JP5811199B2 - Heat treatment equipment - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a heat treatment apparatus, for example, a heat treatment apparatus suitable for use in a treatment such as quenching of an object to be processed.

  When heat treatment equipment that performs processing such as so-called quenching by heating and cooling the metal material that is the object to be treated, high-speed cooling is conventionally required, oil-cooled cooling equipment or gas-cooling cooling equipment Is used. The oil cooling type cooling device has a problem that although the cooling efficiency is excellent, fine cooling control is hardly performed and the heat-treated product is easily deformed. On the other hand, in the cooling device of the gas cooling system, cooling control is easy by gas flow rate control and the like, and there is a problem that the cooling efficiency is low although the deformation of the heat-treated product is excellent.

  Therefore, in Patent Document 1, a liquid nozzle and a gas nozzle are disposed so as to surround a product to be heat-treated, a cooling liquid is supplied from the liquid nozzle in a spray manner, and a cooling gas is supplied from the gas nozzle. A technique for improving cooling controllability and cooling efficiency is disclosed.

JP-A-11-153386

However, the following problems exist in the conventional technology as described above.
When cooling a plurality of products to be heat-treated at once, it is difficult to perform cooling uniformly, and there is a possibility that uneven cooling occurs. In particular, the product to be heat-treated has a surface that is likely to be supplied with a coolant and a surface that is difficult to be supplied. Therefore, there is a problem that even if cooling is performed, a temperature distribution occurs and this causes a deformation of the product to be heat-treated.

  The present invention has been made in consideration of the above points, and an object of the present invention is to provide a heat treatment apparatus capable of sufficiently suppressing distortion and deformation of an object to be processed.

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention employs the following configuration.
The heat treatment apparatus of the present invention is a heat treatment apparatus provided with a cooling chamber for cooling a heated object to be processed, and a transfer apparatus for transferring a plurality of the objects to be processed simultaneously in a single row, and a transfer path of the transfer apparatus A cooling unit is provided in the cooling chamber, each of which includes a mist cooling device that surrounds and supplies a mist-like coolant, and a gas cooling device that surrounds a transport path of the transport device and supplies a cooling gas. It is characterized by that.
Therefore, in the heat treatment apparatus of the present invention, it is possible to suppress the formation of a vapor film on the surface of the object to be processed by adjusting the supply amount of the coolant in the mist form with respect to the object to be processed on the conveyance path, and vaporization Using the latent heat, the workpiece can be cooled with high cooling efficiency. Moreover, it becomes possible to cool a to-be-processed object with high controllability by adjusting supply_amount | feed_rate according to the cooling efficiency with respect to a to-be-processed object. Since the objects to be processed that are symmetrical with respect to the cooling are conveyed in a single row, when the mist-like cooling liquid is supplied by the mist cooling device disposed around the object, the cooling liquid is hidden behind the other objects to be processed. The cooling liquid can be uniformly supplied to the whole without generating a portion that is difficult to be supplied. Therefore, in this invention, it becomes possible to cool a to-be-processed object uniformly, and can suppress the distortion and deformation | transformation of a to-be-processed object resulting from temperature distribution etc.

As the cooling unit, a configuration in which a plurality of cooling units are provided in parallel can be suitably employed.
Thereby, in this invention, it becomes possible to perform cooling with respect to a to-be-processed object in parallel, suppressing the distortion and deformation | transformation of a to-be-processed object, and can contribute to the improvement of productivity.
In the configuration in this case, a configuration in which the plurality of cooling units are arranged in the same cooling chamber can be suitably employed.
When the cooling chamber is provided for each cooling unit, the apparatus becomes large. However, in the present invention, even when the workpiece is cooled in parallel, the cooling chamber can be prevented from being enlarged.

Moreover, in the said heat processing apparatus, the said mist cooling device can employ | adopt suitably the structure which supplies the said cooling liquid from the position mutually spaced apart along the said conveyance path | route.
Thereby, in this invention, it becomes possible to supply a cooling liquid reliably over the whole to-be-processed object, and the uniform cooling process with respect to a to-be-processed object can be performed more reliably.

Further, in the heat treatment apparatus, the mist cooling device is provided so as to extend along the transfer path and is separated from the pipe body to which the cooling liquid is supplied and along the transfer path. The structure which has the nozzle part provided in this way can be adopted suitably.
Thereby, in this invention, the cooling fluid supplied to the pipe body will be ejected in the form of a mist uniformly from a nozzle part, and it can cool uniformly over the whole to-be-processed object.

And in the said heat processing apparatus, the structure by which the said tubular body is arrange | positioned in multiple numbers at substantially equal intervals in the circumferential direction centering | focusing on the said conveyance path | route can be employ | adopted suitably.
Thereby, in this invention, a cooling fluid can be uniformly supplied from the circumference | surroundings of a to-be-processed object in mist form, and the uniform cooling process which does not produce temperature distribution can be performed. At this time, the tube body is arranged in consideration of the gravitational force received by the sprayed mist, thereby increasing the uniformity.

Moreover, in this invention, the structure which has a measuring device which measures the temperature of the said to-be-processed object, and a control apparatus which controls the supply amount of the said cooling liquid based on the measurement result of the said measuring device can be employ | adopted suitably.
Thereby, in this invention, according to the temperature of a to-be-processed object, it becomes possible to supply a cooling liquid with the optimal supply amount.

In the heat treatment apparatus, the measurement device measures the temperature of the object to be processed at a position corresponding to each of the plurality of mist cooling devices provided, and the control device is based on the measurement result, A configuration in which the supply amount of the cooling liquid is individually controlled for the plurality of mist cooling devices can be suitably employed.
Thereby, in this invention, according to the temperature distribution of the to-be-processed object of the position corresponding to a mist cooling device, in order to eliminate the said temperature distribution, the supply amount of the cooling fluid by a mist cooling device can be controlled separately. Thus, the temperature of the object to be processed can be controlled with high accuracy.

Moreover, in this invention, the structure which has a press apparatus which presses the said to-be-processed object from a predetermined | prescribed direction can be employ | adopted suitably.
As a result, in the present invention, even when there is a change in the heat transfer coefficient of the workpiece during cooling, it is possible to suppress distortion and deformation of the workpiece to be small by forcibly pressing the workpiece. Become.

In the present invention, a configuration in which the cooling liquid is a fluorine-based inert liquid can be suitably employed.
Thereby, in this invention, while being able to prevent a cooling liquid having a bad influence on a to-be-processed object, it becomes possible to prevent the surface oxidation which arises in the case of a water cooling type.

  In the present invention, it is possible to cool the workpiece with high controllability while sufficiently suppressing distortion and deformation of the workpiece.

It is a whole block diagram of the vacuum heat treatment furnace of this embodiment. 2 is a front sectional view of a cooling chamber 160. FIG. FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view taken along line AA in FIG. 2. It is a figure which shows 2nd Embodiment of the heat processing apparatus. It is sectional drawing of the cooling chamber in 3rd Embodiment. It is sectional drawing of the cooling chamber in 3rd Embodiment.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the heat treatment apparatus of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS.
In each drawing used for the following description, the scale of each member is appropriately changed to make each member a recognizable size.
In this embodiment, an example of a multi-chamber type vacuum heat treatment furnace (hereinafter simply referred to as “vacuum heat treatment furnace”) is shown as the heat treatment apparatus.

(First embodiment)
FIG. 1 is an overall configuration diagram of the vacuum heat treatment furnace of the present embodiment.
A vacuum heat treatment furnace (heat treatment apparatus) 100 performs heat treatment on an object to be processed, and a deaeration chamber 110, a preheating chamber 120, a carburizing chamber 130, a diffusion chamber 140, a descending chamber 150, and a cooling chamber 160 are sequentially provided. It has the structure arrange | positioned adjacently, and a to-be-processed object is conveyed by each chamber 110-160 in a single row sequentially.

Since the present invention is characterized by the configuration of the cooling chamber 160, the cooling chamber 160 will be described in detail below.
2 is a front sectional view of the cooling chamber 160, and FIG. 3 is a sectional view taken along line AA in FIG. The cooling chamber 160 is formed in the vacuum container 1. In the vacuum vessel 1, a cooling unit CU including a transfer device 10, a gas cooling device 20, and a mist cooling device 30 is provided.

The transport apparatus 10 is capable of transporting a plurality of workpieces M in a single row along the horizontal direction and simultaneously transporting a plurality of objects M, and is opposed to each other with a space therebetween and extends in the transport direction (horizontal direction). A support frame 11; rollers 12 rotatably provided on opposing surfaces of the support frames 11 at a predetermined interval in the transport direction; a tray 13 on which the workpiece M is placed and transported on the rollers 12. A support frame 14 (not shown in FIG. 2) that is provided along the vertical direction and supports both ends of the support frame 11 is provided.
In the following description, the conveyance direction of the workpiece M by the conveyance device 10 is simply referred to as a conveyance direction.

  The tray 13 is formed, for example, by arranging wire rods in a grid and is formed in a substantially rectangular parallelepiped shape. The width of the tray 13 is slightly larger than the width of the workpiece M and is supported by the roller 12 at the edge in the width direction of the bottom surface. The size is formed. In addition, the length of the tray 13 is formed such that two workpieces M and M can be placed at intervals in the transport direction here. Therefore, in this embodiment, the workpieces M can be conveyed in a single row and a plurality (two in this case) at the same time via the tray 13.

  The gas cooling device 20 cools the workpiece M by supplying a cooling gas into the cooling chamber 160, and includes a header pipe 21, a supply pipe 22, and a gas recovery / supply system 23. As shown by a two-dot chain line in FIG. 3, the header pipe 21 is disposed at the downstream end of the cooling chamber 160 in the transport direction, and is formed in an annular shape centering on the transport path of the workpiece M by the transport device 10. Yes. Cooling gas is supplied to the header pipe 21 by a gas recovery / supply system 23.

  The supply pipe 22 has one end connected to the header pipe 21 and the other end extending in the horizontal direction toward the upstream side in the transport direction, with the transport path of the workpiece M by the transport device 10 as the center, A plurality (four here) are provided at substantially equal intervals (here, 90 ° intervals) in the circumferential direction. Specifically, as shown in FIG. 3, the supply pipe 22 is provided at the 3 o'clock, 6 o'clock, 9 o'clock, and 12 o'clock positions (up and down, left and right positions) of the annular header pipe 21. Each supply pipe 22 has a length that extends over the length of the cooling chamber 160, and the other end extends in the horizontal direction toward the upstream side of the cooling chamber 160 in the transport direction. In each supply pipe 22, a plurality of jet openings 24 that open toward the conveyance path of the object to be processed are formed at predetermined intervals over the entire length direction.

The gas recovery / supply system 23 includes an exhaust pipe 25 connected to the vacuum vessel 1, an on-off valve 26 provided in the exhaust pipe 25, and a heat exchanger as a cooler for recooling the cooling gas recovered in the exhaust pipe 25. 27, and mainly a fan 28 for supplying the recooled cooling gas to the header pipe 21.
As the cooling gas, for example, an inert gas such as argon, helium, or nitrogen is used.

  The mist cooling device 30 cools the workpiece M by supplying a cooling liquid into the cooling chamber 160 in a mist form, and includes a header pipe 31 (not shown in FIG. 3), a supply pipe (tube body). ) 32 and a coolant recovery / supply system 33. The header pipe 31 is disposed at the upstream end of the cooling chamber 160 in the transport direction, and is formed in an annular shape centering on the transport path of the workpiece M by the transport device 10. A coolant is supplied to the header pipe 31 by a coolant recovery / supply system 33.

  The supply pipe 32 has one end connected to the header pipe 31 and the other end extending in the horizontal direction toward the downstream side in the conveyance direction. The supply pipe 32 is centered on the conveyance path of the workpiece M by the conveyance device 10. A plurality (four here) are provided at substantially equal intervals (here, 90 ° intervals) in the circumferential direction. Specifically, as shown in FIG. 3, the supply pipe 32 is provided in the annular header pipe 21 at a position of ± 45 ° from the horizontal direction. Each supply pipe 32 has a length that extends over the length of the cooling chamber 160, and the other end extends in the horizontal direction toward the downstream side in the transport direction of the cooling chamber 160. In each supply pipe 32, a plurality of nozzle portions 34 for injecting the cooling liquid in a mist shape toward the conveyance path of the object to be processed are formed at predetermined intervals over the entire length direction.

  As for the arrangement of the supply pipe 32 and the nozzle part 34, it is preferable to avoid the vertical direction that may cause a difference in the supply amount because the mist-like coolant is affected by gravity, and preferably, A mist-like coolant is supplied along the horizontal direction. However, when supplying the cooling liquid along the vertical direction, the supply amount may be varied in consideration of the influence due to gravity. Further, when three supply pipes 32 are arranged instead of four, for example, in order to reduce the vertical component as much as possible, it is preferable to arrange the zenith part and a position of ± 120 ° across the zenith part. .

The coolant recovery / supply system 33 includes a drain pipe 35 connected to the vacuum vessel 1, an on-off valve 36 provided in the drain pipe 35, and a coolant recovered by the drain pipe 35 is piped by driving a motor 39. A pump 38 for feeding liquid to the header pipe 31 via 37, a sensor 40 for measuring the pressure (atmospheric pressure) of the cooling chamber 160, and a coolant flow rate controller for controlling the driving of the motor 39 based on the measurement result of the sensor 40. The inverter 41 and the liquefier (liquefaction trap) 42 for liquefying the coolant evaporated by receiving heat from the processed product are mainly configured.
As the cooling liquid, for example, oil, salt, a fluorine-based inert liquid described later, and the like can be used.

Next, a procedure for cooling the heated workpiece M in the cooling chamber 160 in the vacuum heat treatment furnace 100 will be described.
As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the workpieces M are placed on the tray 13 in a single row and separated in the transport direction, and are transported to the cooling chamber 160.

  A coolant is supplied and jetted in a mist form from the nozzle portion 34 of the mist cooling device 30 to the workpiece M conveyed to the cooling chamber 160. Here, for example, as shown in FIG. 3, the diffusion angle from the nozzle portion 34 can be jetted over the entire side surface (outer peripheral surface) of the workpiece M by being set to 90 °. . Further, at this time, the cooling liquid ejected from the nozzle portion 34 located obliquely below the workpiece M (tray 13) is formed by the tray 13 being formed by arranging the wire rods in a lattice shape. By passing through the gap, the workpiece M can be reached and cooled without hindrance. In addition, since the nozzle portion 34 is provided over the entire length direction of the cooling chamber 160 on the front and back surfaces of the workpiece M in the transport direction, the nozzle portion 34 located particularly on both ends of the supply pipe 32. Since the mist-like cooling liquid is supplied by the injection from, it can be cooled without hindrance.

  In supplying the mist-like coolant, treatment at atmospheric pressure or lower is preferable from the viewpoint of preventing leakage of the coolant from the vacuum vessel 1 during the treatment. Moreover, as a physical-property value regarding a cooling fluid, when making it into normal temperature 25 degreeC under atmospheric pressure, it is desirable that it is a boiling point equivalent to water or more (boiling point of 100 degreeC or more). This is because the temperature of the cooling liquid ejected as mist rises due to heat exchange with the workpiece M, so that a heat exchanger is used as a means for cooling the cooling liquid (liquefaction device 42). This is because water is used.

More specifically, since water as a heat exchange medium is generally cooled by using a cooling tower, it is used at about 40 to 50 ° C. (ie heat It is appropriate that the coolant temperature after replacement (the supply temperature of the mist coolant is used at about 40 to 50 ° C.). In addition, since the cooling liquid absorbs heat corresponding to the difference between the boiling point and the temperature of the workpiece M, it is 30 with respect to the supply temperature of the mist cooling liquid in consideration of absorbing more heat. It is desirable to have a boiling point at a temperature as high as ˜50 ° C. For these reasons, it is desirable that the cooling liquid has a boiling point equal to or higher than that of water (a boiling point of 100 ° C. or higher).
Specifically, for example, when using a fluorine-based inert liquid having a boiling point of 131 ° C. at a normal temperature of 25 ° C. under atmospheric pressure (101 kPa (abs)), an atmosphere adjustment pressure of 55 kPa (abs) to a boiling point of 110 ° C. It is preferable to perform the treatment under conditions of an atmosphere adjustment pressure of about 20 kPa (abs) with a boiling point of 80 ° C.

  On the other hand, the cooling gas is supplied / injected from the injection port 24 of the gas cooling device 20 to the workpiece M. The workpiece M is directly cooled by the jetted cooling gas, and the cooling liquid sprayed in a mist form in the cooling chamber 160 is diffused by the flow of the cooling gas, thereby making the atmosphere of the cooling chamber 160 uniform. be able to.

  In the case of cooling using this mist-like cooling liquid, since the cooling liquid is continuously supplied and heat exchange with the workpiece M is possible, the workpiece M is immersed in the cooling liquid. In this way, the contact area with the cooling liquid is reduced by the bubbles generated by boiling the cooling liquid in contact with the high temperature object M, and the cooling efficiency is lowered. Thus, the cooling treatment for the workpiece M can be continuously performed without causing the disadvantage that the heat insulation layer is formed and the cooling efficiency is remarkably lowered.

  The coolant supplied to the cooling chamber 160 in the form of a mist is liquefied by the inner wall surface of the vacuum vessel 1 or the liquefier 42 and stored at the bottom of the vacuum vessel 1. The stored coolant is operated by driving the motor 38 and operating the pump 38 with the on-off valve 26 in the gas recovery / supply system 23 closed and the on-off valve 36 in the coolant recovery / supply system 33 opened. , And can be supplied to circulate to the header pipe 31 via the pipe 37. In particular, when the sensor 40 detects that the air pressure in the cooling chamber 160 has decreased and the supply / injection amount of the cooling liquid has decreased, the drive of the motor 39 is controlled by the inverter 41 to supply the cooling liquid. By adjusting this, it is possible to always supply an appropriate amount of coolant to the header pipe 31.

On the other hand, the cooling gas supplied to the cooling chamber 160 is also circulated and reused.
Specifically, the on-off valve 36 in the coolant recovery / supply system 33 is closed, and the on-off valve 26 in the gas recovery / supply system 23 is opened, so that the cooling gas introduced from the cooling chamber 160 into the exhaust pipe 25 is converted into a heat exchanger. 27 is recooled and supplied to the header tube 21 by the operation of the fan 28.

As described above, in the present embodiment, since the coolant is supplied in a mist form from the nozzle portion 34 arranged around the transport path to the workpieces M that are transported simultaneously in a single row, It becomes possible to supply the cooling liquid evenly to the surface of M, and distortion and deformation of the workpiece M generated when the cooling is not uniform can be suppressed sufficiently small. In particular, in the present embodiment, since the object to be processed M is cooled using a mist-like coolant, cooling with a liquid having a high heat exchange rate without causing a vapor film or the like on the surface of the object to be processed M. It is possible to cool the workpiece M with high controllability by adjusting the flow rate of the supplied coolant while maintaining the characteristics.
Therefore, in the present embodiment, for example, even when a heat treatment such as quenching is performed on the steel workpiece M, it is possible to cool the steel material under a condition that a hard and brittle pearlite structure is not formed. A processed product M can be obtained.

  Further, in the present embodiment, since a plurality of nozzle portions 34 are arranged along the transport path, it becomes possible to reliably supply the cooling liquid over the entire workpiece M, and one for the workpiece. Such a cooling process can be performed more reliably. In addition, in the present embodiment, a plurality of supply pipes 32 having the nozzle portions 34 are arranged at substantially equal intervals in the circumferential direction around the conveyance path of the workpiece M, so that the entire workpiece M is covered. It is possible to cool uniformly.

In addition, as a cooling fluid in the said embodiment, a fluorine-type inert liquid can be used suitably.
When a fluorinated inert liquid is used, it is possible to prevent the material to be processed M from being adversely affected without affecting the constituent material of the object to be processed M. In addition, since the fluorine-based inert liquid has nonflammability, safety can be improved. In addition, since the fluorine-based inert liquid has a boiling point higher than that of water, it has a high cooling potential and can suppress problems such as oxidation and vapor film that occur when water is used. The heat transfer capability is excellent, and the workpiece M can be efficiently cooled. Furthermore, since it is not necessary to wash even if the fluorine-based inert liquid adheres to the workpiece M, the productivity can be improved.

(Second Embodiment)
FIG. 4 is a view showing a second embodiment of the heat treatment apparatus of the present invention.
In this figure, the same components as those of the first embodiment shown in FIGS. 1 to 3 are denoted by the same reference numerals, and the description thereof is omitted.
The difference between the second embodiment and the first embodiment is that the cooling units CU are provided in parallel.

  As shown in FIG. 4, in this embodiment, the cooling units CU each having the transfer device 10, the gas cooling device 20, and the mist cooling device 30 are independent in the same cooling chamber 160 having a substantially oval shape in cross section. In parallel, they are spaced apart in a direction substantially perpendicular to the conveying direction of the workpiece M. Each cooling unit CU has a configuration similar to that of the first embodiment.

In this embodiment, in addition to obtaining the same operation and effect as in the first embodiment, since both cooling units CU are arranged in the same cooling chamber 160, a cooling chamber is provided for each cooling unit CU. Compared to the case, the size of the apparatus can be reduced.
Moreover, in this embodiment, since each cooling unit CU is cooling the to-be-processed object M conveyed by the single row, the location where it becomes difficult to supply a cooling fluid behind other to-be-processed objects arises. However, it is possible to perform the cooling process in a plurality of rows while supplying the cooling liquid uniformly to the whole, and it is possible to obtain a high-quality workpiece with high productivity.

(Third embodiment)
Next, a third embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS.
In these drawings, the same components as those of the first embodiment shown in FIGS. 1 to 3 are denoted by the same reference numerals, and the description thereof is omitted.
In the present embodiment, a pressing device (pressing device) that presses the workpiece M is provided.

  As shown in FIGS. 5 and 6, the pressing device 50 includes an upper press frame 51, a lower press frame 52, and a space between both press frames that are supported by pillar portions 53 on both sides in the vertical direction across the vacuum vessel 1. The main part is composed of a column part 53 suspended from the upper part, an upper press part 60 provided in the upper press frame 51, and a lower press part 70 provided in the lower press frame 52.

  The upper press portion 60 is provided on a hydraulic cylinder 61 fixed on the upper press frame 51, and is provided on the hydraulic cylinder 61 so as to be movable in the vertical direction. The upper press portion 60 is joined to the cylinder shaft 62 passing through the upper press frame 51 and the tip of the cylinder shaft 62. The press ram 63 has a surface shape corresponding to the shape of the upper surface of the workpiece M, and is provided with an upper punch 64 that is detachably attached to the press ram 63 by inserting and removing a joining pin (not shown). The press ram 63 is provided to penetrate the outer wall of the vacuum vessel 1 with the tip (upper punch 64) positioned in the cooling chamber 160.

Similarly, the lower press portion 70 is provided with a hydraulic cylinder 71 fixed to the lower press frame 52, is provided in the hydraulic cylinder 71 so as to be movable in the vertical direction, and penetrates the lower press frame 52, and the tip of the cylinder shaft 72. A press ram 73 joined to the lower surface of the workpiece M, and a lower punch 74 provided to be detachable from the press ram 73 by inserting and removing a joining pin (not shown). . The press ram 73 is provided penetrating the outer wall of the vacuum vessel 1 with the tip (lower punch 74) positioned in the cooling chamber 160.
A sealing material such as an O-ring is interposed on the joint surfaces of the hydraulic cylinders 61 and 71 with the upper press frame 51 and the lower press frame 52 so that the vacuum environment of the cooling chamber 160 is maintained.

  Further, as shown in FIG. 5, the upper press unit 60 and the lower press unit 70 face each other and are transported at substantially the same pitch as the interval between the workpieces M placed in a single row on the tray 13. They are spaced apart in the direction. The tray 13 is formed with a through hole 74A through which the lower punch 74 can be inserted along the movement path of the lower punch 74 when the workpiece M is positioned at the cooling position.

In the above-described configuration, when the tray 13 is transported by the transport device 10 and the workpieces M arranged in a single row are positioned at the cooling position, the cylinder shaft 62 and the press ram are operated by the operation of the hydraulic cylinder 61 in the upper press unit 60. As the 63 moves down, the upper punch 64 presses the upper surface of the workpiece M. On the other hand, in synchronization with the operation of the upper press unit 60, the cylinder shaft 72 and the press ram 73 are raised by the operation of the hydraulic cylinder 71 in the lower press unit 70, so that the upper punch 64 passes through the through hole 74 </ b> A of the tray 13. Ascend and press the lower surface of the workpiece M. Thus, the workpiece M is sandwiched between the upper punch 64 and the lower punch 74 at the upper and lower surfaces.
In addition, the above-described cooling process is performed on the processing target M that is sandwiched and held between the upper punch 64 and the lower punch 74 as described above.

In the present embodiment, in addition to obtaining the same operation and effect as in the first embodiment, since cooling is performed while applying a pressing force to the workpiece M when the workpiece M is cooled, The distortion and deformation of the workpiece M can be suppressed sufficiently small.
In addition, it cannot be overemphasized that it can cool also about 2nd Embodiment, providing the press apparatus 50 and pressing the to-be-processed object M similarly to 3rd Embodiment.

  As described above, the preferred embodiments according to the present invention have been described with reference to the accompanying drawings, but the present invention is not limited to the examples. Various shapes, combinations, and the like of the constituent members shown in the above-described examples are examples, and various modifications can be made based on design requirements and the like without departing from the gist of the present invention.

For example, in the above embodiment, the two workpieces M are transported in a single row by the tray 13, but the present invention is not limited to this. It may be configured to.
In the second embodiment, the two cooling units CU are arranged in parallel in the same cooling chamber 160, but may be arranged in parallel in three or more rows.

Moreover, in the said embodiment, in order to manage the temperature of the to-be-processed object M with high precision, measuring devices, such as a radiation thermometer, are arrange | positioned in the cooling chamber 160, for example, the temperature of the to-be-processed object M is measured, and it measures. The inverter 41 as a control device may be configured to control the supply amount of the mist-like coolant depending on the temperature.
Further, in this case, a measurement device that measures the temperature of the workpiece M at a position corresponding to each of the plurality of nozzle portions 34 is provided, and an opening / closing valve is provided for each nozzle portion 34, and based on the measurement result at each position. Thus, the supply amount of the mist coolant may be controlled for each nozzle unit.
Thereby, the temperature of the workpiece M can be controlled for each position corresponding to the nozzle portion 34, and the workpiece M can be more uniformly cooled to suppress distortion and deformation.

In addition, the supply of the cooling liquid described in the above embodiment is normally performed under vacuum. However, for example, the above-described inert gas may be added during mist cooling.
Usually, when the atmospheric pressure is high, the boiling point increases, and when the atmospheric pressure is low, the boiling point decreases. Therefore, by adjusting the addition amount of the inert gas and increasing the atmospheric pressure, the cooling capacity due to the latent heat of vaporization of the cooling liquid can be suppressed, and conversely, by lowering the atmospheric pressure, the boiling point decreases and the temperature is reduced. The temperature difference with the processed material M is widened, and the cooling rate (cooling capacity) can be increased.
Thus, by adjusting the addition amount of the inert gas, it becomes possible to control the cooling characteristics for the workpiece M, and it is possible to perform cooling with higher accuracy.

In the above embodiment, oil, salt, fluorine-based inert liquid, etc. are exemplified as the cooling liquid. However, water may be used when the influence of oxidation, vapor film, etc. is minor. When water is used as the mist-like coolant, an atmosphere in which the boiling point is 90 kPa (abs) to the boiling point is 80 ° C. for the same reason as in the case of using the fluorine-based inert liquid described above. The treatment is preferably performed under conditions of an adjustment pressure of about 48 kPa (abs).
When water is used as the cooling liquid, it can be safely discharged without any complicated post-treatment, either in the liquid phase or in the gas phase. It is also suitable from the viewpoint of protection.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 ... Conveying device, 20 ... Gas cooling device, 30 ... Mist cooling device, 32 ... Supply pipe (tube body), 34 ... Nozzle part, 50 ... Pressing device, 100 ... Vacuum heat treatment furnace (heat treatment device), 160 ... Cooling chamber , CU ... Cooling unit.

Claims (6)

A heat treatment apparatus including a cooling chamber for cooling a heated object to be processed,
A transport device for transporting a plurality of the objects to be processed simultaneously in a single row;
A cooling unit including a mist cooling device arranged around a conveyance path of the conveyance device and supplying a mist-like coolant is provided in the cooling chamber;
A plurality of the mist cooling devices are arranged in the circumferential direction centering on the transport path, the pipe body to which the cooling liquid is supplied, and the mist cooling device that is provided apart from the pipe body toward the transport path. And a heat exchanger that cools the mist-like coolant that is vaporized by receiving heat from the object to be treated using water as a heat exchange medium,
The coolant has a boiling point that is about 30 to 50 ° C. higher than the supply temperature of the mist coolant that is the coolant temperature after heat exchange by the heat exchanger.
The heat processing apparatus characterized by the above-mentioned. A heat treatment apparatus including a cooling chamber for cooling a heated object to be processed,
A transport device for transporting a plurality of the objects to be processed simultaneously in a single row;
A mist cooling device that is disposed around a conveyance path of the conveyance device and supplies a mist-like coolant;
A cooling unit provided around the transfer path of the transfer device and provided with a gas cooling device that supplies a cooling gas is provided in the cooling chamber,
A plurality of the mist cooling devices are arranged in the circumferential direction centering on the transport path, the pipe body to which the cooling liquid is supplied, and the mist cooling device that is provided apart from the pipe body toward the transport path. And a heat exchanger that cools the mist-like coolant that is vaporized by receiving heat from the object to be treated using water as a heat exchange medium,
The coolant has a boiling point that is about 30 to 50 ° C. higher than the supply temperature of the mist coolant that is the coolant temperature after heat exchange by the heat exchanger.
The heat processing apparatus characterized by the above-mentioned. The heat treatment apparatus according to claim 1 or 2,
A heat treatment apparatus, wherein an inert gas is added to a mist cooling apparatus when the cooling liquid is supplied to increase the atmospheric pressure. The heat treatment apparatus according to claim 1 or 2,
The heat processing apparatus characterized by circulating the cooling fluid supplied to the said cooling chamber to the said pipe body through piping. In the heat treatment apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 4 ,
A measuring device for measuring the temperature of the workpiece;
A heat treatment apparatus comprising: a control device that controls a supply amount of the coolant based on a measurement result of the measurement device. The heat treatment apparatus according to claim 5 , wherein
The measuring device measures the temperature of the object to be processed at a position corresponding to each of the plurality of mist cooling devices provided,
The said control apparatus controls the supply amount of the said cooling liquid separately with respect to these mist cooling devices based on the said measurement result, The heat processing apparatus characterized by the above-mentioned.

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