piping 66c in order to cool the furnace wall 11 and the cooling gas G. Actuate to switch the refrigerant circulation system 6 in the direction of the pipe 66d.

After step S4 or when the determination in step S3 is “No”, the refrigerant C is heated to heat the refrigerant C to a predetermined temperature (step S5). That is, the refrigerant C heated by the refrigerant heating unit 65 is supplied to the cooling jacket 15 and the inner surface of the furnace body 1 and the heat exchanger 52 are directly heated. At this time, the cooling gas G remains circulated.
Thereafter, the determination in step S2 is performed again.

  When the determination in step S2 is “Yes”, the lock mechanism control unit 81 of the control device 8 determines whether or not the refrigerant C is equal to or higher than the set temperature t for a predetermined time (step S6). The predetermined time is set such that the cooling gas G is warmed by the heat exchanger 52 and the furnace wall 11 and the furnace temperature becomes equal to or higher than the outside air temperature by the cooling gas G.

If the determination in step S6 is “No”, the determination in step S2 is made again.
If the determination in step S6 is “Yes”, the drive mechanism 14b of the lock mechanism 14 is operated to release the tightening of the clamp ring 14a on the assumption that the furnace is at atmospheric pressure (step S7). .

  After the lock mechanism 14 is released, the furnace door 13 is opened and the opening 12a is opened, the heating chamber door 23b of the heating chamber R is opened, and the carry-in / out port 23a is opened (step S8). At this time, in addition to the inner surface of the furnace body 1 and the heat exchanger 52, the heating chamber R and the fan 51a are also set at a set temperature.

  Thereafter, the charging / extracting table is again brought into contact with the hearth 27 to extract the to-be-quenched workpiece W, and until the new workpiece W is charged, the control device 8 continuously refrigerates the refrigerant. In order to make the temperature of C equal to or higher than the set temperature t, the same determination as in steps S2 to S5 is repeated (steps S9 to S12).

  That is, while the opening 12a is open, the inner surface of the furnace body 1 and the heat exchanger 52 are kept at a temperature equal to or higher than the set temperature t, and the heating chamber R and the fan 51a are also in the vicinity of the set temperature. Therefore, no condensation occurs even if outside air flows into the furnace.

  Thereafter, after a new workpiece W is charged into the heating chamber R (step S13), the heating chamber door 23b and the furnace door 13 are closed again, and heat treatment is started in the same manner as described above. At this time, even if the article to be processed W is heated by the heater 26, no condensation occurs in the heating chamber R or the fan 51a in addition to the inner surface of the furnace body 1 or the heat exchanger 52, so that water vapor is generated in the furnace. Never do.

  At the same time, it is determined whether or not the path of the refrigerant circulation system 6 by the three-way valve 63 is the pipe 66c (step S14). If the determination in step S14 is “Yes”, the process ends, and the determination in step S14 is “No”. In the case of “,” the refrigerant circulation system 6 is switched to the pipe 66c in order to cool the refrigerant C during the heat treatment (step S15), and the process is terminated.

  Since the water vapor is not generated in the furnace of the new article to be processed W, the surface thereof is not oxidized and the heat treatment is completed without causing coloring.

  As described above, according to the single-chamber vacuum heat treatment furnace A, the refrigerant circulation system 6 includes the refrigerant heating unit 65 that heats the refrigerant C, so that the inner surface of the furnace body 1 is directly heated. Thereby, dew condensation on the inner surface of the furnace body 1 can be effectively prevented in a short time, and the work efficiency can be improved to obtain a good workpiece W.

  Moreover, since the thermocouple 71 which measures the temperature of the refrigerant | coolant C and the control apparatus which controls the refrigerant | coolant heating part 65 and the refrigerant | coolant cooling part 64 based on the output signal of the thermocouple 71 are provided, at the time of heat processing and at the time of cooling processing In other words, the temperature of the refrigerant C can be changed as appropriate, and the temperature of the refrigerant C from the end of the cooling process to the insertion of a new workpiece W can be changed.

  In addition, the control device 8 closes the furnace door 13 while the workpiece W is being cooled, and is released when the temperature of the refrigerant C is held at the set temperature t or higher and for a predetermined time T after cooling. 81 is provided, it is possible to effectively prevent condensation other than the inner surface of the furnace body 1 and the heat exchanger 52 by adjusting the furnace temperature to a desired temperature. Furthermore, it is possible to completely prevent the furnace door 13 from being accidentally opened before the furnace temperature becomes equal to or higher than the desired temperature after the cooling is completed.

  Further, since oil is used as the refrigerant C, it is possible to prevent the accumulation of scale that occurs when water is used as the refrigerant.

Note that the operation procedure shown in the above-described embodiment, or the shapes, materials, combinations, and the like of each component are examples, and can be variously changed based on design requirements and the like without departing from the gist of the present invention. is there.
For example, in the present embodiment, the cooling jacket 15 and the heat exchanger 52 are configured as the common refrigerant circulation system 6, but they may be configured independently.

  In the present embodiment, the three-way valve 63 is provided and the refrigerant cooling unit 64 and the refrigerant heating unit 65 are arranged in parallel. However, the three-way valve 63 may not be provided and may be arranged in series.

In this embodiment, oil is used as the refrigerant C, but it is needless to say that it may be cooling water.
Moreover, in this embodiment, although the wheel 21 was provided in the box-shaped heat insulating material 22, this is provided in order to improve the maintainability of the heating chamber R, and does not necessarily need to provide.

  In the present embodiment, the refrigerant C is continuously circulated in the refrigerant circulation system 6. However, for example, the supply of the refrigerant C to the heat exchanger 52 is interrupted during the heat treatment of the workpiece W. Alternatively, the supply of the refrigerant C to the cooling jacket 15 may be interrupted during the cooling process.

It is a figure which shows the whole structure of the single chamber type vacuum heat processing furnace A in one Embodiment of this invention. It is the sectional view on the AA line in FIG. A part of the processing steps of the single chamber type vacuum heat treatment furnace A in the first embodiment of the present invention is extracted.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Furnace main body 2 ... Heating apparatus 3 ... Supply apparatus 4 ... Depressurization apparatus 5 ... Cooling apparatus 6 ... Refrigerant circulation system 8 ... Control apparatus 11 (11a, 11b) ... Furnace wall 12a ... Opening part 13 ... Furnace door 14 ... Lock mechanism 15 (15a, 15b) ... Cooling jacket 52 ... Heat exchanger 64 ... Refrigerant cooling unit 65 ... Refrigerant heating unit 71 ... Thermocouple (sensor)
81 ... Lock mechanism control unit A ... Single-chamber vacuum heat treatment furnace C ... Refrigerant G ... Cooling gas S ... Processing space W ... Processed product

Claims (3)

A furnace body in which a cooling jacket is provided on the furnace wall, and a processing space for a product to be processed is formed inside the furnace wall;
A heating device for heating an article to be processed installed in the furnace body;
A cooling gas supply device for supplying a cooling gas into the processing space;
A first refrigerant circulation system for cooling the article to be processed via the cooling gas by a heat exchanger installed in the processing space;
A decompression device for decompressing the inside of the processing space;
In a single-chamber vacuum heat treatment furnace comprising a second refrigerant circulation system for supplying a refrigerant to the cooling jacket,
The second refrigerant circulation system includes a refrigerant heating unit that heats the refrigerant, a refrigerant cooling unit that cools the refrigerant, and a three-way valve that supplies the refrigerant to either the refrigerant heating unit or the refrigerant cooling unit. And a single chamber type vacuum heat treatment furnace.   The sensor according to claim 1, further comprising: a sensor that measures the temperature of the refrigerant; and a control device that controls the refrigerant heating unit and the refrigerant cooling unit based on an output signal of the sensor. Chamber type vacuum heat treatment furnace. The furnace body includes an opening for loading and unloading the article to be processed therein, a furnace door for opening and closing the opening, and a lock mechanism for releasing the closure of the opening by the furnace door. Prepared,
The control device closes the furnace door during the cooling of the article to be processed and releases the cooling mechanism when the temperature of the refrigerant is maintained at a temperature higher than the ambient temperature outside the furnace and after a predetermined time after cooling. The single-chamber vacuum heat treatment furnace according to claim 2, comprising:

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