JP7402141B2 - Processing furnace - Google Patents

Description

The technology disclosed in this specification relates to a processing furnace that processes a workpiece that extends from an inlet through a processing chamber to an outlet.

In the processing furnace disclosed in Patent Document 1, the object to be processed is carried into the processing chamber from the carry-in port, is processed (e.g., drying process, etc.) while being transported inside the processing chamber, and is then transported from the carry-in port to the furnace. being carried outside. Therefore, the processing time of the object to be processed is the time during which the object to be processed is being transported within the processing chamber. In the processing furnace of Patent Document 1, a plurality of guide rollers are installed within the processing chamber in order to effectively utilize the space within the processing chamber. The object to be processed is spanned from the inlet to the outlet via a plurality of guide rollers, and is conveyed within the processing chamber along a conveyance path defined by the plurality of guide rollers. By providing a plurality of guide rollers within the processing chamber, the conveyance path becomes longer, thereby ensuring the necessary processing time.

International Publication 2014/163175

In the above-mentioned processing furnace, as a preparatory work before starting the processing of the workpiece, the workpiece wound around the transport entrance roller is introduced into the processing chamber through the transport entrance, and the transport exit is opened from the processing chamber. must be attached to the exit roller outside the furnace. On the other hand, in the processing chamber of the processing furnace, a plurality of guide rollers are installed in order to lengthen the processing time of the object to be processed, and a complicated transport path is formed by these plurality of transport rollers. Therefore, when performing preparatory work, the workpiece introduced into the processing chamber must be guided through a complicated conveyance path to the exit while passing over multiple guide rollers in order. The work was complicated. This specification discloses a technique that can simplify preparatory work before starting treatment of a workpiece.

The processing furnace disclosed in this specification includes a furnace body including an inlet, an outlet, and a processing chamber disposed between the inlet and the outlet; An inlet roller placed nearby and around which the workpiece is wound, a plurality of guide rollers placed inside the processing chamber to guide the workpiece, and a roller placed outside the furnace body near the exit. , an exit roller for winding up the workpiece transported in the processing chamber; a passing device for passing the workpiece wound around the entrance roller from the entrance to the exit via a plurality of guide rollers; A control device that controls rotation of the loading entrance roller. When the tip of the workpiece wound around the carry-in entrance roller is attached to the carry-out exit roller, the workpiece passes from the carry-in port to the carry-out exit through a first conveyance path defined by a plurality of guide rollers. transported to. The threading device includes an attachment member to which the leading end of the workpiece wound around the import entrance roller is removably attached, and a moving device that moves the attachment member along a preset second conveyance path. ing. The second conveyance path is set along the first conveyance path so that the workpiece attached to the attachment member is spanned over a plurality of guide rollers. In the processing chamber, the length of the second transport path is longer than the length of the first transport path. The control device is configured to control the second conveyance of the attachment member in the case where the attachment member is moved along the second conveyance path by the moving device and the workpiece wound around the entrance roller is passed over the plurality of guide rollers. When the position on the path is such that the workpiece stretched between adjacent guide rollers is bent, the rotation of the carry-in entrance roller is stopped so that the workpiece is not sent from the carry-in entrance roller.

In the above-mentioned processing furnace, when performing preparatory work before starting processing, a threading device is used to pass the workpiece from the inlet roller to the outlet roller. That is, first, the leading end of the workpiece wound around the entrance roller is attached to the attachment member of the threading device. Next, the attachment member is moved along a preset second conveyance path by the moving device while rotating the carry-in roller to send out the workpiece from the carry-in roller. As a result, the attachment member to which the leading end of the object to be processed is attached moves within the processing chamber along the second conveyance path, and the object to be processed is spanned over the plurality of guide rollers. When the object to be processed is passed over the plurality of guide rollers, the leading end of the object to be processed is removed from the attachment member and attached to the exit roller. As a result, the object to be processed is spanned from the carry-in entrance roller to the carry-out exit roller. Since it is sufficient to rotate the carry-in entrance roller while moving the attachment member along the second conveyance path using the moving device, preparation work before starting the process can be easily performed.
Note that in the processing chamber, the length of the second conveyance path of the attachment member is made longer than the length of the first conveyance path in order to bridge the workpiece over a plurality of guide rollers. Therefore, depending on the position of the attachment member on the second conveyance path, the workpiece spanned between adjacent guide rollers may be bent. If the workpiece continues to be fed from the inlet roller with the workpiece bent, the workpiece will be wound around the guide roller in a warped state, and the work will have to be repeated. In the above-mentioned heat treatment furnace, when the mounting member reaches a specific position (i.e., a position where the workpiece spanned by the adjacent guide rollers is bent), the inlet roller stops rotating, and the inlet roller stops rotating. The workpiece is not sent. Therefore, the object to be processed is prevented from being wrapped around the guide roller in a bent state, and the object to be processed can be appropriately wrapped around the guide roller.

1 is a vertical cross-sectional view of a heat treatment furnace according to Example 1. FIG. FIG. 2 is a sectional view taken along line II-II in FIG. 1. 1 is a sectional view of a heater according to Example 1. FIG. 1 is a sectional view of an air supply pipe according to Example 1. FIG. FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing the configuration of a control system that controls the threading device. A plan view of the mounting member, the chain, and the sheet body W (workpiece). FIG. 3 is an enlarged view showing a trajectory of a sheet body W, a trajectory of a chain, and a portion of a plurality of guide rollers. The figure which shows the state of the upper guide roller 22a and the sheet body W when the attachment member is at _x1 point (point A). The figure which shows the state of the upper guide roller 22a and the sheet body W when the attachment member is at _x2 point. The figure which shows the state of the upper guide roller 22a and the sheet body W when the attachment member is located at _x3 point. A diagram showing the state of the upper guide roller 22a and the sheet body W when the mounting member is at the _x4 point (point B). This section describes the operations of the starting switch 45 that starts the threading device, the chain drive motor 42 that drives the chain 42, the sensor 29 that detects the mounting member 29, and the loading port motor 21a that drives the loading port roller 21. Timing chart.

In the processing furnace disclosed in this specification, the control device causes the moving device to move the attachment member along the second conveyance path so that the workpiece wound around the inlet roller is spanned over the plurality of guide rollers. In this case, when the position of the mounting member on the second conveyance path is such that the deflection that occurs in the workpiece spanned over the adjacent guide roller is eliminated, the workpiece is not transported from the inlet roller. The entrance rollers may be rotated so that the According to such a configuration, it is possible to suppress excessive tension from acting on the workpiece stretched over the guide rollers.

In the processing furnace disclosed herein, the control device may further control rotation of the plurality of guide rollers. The furnace body includes a first wall arranged parallel to a first direction connecting an inlet and an outlet, and a second wall arranged parallel to the first direction and facing the first wall. It may have walls of The plurality of guide rollers include one or more first guide rollers arranged at intervals in a first direction at a position on the first wall side when viewed from the center of the processing chamber, and one or more first guide rollers arranged at intervals in a first direction from the center of the processing chamber. One or more second guide rollers arranged at intervals in the first direction may be provided at a position on the second wall side when viewed. The workpiece conveyed from the entrance is first passed over one of the first guide roller and the second guide roller, and then alternately passed between the first guide roller and the second guide roller. It is also possible to extend the bridge to the exit. In the case where the moving device moves the mounting member along the second conveyance path to bridge the workpiece wound around the entrance roller over a plurality of guide rollers, the control device moves the attachment member along the second conveyance path, The rotation may be controlled so that the torque generated on one of the two guide rollers is constant, and the other of the first guide roller and the second guide roller may be controlled so as to rotate at a constant speed. According to such a configuration, when the workpiece is spanned between the first guide roller and the second guide roller, excessive tension is suppressed from being applied to the spanned workpiece. The object to be processed can be sent toward the outlet.

In the processing furnace disclosed herein, the moving device has a mounting member removably attached thereto, is provided along the second path, extends from the loading port through the processing chamber to the loading port, and extends from the furnace body. The roller chain may be provided with a roller chain that passes through the outside or inside of and returns from the carry-out port to the carry-in port, and a drive motor that drives the roller chain. According to such a configuration, by driving the roller chain, the mounting member can be circulated between the carry-in port and the carry-out port.

The processing furnace disclosed in this specification may further include a plurality of heaters that are arranged in the processing chamber along the first transport path and heat the workpiece transported by the transport device. In a state where a predetermined heating atmosphere is created in the processing chamber by a plurality of heaters, the threading device passes the workpiece wound around the carry-in entrance roller from the carry-in port to the carry-out exit via a plurality of guide rollers. It may be possible to do so. According to such a configuration, the workpiece wound around the carry-in port roller can be passed from the carry-in port to the carry-out port while the inside of the processing chamber is adjusted to a predetermined heating atmosphere. Therefore, the object to be processed can be processed immediately after the preparation work.

In the processing furnace disclosed in this specification, the temperature inside the processing chamber may be 400° C. or lower in a predetermined heating atmosphere.

The processing furnace disclosed in this specification may further include an air supply device that supplies gas into the processing chamber, and an exhaust device that exhausts the gas inside the processing chamber. While the processing chamber is in a predetermined atmosphere using the air supply device and the exhaust device, the passing device moves the workpiece wound around the inlet roller from the inlet to the outlet via a plurality of guide rollers. It may be possible to bridge the bridge. According to such a configuration, the workpiece wound around the carry-in port roller can be passed from the carry-in port to the carry-out port while the inside of the processing chamber is adjusted to a predetermined atmosphere. Therefore, the object to be processed can be processed immediately after the preparation work.

In the processing furnace disclosed in this specification, the oxygen concentration within the processing chamber may be 10% or less in a predetermined atmosphere. Furthermore, in the processing furnace disclosed in this specification, the dew point within the processing chamber may be 0° C. or lower in a predetermined atmosphere.

Hereinafter, a heat treatment furnace 10 (an example of a treatment furnace) according to Example 1 will be described. The heat treatment furnace 10 of this embodiment is a drying furnace (dehydration device) that removes moisture contained in a workpiece W (an example of a workpiece). The workpiece W is a sheet body (an example of an object to be processed) that extends continuously in the longitudinal direction, and is, for example, a film used for a liquid crystal display, an organic EL display, a battery, or the like. In such a film, the film itself may contain moisture, or if the film is coated with a coating layer, the coating layer may contain moisture. For this reason, the moisture contained in the film is first removed, and then the film from which the moisture has been removed is cut into a desired size to produce a final product. The heat treatment furnace 10 of this embodiment can be used to remove moisture from such a sheet body.

Hereinafter, the configuration of the heat treatment furnace 10 will be explained with reference to the drawings. As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the heat treatment furnace 10 includes a rectangular parallelepiped-shaped furnace body 12, a transport device 20 that carries the workpiece W into and out of the furnace body 12, and a heating device (26, 28) and an air supply device (38, etc.) that supplies cooling gas to the surface of the workpiece W.

The furnace body 12 includes a lower wall 13, an upper wall 14 facing the lower wall 13, and side walls 17 and 18 (see FIG. 2), one end of which is connected to the lower wall 13 and the other end of which is connected to the upper wall 14. and an inlet side wall 15 and an outlet side wall 16 that close the ends of the processing chamber (19a, 19b) surrounded by these walls 13, 14, 17, 18.
The lower wall 13 is a rectangular plate material when viewed from above, and is disposed below the processing chamber (19a, 19b). As shown in FIG. 1, the lower wall 13 is provided with a plurality of exhaust ports 13a at substantially constant intervals in the x direction. Each of the plurality of exhaust ports 13a is connected to an exhaust fan 13b. When the exhaust fan 13b operates, atmospheric gas within the processing chambers (19a, 19b) is exhausted to the outside of the processing chambers (19a, 19b).
The upper wall 14 is a plate material having the same shape as the lower wall 13, and is arranged above the processing chamber (19a, 19b). Similar to the lower wall 13, the upper wall 14 is also provided with a plurality of exhaust ports 14a at approximately constant intervals in the x direction. Each of the plurality of exhaust ports 14a is connected to an exhaust fan 14b. When the exhaust fan 14b operates, atmospheric gas within the processing chambers (19a, 19b) is exhausted to the outside of the processing chambers (19a, 19b).
The carry-in side wall 15 is provided with a carry-in port 15a, and the carry-out side wall 16 is formed with a carry-in port 16b. The positions in the height direction of the loading port 15a and the loading port 16b are the same, and the loading port 15a and the loading port 16b face each other. As is clear from FIG. 1, the processing chambers (19a, 19b) are arranged between the carry-in port 15a and the carry-out port 16b.
Note that the inner surfaces of the walls 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, and 18 that constitute the furnace body 12 (that is, the surfaces facing the processing chambers (19a, 19b)) are mirror-finished. As a result, the reflectance of these surfaces for electromagnetic waves in the infrared region (specifically, electromagnetic waves emitted by heaters 26 and 28, which will be described later) is 50% or more. This makes it possible to efficiently irradiate the work W with the electromagnetic waves radiated by the heaters 26 and 28.

The conveyance device 20 includes an inlet roller 21 arranged outside the furnace body 12 and near the inlet 15a, and an outlet roller 25 arranged outside the furnace body 12 and near the inlet 16a. , a plurality of guide rollers (22a, 22b, 22c, 24) arranged within the processing chamber (19a, 19b).
A workpiece W is wound around the entrance roller 21 . The workpiece W, which has been rotated by the carry-in port roller 21, is stretched from the carry-in port 15a through the processing chambers (19a, 19b) to the carry-out port 16a. Specifically, the workpiece W is passed from the carry-in entrance roller 21 through the carry-in port 15a, spanned over guide rollers (22a, 22b, 22c, 24), and further transported from the guide rollers (22a, 22b, 22c, 24). It spans over the exit roller 25 via the exit 16a. A carry-in port motor 21a (not shown in FIG. 1 (but shown in FIG. 5)) is connected to the carry-in port roller 21. When the carry-in port roller 21 is rotated by the carry-in port motor 21a, the work W rotated by the carry-in port roller 21 is sent out to the processing chamber (19a, 19b). Note that tension rollers (46a, 46b) (not shown in FIG. 1, but shown in FIG. 7) are arranged between the carry-in entrance roller 21 and the carry-in port 15a. The tension rollers (46a, 46b) are composed of an upper tension roller 46a and a lower tension roller 46b. The work W sent out from the carry-in entrance roller 21 passes through the tension rollers (46a, 46b) and is sent out to the carry-in entrance 15a. Tension is applied to the work W by being sandwiched between the upper tension roller 46a and the lower tension roller 46b. Note that various known configurations can be used as a configuration for applying tension to the workpiece W, and for example, a suction roll may be used.
The exit roller 25 is a roller that winds up the workpiece W being transported out of the processing chamber (19a, 19b). A drive device (not shown) is connected to the exit roller 25, and the drive device rotates the exit roller 25. The work W sent out from the carry-in entrance roller 21 is guided by guide rollers (22a, 22b, 22c, 24), moves along a predetermined conveyance path in the processing chamber (19a, 19b), and is transferred from the carry-out port 16a to the processing chamber. (19a, 19b) The paper is sent out and wound around the exit roller 25 which is rotationally driven. That is, the guide rollers (22a, 22b, 22c, 24) define the transport path of the workpiece W within the processing chamber (19a, 19b).

The guide rollers (22a, 22b, 22c, 24) include a plurality of upper guide rollers (22a, 22b, 22c) arranged near the upper wall 14 and a plurality of lower guide rollers arranged near the lower wall 13. It is equipped with 24. In this embodiment, contact type rollers that contact the work W are used as the guide rollers (22a, 22b, 22c, 24), but non-contact type rollers that guide the work W in a non-contact manner may also be used. can.
The upper guide rollers (22a, 22b, 22c) (an example of a first guide roller in the claims) are arranged at regular intervals in the x direction. Specifically, the upper guide roller 22a is arranged adjacent to the carry-in port 15a, and the upper guide roller 22c is arranged adjacent to the carry-out port 16a. The plurality of guide rollers 22b are arranged at equal intervals between the upper guide roller 22a and the upper guide roller 22c. The positions of the upper guide rollers (22a, 22b, 22c) in the height direction are the same. An upper motor 23a (shown in FIG. 5) is connected to each of the upper guide rollers (22a, 22b, 22c). By driving the upper motor 23a, the upper guide rollers (22a, 22b, 22c) are rotated. Note that a torque sensor 23b (shown in FIG. 5) is attached to the rotating shaft of the upper motor 23a. The torque sensor 23b is connected to the controller 44 and detects the torque acting on the rotating shaft of the upper motor 23a (ie, the upper guide rollers (22a, 22b, 22c)). As will be described later, when the threading device sets the workpiece W, the controller 44 rotates the upper motor 23a so that the torque detected by the torque sensor 23b is constant.
Like the upper guide rollers (22a, 22b, 22c), each of the plurality of lower guide rollers 24 (an example of a second conveyance roller in the claims) is arranged at regular intervals in the x direction. The distance between adjacent lower guide rollers 24 in the x direction is the same as the distance between the upper guide rollers (22a, 22b, 22c) in the x direction. The position of the plurality of lower guide rollers 24 in the x direction is the center position of the adjacent upper guides (22a, 22b, 22c). The positions of the plurality of lower guide rollers 24 in the height direction are the same. A lower motor 27a (shown in FIG. 5) is connected to each of the lower guide rollers 24. The lower guide roller 24 is rotated by driving the lower motor 27a. Note that an encoder 27b (shown in FIG. 5) is attached to the rotating shaft of the lower motor 27a. The encoder 27b is connected to the controller 44 and detects the rotation speed of the rotation shaft of the lower motor 27a (ie, the lower guide roller 24). As will be described later, when the threading device sets the workpiece W, the controller 44 rotates the lower motor 27a so that the number of rotations detected by the encoder 27b is constant.

Since the upper guide rollers (22a, 22b, 22c) and the lower guide rollers 24 are arranged as described above, the workpiece W conveyed in the x direction from the entrance 15a is conveyed downward by the upper guide rollers 22a. The paper is then conveyed upward by the lower guide roller 24, and then repeatedly conveyed in the vertical direction by the upper conveyance roller 22b and the lower conveyance roller 24. The workpiece W, which is conveyed upward from the lower conveyance roller 24 disposed closest to the outlet 16a, is conveyed toward the outlet 16a by the upper guide roller 22c. In this way, by repeatedly transporting the workpiece W in the vertical direction, the space within the processing chamber (19a, 19b) can be effectively utilized, and the processing time for drying the workpiece W can be secured. ing. Note that, as is clear from FIG. 1, the processing chambers (19a, 19b) are connected to the upper processing chamber 19a provided on the upper wall 14 side by the work W spanned over the guide rollers (22a, 22b, 22c, 24). and a lower processing chamber 19b provided on the lower wall 13 side. As is clear from FIG. 2, the upper processing chamber 19a and the lower processing chamber 19b are connected at a position where there is no workpiece W (that is, at a position outside both ends of the workpiece W in the Y direction).

The heating device is arranged in the processing chamber (19a, 19b) and heats the work W transported by the transport device 20. The heating device includes a first heater (26a, 26b) arranged near the guide rollers (22a, 22b, 22c, 24) and a height between the upper guide roller (22a, 22b, 22c) and the lower guide roller 24. A second heater 28 is provided. As shown in FIG. 2, the first heater (26a, 26b) and the second heater 28 extend in the axial direction of the guide rollers (22a, 22b, 22c, 24), and in the width direction (y direction) of the workpiece W. The entire area can be heated.

As shown in FIG. 1, the first heaters (26a, 26b) are arranged below the plurality of first upper heaters 26a arranged above the upper guide rollers (22a, 22b, 22c) and the lower guide roller 24. The first lower heater 26b is provided with a plurality of first lower heaters 26b. Each of the first upper heaters 26a is arranged to face the corresponding upper guide roller (22a, 22b, 22c), and each of the first lower heaters 26b is arranged to face the corresponding lower guide roller 24. ing. Therefore, the work W is located between the first upper heater 26a and the upper guide rollers (22a, 22b, 22c), and the work W is directly heated by the first upper heater 26a. Similarly, the work W is located between the first lower heater 26b and the lower guide roller 24, and the work W is directly heated by the first lower heater 26b.

Two second heaters 28 are arranged below each of the upper guide rollers (22a, 22b, 22c) at intervals in the z direction. Further, two second heaters 28 are arranged above each of the lower guide rollers 24 with an interval in the z direction. For this reason, eleven second heaters 28 are arranged at intervals in the x direction, and two second heaters 28 are arranged at intervals in the y direction. As is clear from the figure, the second heater 28 is located at a position facing the workpiece W spanned between the upper guide rollers (22a, 22b, 22c) and the lower guide roller 24 (i.e., adjacent to the workpiece W in the transport direction). (near the intermediate position between the guide rollers). Since the second heater 28 extends in the axial direction of the guide rollers (22a, 22b, 22c, 24), the width direction of the work W spanned between the upper guide rollers (22a, 22b, 22c) and the lower guide roller 24 is entirely heated by the second heater 28.

The first heaters (26a, 26b) are known wavelength-controllable heaters that emit electromagnetic waves in the infrared region, and the first heaters (26a, 26b) and the second heater 28 have the same structure. Therefore, the structure of the second heater 28 will be briefly explained here.
As shown in FIG. 3, the second heater 28 includes a filament 30, an inner tube 32 that accommodates the filament 30, and an outer tube 34 that accommodates the inner tube 32. The filament 30 is a heating element made of tungsten, for example, and is supplied with power from an external power source (not shown). When electric power is supplied to the filament 30 and the temperature reaches a predetermined temperature (for example, 1200 to 1700° C.), electromagnetic waves including infrared rays are emitted from the filament 30. The inner tube 32 is made of an infrared-transmissive material that transmits only electromagnetic waves in a specific wavelength range (infrared range in this embodiment) among the electromagnetic waves emitted from the filament 30 . By appropriately selecting the infrared transmitting material forming the inner tube 32, the wavelength of the electromagnetic waves radiated from the filament 30 to the outside of the inner tube 32 can be adjusted to a desired wavelength. The outer tube 34 is also made of the same infrared transparent material as the inner tube 32. Therefore, the electromagnetic waves that have passed through the inner tube 32 are transmitted through the outer tube 34 and radiated to the outside. A space 36 between the inner tube 32 and the outer tube 34 serves as a refrigerant flow path through which a refrigerant (for example, air) flows. By supplying the refrigerant to the space 36 (that is, the refrigerant flow path), the temperature of the outer tube 34 is prevented from becoming too high. This prevents the workpiece W from overheating. Note that a wavelength-controllable heater that emits electromagnetic waves in the infrared region is disclosed in detail in, for example, Japanese Patent No. 4790092.

The air supply device includes a plurality of air supply pipes 38 extending in the y direction inside the processing chamber (19a, 19b), and an air supply device arranged outside the processing chamber (19a, 19b) that supplies cooling gas to the plurality of air supply pipes 38. It is equipped with a fan (not shown). As shown in FIG. 4, the air supply pipe 38 is provided with ejection holes 39a and 39b at two locations in the circumferential direction. Therefore, the cooling gas supplied from the air supply fan to the air supply pipe 38 is injected into the processing chamber (19a, 19b) from the injection holes 39a, 39b. In this embodiment, the direction in which the air supply pipe 38 is installed is adjusted so that the direction in which the cooling gas is ejected from the ejection holes 39a, 39b is perpendicular to the surface of the workpiece W. As shown in FIG. 4, the ejection holes 39a and 39b are arranged at opposing positions with the axis of the air supply pipe 38 interposed therebetween. Therefore, when a workpiece W is located on the carry-in port 15a side and the carry-out port 16a side of the air supply pipe 38, the cooling gas injected from the jet hole 39a of the air supply pipe 38 is injected to one workpiece W, and The cooling gas injected from the ejection hole 39b of the air supply pipe 38 is injected to the other workpiece W. Further, as shown in FIG. 2, a plurality of jet holes 39a and 39b of the air supply pipe 38 are formed at intervals in the y direction. Therefore, the cooling gas injected from the ejection holes 39a and 39b is injected to the entire width direction (y direction) of the workpiece W.

As shown in FIG. 1, two air supply pipes 38 are arranged below each of the upper guide rollers (22a, 22b, 22c) at intervals in the z direction. Further, two air supply pipes 38 are arranged above each of the lower guide rollers 24 with an interval in the z direction. As is clear from FIG. 1, the air supply pipe 38 is arranged at a different position from the positions where the first heater (26a, 26b) and the second heater 28 are arranged. Specifically, the second heater 28 and the air supply pipe 38 are alternately arranged at equal intervals in the z direction (conveyance direction). Furthermore, as described above, the processing chambers (19a, 19b) are divided into the upper processing chamber 19a and the lower processing chamber 19b by the work W suspended over the guide rollers (22a, 22b, 22c, 24). However, an air supply pipe 38 is arranged in each of the upper processing chamber 19a and the lower processing chamber 19b.

As the cooling gas supplied to the air supply pipe 38, for example, an inert gas, nitrogen, Ar gas, etc. can be used. The atmospheric gas in the processing chambers (19a, 19b) is adjusted by gas injected into the processing chambers (19a, 19b) from the air supply pipe 38. In this embodiment, in order to remove moisture contained in the work W, the atmospheric gas in the processing chambers (19a, 19b) is adjusted to a gas with a dew point of 0° C. or lower. More specifically, the atmosphere in the processing chambers (19a, 19b) is adjusted to have an oxygen concentration of 10% or less. Further, the dew point is adjusted to 0°C or lower. Note that the cooling gas may be the atmosphere having a dew point of 0° C. or lower.

The controller 44 is constituted by a processor including a CPU, ROM, and RAM, and controls the transport device 20, the heating device (26, 28), the air supply device, and the exhaust device (13b, 14b). Specifically, the controller 44 controls the transport speed and tension of the work W by controlling the transport device 20, controls the amount of heating of the work W by controlling the heating device (26, 28), and supplies the work W. By controlling the air device, the flow rate and flow velocity of the cooling gas injected from the air supply pipe 38 to the workpiece W are controlled. The controller 44 also controls a threading device, which will be described later, and sets the workpiece W wound around the entrance roller 21 on the exit roller 25. The configuration and control method of the threading device will be described in detail later.

Next, a process for removing moisture from the workpiece W using the heat treatment furnace 10 described above will be described. First, cooling gas is supplied into the processing chambers (19a, 19b) from the air supply pipe 38 to adjust the inside of the processing chambers (19a, 19b) to a predetermined atmosphere. Next, the controller 44 drives the motors (21a, 23a, 27a, etc.) to transport the work W from the loading port 15a through the processing chambers (19a, 19b) to the loading port 16a. At this time, the controller 44 controls the heating device (26, 28) to irradiate the workpiece W with electromagnetic waves in the infrared region, and also jets cooling gas onto the surface of the workpiece W from the air supply pipe 38. When electromagnetic waves in the infrared region are irradiated from the heating device (26, 28), moisture contained in the work W absorbs the irradiated electromagnetic waves, and the moisture evaporates. The moisture evaporated from the work W is removed from the surface of the work W by the cooling gas injected from the air supply pipe 38. The atmospheric gas containing moisture removed from the surface of the workpiece W (however, the moisture contains a trace amount of organic solvent) is processed through the exhaust port 13a of the lower wall 13 and the exhaust port 14a of the upper wall 14, respectively. The air is exhausted outside the chambers (19a, 19b). Moisture is removed from the workpiece W while it is being transported from the loading port 15a to the loading port 16a. The workpiece W from which water has been removed is taken up by the exit roller 25.

According to the heat treatment furnace 10 described above, the first heaters (26a, 26b) facing the guide rollers (22a, 22b, 22c, 24) are provided near the guide rollers (22a, 22b, 22c, 24). Further, a second heater 28 is provided between the upper guide rollers (22a, 22b, 22c) and the lower guide roller 24. These heaters 26a, 26b, 28 can control the heat balance for the workpiece W in contact with the guide rollers (22a, 22b, 22c, 24), and also make it possible to control the heat balance for the workpiece W in contact with the guide rollers (22a, 22b, 22c, 24). It is possible to control the heat balance with respect to the workpiece W in a state where the workpiece is not in use. Therefore, the heat balance of the workpiece W can be suitably controlled, and the efficiency of the process for removing moisture from the workpiece W can be significantly improved. For example, when the workpiece W contacts the guide rollers (22a, 22b, 22c, 24), heat flows from the workpiece W to the guide rollers (22a, 22b, 22c, 24) and the workpiece W is cooled too much. increases the amount of heat supplied to the work W from the first heater (26a, 26b) to prevent the work W from being cooled too much. This can prevent the efficiency of removing moisture from the workpiece W from decreasing.

Further, in the heat treatment furnace 10 described above, the air supply pipes 38 and the second heaters 28 are arranged alternately in the transport direction, and the cooling gas from the air supply pipes 38 is injected from a direction perpendicular to the surface of the workpiece W. As a result, moisture evaporated from inside the workpiece W is quickly removed from the surface of the workpiece W, and removal of moisture from the workpiece W is promoted. This also makes it possible to improve the efficiency of removing water from the workpiece W.

Further, the processing chambers (19a, 19b) are divided into an upper processing chamber 19a and a lower processing chamber 19b by the work W spanned over the guide rollers (22a, 22b, 22c, 24), but the upper processing chamber 19a An air supply pipe 38 and exhaust ports 14a, 13a are arranged in each of the lower processing chamber 19b and the lower processing chamber 19b. Therefore, the cooling gas supplied to the upper processing chamber 19a and the cooling gas supplied to the lower cooling chamber 19b are quickly exhausted to the outside of the processing chambers (19a, 19b) together with the removed moisture. This also makes it possible to optimize the flow of gas within the processing chambers (19a, 19b) and improve the efficiency of removing water from the workpiece W.

Note that the wavelength region of the infrared rays emitted from the heaters (26a, 26b, 28) can be adjusted by selecting an infrared transmitting material for forming the inner tube and the outer tube. Therefore, by adjusting the wavelength of the emitted electromagnetic waves according to the characteristics of the workpiece W, the efficiency of heat treatment of the workpiece W can be improved. For example, the work W includes a solid content (phenol/epoxy resin, 10 to 90 wt%) and a solvent (water or solvent (for example, IPA (isopropyl alcohol, NMP (N-methyl -2-pyrrolidone), etc.). When drying such a workpiece W, in the first half of the heat treatment furnace 10, the heaters (26a, 26b, 28) selected for near-infrared wavelength The water or solvent may be dried, and in the latter half of the heat treatment furnace 10, annealing may be performed using heaters (26a, 26b, 28) selected for far-infrared wavelengths.

Further, in the above embodiment, the heaters (26a, 26b, 28) all emit electromagnetic waves in the same wavelength range, but the present invention is not limited to such an example. For example, the wavelength of the electromagnetic waves emitted from the heaters (26a, 26b, 28) may be adjusted depending on the position on the transport path. For example, when removing moisture from the workpiece W using the heat treatment furnace 10, the amount of moisture contained in the workpiece W gradually decreases from the carry-in port 15a toward the carry-out port 16a. Therefore, by gradually increasing the wavelength of the electromagnetic waves emitted from the heaters (26a, 26b, 28) from the loading port 15a toward the loading port 16a, the workpiece W can be irradiated with electromagnetic waves corresponding to the moisture content. I can do it.

Further, in the above embodiment, the first heaters (26a, 26b) were arranged near the guide rollers (22a, 22b, 22c, 24), and the workpiece W was heated by the first heaters (26a, 26b). This is not the only example. For example, a flow path through which a heat medium flows may be provided inside the guide roller, and the workpiece W may be heated by the guide roller. With such a configuration, the heat balance of the workpiece W in contact with the guide roller can be controlled, and the heat treatment efficiency of the workpiece W can be improved.

Next, a threading device for setting the workpiece W wound around the entrance roller 21 onto the exit roller 25 will be described. As shown in FIGS. 1 and 6, the threading device includes a pair of roller chains 42a, 42b that circulate inside and outside the processing chambers (19a, 19b), a pair of roller chains 42a, 42b, 42b, and a drive motor 42c (shown in FIG. 5) that drives the pair of roller chains 42a, 42b.

The pair of roller chains 42a and 42b are arranged on both sides of the workpiece W, as shown in FIG. Specifically, the roller chains 42a, 42b are arranged laterally (i.e., the side wall 18 side in the +y direction and the side wall 17 side in the -y direction) with respect to the guide rollers (22a, 22b, 22c, 24) on which the workpiece W is spanned. (see FIG. 2)).
As shown in FIG. 1, the roller chains 42a, 42b, like the workpiece W stretched over the guide rollers (22a, 22b, 22c, 24), move from the loading port 15a to the loading port 16a while changing their direction in the vertical direction. It extends from the carry-out port 16a to the outside of the processing chamber (19a, 19b) and returns to the carry-in port 15a. More specifically, the roller chains 42a and 42b extend from the loading port 15a in the x direction (the direction of the upper guide roller 22a), go around the outside of the upper guide roller 22a, and change direction toward the lower guide roller 24. Then, it goes around the outside of the lower guide roller 24 and changes direction toward the upper guide roller 22b, and similarly passes through the upper guide roller 22b and the lower guide roller 24 in order, and goes around the outside of the upper guide roller 22c. It extends outside the furnace from the outlet 16a. The roller chains 42a and 42b extending outside the furnace from the carry-out port 16a are reversed 180 degrees, extend above the furnace body 12 in the −x direction, and return to the carry-in port 15a. Since it is necessary to span the work W over the guide rollers (22a, 22b, 22c, 24), the trajectory of the roller chains 42a, 42b (an example of the second conveyance path) is ). Therefore, the trajectories of the roller chains 42a and 42b are longer than the transport path (an example of the first transport path) of the workpiece W defined by the guide rollers (22a, 22b, 22c, 24) in the processing chamber 19. In addition, they intersect at multiple locations along the conveyance path of the workpiece W (that is, at the center of each path portion extending in the vertical direction (z direction)).
Note that, as shown in FIG. 7, a detection sensor 29 for detecting the mounting rod 43 is arranged at one location on the trajectory of the roller chains 42a, 42b. More specifically, the detection sensor 29 is arranged in the vicinity of the loading port 14a and in a position close to the mounting rod 43 attached to the roller chains 42a, 42b when the mounting rod 43 comes to a predetermined position. ing. The detection sensor 29 detects that the attachment rod 43 has passed a predetermined position on the trajectory (second conveyance path) of the roller chains 42a, 42b. A signal output from the detection sensor 29 is input to the controller 44. Note that the detection sensor 29 may be an optical sensor composed of a light emitting part and a light receiving part, a proximity sensor, or the like.

One end of the attachment rod 43 is detachably attached to the roller chain 42a, and the other end is detachably attached to the roller chain 42b. The leading end of the workpiece W wound around the entrance roller 21 is removably attached to the attachment rod 43 . When the attachment rod 43 is attached to the pair of roller chains 42a, 42b, the attachment rod 43 is perpendicular to the roller chains 42a, 42b, and the workpiece W attached to the attachment rod 43 is perpendicular to the roller chains 42a, 42b. They extend parallel to each other.

The drive motor 42c is connected to one of the pair of roller chains 42a and 42b (that is, the drive-side roller chain). When the drive motor 42c rotates with the mounting rods 43 attached to the roller chains 42a and 42b, the drive side roller chain rotates, and thereby the driven side roller chain also rotates. As the roller chains 42a, 42b rotate, the mounting rod 43 attached to the roller chains 42a, 42b and the tip of the workpiece W also move along the trajectory of the roller chains 42a, 42b.

As shown in FIG. 5, the threading device described above is controlled by a controller 44. As shown in FIG. That is, the controller 44 is connected to a starting switch 45, a detection sensor 29, an entrance motor 21a, a drive motor 42c, an upper motor 23a, and a lower motor 27a. The start switch 45 is operated by the operator and inputs to the controller 44 a command to start the preparation work for setting the workpiece W onto the exit roller 25. When the detection sensor 29 detects the mounting rod 43, it inputs the detection signal to the controller 44. The controller 44 starts the operation of the entrance motor 21a, the drive motor 42c, the upper motor 23a, and the lower motor 27a in response to a signal from the start switch 45. The controller 44 also calculates the position of the mounting member 43 (the position on the trajectory of the roller chains 42a, 42b) based on the detection signal from the detection sensor 29 and the time since the detection signal was input. The rotation of the entrance motor 21a is controlled according to the position. The controller 44 controls the operations of the entrance motor 21a, the drive motor 42c, the upper motor 23a, and the lower motor 27a, so that the workpiece W wound around the entrance roller 21 is moved to the vicinity of the exit roller 25.

Next, a procedure for setting the leading end of the workpiece W wound around the carry-in entrance roller 21 to the carry-out exit roller 25 will be described. When the workpiece W to be processed is set on the loading entrance roller 21, the operator removes the mounting rod 43 from the roller chains 42a and 42b, and attaches the tip of the workpiece W wound around the loading entrance roller 21 to the mounting rod. Attach to 43. The attachment rod 43 to which the tip of the workpiece W is attached is attached to roller chains 42a and 42b. The operator then presses the start switch 45 to start the threading device.

When the start switch 45 is pressed, the controller 44 first starts driving the drive motor 42c. As a result, the roller chains 42a, 42b rotate, and the attachment rod 43 moves along the orbits of the roller chains 42a, 42b. The controller 44 rotates the loading port motor 21a according to the movement of the mounting rod 43, and sends out the workpiece W wound around the loading port roller 21. In this embodiment, the drive motor 42c is driven at a predetermined constant speed (ie, constant speed drive). Therefore, the mounting rod 43 also moves at a constant speed on the orbits of the roller chains 42a, 42b. On the other hand, as will be described in detail later, the carry-in port motor 21a is rotationally driven according to the position of the mounting rod 43 (that is, the position on the trajectory of the roller chains 42a, 42b). Further, the controller 44 controls the upper motor 23a based on the detected value of the torque sensor 23b, and controls the lower motor 27a based on the detected value of the encoder 27b. Specifically, the upper motor 23a stops rotating when the torque is less than the target value, and when the torque exceeds the target value, it is driven to rotate so that the torque reaches the target value. On the other hand, the lower motor 27a is driven at a constant speed at a preset speed.

Next, the controller 44 monitors whether a detection signal from the detection sensor 29 is input. When the detection signal from the detection sensor 29 is input to the controller 44, the controller 44 starts a timer and measures the time since the detection signal was input. Then, the controller 44 calculates the position of the attachment rod 43 from the time measured by the timer. As described above, the position where the detection sensor 29 is placed is known, and the entrance motor 21a is driven at a constant speed. Therefore, the controller 44 can calculate the position of the attachment rod 43 from the time measured by the timer. Once the position of the attachment rod 43 is calculated, the controller 44 controls the rotational drive of the loading port motor 21a according to the position of the attachment rod 43.

Here, rotational drive control of the loading port motor 21a will be explained. As shown in FIG. 7, the trajectory of the roller chain 42 (the conveyance path of the attachment rod 34) is longer than the conveyance path of the workpiece W defined by the guide rollers (22a, 22b, 22c, 24). That is, the trajectory of the roller chain 42 is provided with a bending point (point A) corresponding to the guide roller 22a, and a bending point (point C, point E) corresponding to the guide roller 24. (22b, 24, 22c) are provided with corresponding bending points. In order to bridge the workpiece W attached to the mounting rod 43 over each guide roller (22a, 22b, 22c, 24), each bending point (A, C, E, G,...) is aligned with the corresponding guide roller. placed in an outer position. For this reason, the trajectory of the roller chain 42 (the conveyance path of the attachment rod 34) has to be longer than the conveyance path of the workpiece W. Therefore, when the carry-in port motor 21a is rotated at a constant speed, depending on the position of the mounting rod 34, the workpiece W may be sagged. If you try to wrap the work W around the guide rollers (22a, 22b, 22c, 24) in a bent state, the work W will be wrapped around the guide rollers (22a, 22b, 22c, 24) in a wrinkled state. Sometimes it happens. Therefore, in this embodiment, the rotational drive of the loading port motor 21a is controlled depending on the position of the mounting rod 43.

The rotational drive of the entrance motor 21a will be specifically explained based on FIGS. 8A to 8D. As shown in FIG. 8A, while the mounting rod 43 moves from the position of the detection sensor 29 to the bending point A, the distance from the tension rollers (46a, 46b) to the mounting rod 43 gradually increases, so No deflection occurs. On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 8B, when the mounting rod 43 passes through the bending point A and begins to move downward, the mounting rod 43 gradually approaches the guide roller 22a, so that the mounting rod 43 moves away from the tension rollers (46a, 46b). The distance to the mounting rod 43 gradually becomes shorter. As a result, the workpiece W will be deflected even if the workpiece W is not sent out from the carry-in port motor 21a. Therefore, at the initial stage when the attachment rod 43 exceeds the bending point A and starts descending, there is no need to drive the carry-in port motor 21a to send out the workpiece W. Therefore, in this embodiment, when the mounting rod 43 is at a position where the workpiece W is not bent, the drive of the carry-in port motor 21a is stopped.

When the mounting rod 43 is further lowered with the drive of the entrance motor 21a stopped, the workpiece W comes into contact with the guide roller 22a, as shown in FIG. 8C. As described above, the guide roller 22a is driven so that the applied torque is less than or equal to the target value. Therefore, when the torque acting on the guide roller 22a from the workpiece W increases, the guide roller 22a rotates, and generation of excessive tension on the workpiece W is suppressed. When the attachment rod 43 is further lowered, the workpiece W is not bent as shown in FIG. 8D. Therefore, when the attachment rod 43 further descends from the state shown in FIG. 8D, the rotational drive of the carry-in port motor 21a is resumed accordingly, and the workpiece W is sent out from the carry-in port roller 21. As the workpiece W is sent out from the entrance roller 21, the guide roller 22a is torque-controlled, so that the attachment rod 43 descends without excessive tension acting on the workpiece W.

Hereinafter, a predetermined range (point C to point D, point E to point F, point G to point H, . . . ) from each bending point (point C, point E, point G, . In ), since the workpiece W is deflected, the drive of the entrance motor 21a is stopped, and the feeding of the workpiece W is stopped. This prevents the workpiece W from being excessively deflected, and prevents the workpiece W from being wrapped around the guide rollers (22a, 22b, 22c, 24) in a wrinkled state. Note that by rotating the lower guide roller 24 at a constant speed, the workpiece W is always sent toward the attachment rod 34 side. Therefore, the deflection of the workpiece W when the mounting rod 34 rises (that is, when it moves from the lower guide roller 24 side toward the upper guide roller 22b side) is quickly eliminated, and the workpiece W becomes larger due to gravity. Deflection can be suppressed.

As described above, by controlling the rotational drive of the entrance motor 21a according to the position of the mounting rod 43, the workpiece W is placed over each of the guide rollers (22a, 22b, 22c, 24) in the processing chamber 19. It will be done. When the attachment rod 43 moves out of the furnace from the outlet 16a and moves to the vicinity of the outlet roller 25, the operator presses the start switch 45 to stop the threading device. Next, the operator removes the attachment rod 43 from the roller chains 42a and 42b, and further removes the tip of the workpiece W from the attachment rod 43. Then, the leading end of the removed workpiece W is set on the exit roller 25, and the setting of the workpiece W is completed.

FIG. 9 shows a timing chart of the operations of each part when setting the workpiece W described above. As shown in FIG. 9, when the start switch 45 is pressed at time t1, the roller chains 42a and 42b rotate accordingly, and the entrance roller 21 also rotates. Then, when the detection sensor 29 detects the attachment rod 43 at time t2, the signal is input to the controller 44. The controller 44 controls subsequent operations of each section by measuring the elapsed time from time t2. When a preset time T1 elapses from time t1 and reaches time t3, the mounting rod 43 reaches the bending point A, and the rotation of the entrance roller 21 stops accordingly. At time t4, when a preset time T2 has elapsed since the rotation of the entrance roller 21 stopped, the mounting rod 43 reaches point B and the deflection of the workpiece W is eliminated. Resume rotation. Thereafter, the rotation of the inlet roller 21 is turned on and off depending on the position of the attachment rod 43, and the attachment rod 43 moves within the processing chamber 19 to the vicinity of the outlet roller 25.

As is clear from the above description, in the heat treatment furnace of this embodiment, the leading end of the workpiece W wound around the entrance roller 21 can be set on the exit roller 25 using a passing device. Therefore, preparation work before the start of processing can be easily performed. In particular, the passing device can be operated while the inside of the processing chamber 19 remains in a predetermined atmosphere. Therefore, for example, when setting a new workpiece W on the entrance roller 21, the new workpiece W can be set while maintaining the heated atmosphere in the processing chamber 19. Therefore, the newly set work W can be processed immediately, and the processing efficiency of the work W can be improved.

In the above embodiment, the rotation of the entrance roller 21 is stopped when the workpiece W is deflected, and the rotation of the entrance roller 21 is restarted when the deflection of the workpiece W is eliminated. Not limited to. For example, even if the workpiece W is deflected, as long as the deflection is an allowable amount, the rotation of the entrance roller 21 does not need to be stopped. Similarly, the rotation of the entrance roller 21 may be restarted when the deflection of the workpiece W has been resolved to an allowable amount. In other words, the "position where the deflection occurs" in the claims includes the position where the deflection is at the upper limit of the allowable range, and the "position where the deflection is eliminated" includes the position where the deflection is at the upper limit of the allowable range. Contains the location.

Furthermore, in the above embodiment, the roller chains 42a and 42b extend from the loading port 15a through the processing chamber to the loading port 16a, and return from the loading port 16a to the loading port 15a through the outside of the furnace. It is not limited to such examples. For example, the roller chain extending from the loading port 15a through the processing chamber to the loading port 16a may return to the loading port 15a through the furnace (that is, the processing chamber).
Furthermore, in the above embodiment, the upper motor 23a stops rotating when the torque is less than the target value, and when the torque exceeds the target value, it is driven to rotate so that the torque reaches the target value, and the lower motor 27a Although the drive is performed at a constant speed at a preset speed, the invention is not limited to this example. For example, each of the upper motor 23a and the lower motor 27a may stop rotating when the torque is less than a target value, and may be driven to rotate so that the torque reaches the target value when the torque exceeds the target value.

The technical elements described in this specification or the drawings exhibit technical utility alone or in various combinations, and are not limited to the combinations described in the claims as filed. Furthermore, the techniques illustrated in this specification or the drawings simultaneously achieve multiple objectives, and achieving one of the objectives has technical utility in itself.

10 Heat treatment furnace 12 Furnace body 22 Upper guide roller 24 Lower guide roller 26 First heater 28 Second heater 38 Air supply pipe

Claims (8)

A furnace body comprising an inlet, an outlet, and a processing chamber disposed between the inlet and the outlet;
an inlet roller disposed outside the furnace body and near the inlet, and around which a workpiece is wound;
a plurality of guide rollers that are arranged in the processing chamber and guide the object to be processed;
an exit roller disposed outside the furnace body and near the exit, and winds up the workpiece transported within the processing chamber;
a passing device that spans the workpiece wound around the carry-in port roller from the carry-in port to the carry-out port via the plurality of guide rollers;
a control device that controls rotation of the loading entrance roller;
It is equipped with
In a state where the tip of the workpiece wound around the carry-in entrance roller is attached to the carry-out exit roller, the workpiece passes through a first conveyance path defined by the plurality of guide rollers. transported from the loading port to the loading port,
The threading device includes:
a mounting member to which a leading end of the workpiece wound around the loading entrance roller is removably mounted;
a moving device that moves the mounting member along a preset second conveyance path;
It is equipped with
The second conveyance path is set along the first conveyance path so that the workpiece attached to the attachment member is spanned over the plurality of guide rollers,
In the processing chamber, the length of the second transport path is longer than the length of the first transport path,
In the case where the control device moves the attachment member along the second conveyance path by the moving device and bridges the workpiece wound around the entrance roller over the plurality of guide rollers, When the position of the attachment member on the second conveyance path is such that the workpiece spanned over the adjacent guide roller is deflected, the workpiece is not fed from the entrance roller. Stop the rotation of the loading entrance roller to prevent
The control device further controls rotation of the plurality of guide rollers,
The furnace body includes a first wall arranged parallel to a first direction connecting the carry-in port and the carry-out port, and a first wall arranged parallel to the first direction and the first wall arranged parallel to the first direction. It has a second wall facing the
The plurality of guide rollers are
one or more first guide rollers arranged at intervals in the first direction at a position on the first wall side when viewed from the center of the processing chamber;
one or more second guide rollers arranged at intervals in the first direction at a position on the second wall side when viewed from the center of the processing chamber;
It is equipped with
The workpiece transported from the carry-in port is first passed over one of the first guide roller and the second guide roller, and then passed between the first guide roller and the second guide roller. and are alternately spanned to the above-mentioned export exit,
In the case where the moving device moves the attachment member along the second conveyance path to bridge the workpiece wound around the import entrance roller over the plurality of guide rollers, the control device: The rotation is controlled so that the torque generated on one of the first guide roller and the second guide roller is constant, and the other of the first guide roller and the second guide roller rotates at a constant speed. A processing furnace that is controlled to In the case where the control device moves the attachment member along the second conveyance path by the moving device and bridges the workpiece wound around the entrance roller over the plurality of guide rollers, When the position of the attachment member on the second conveyance path is such that the deflection occurring in the workpiece spanned over the adjacent guide roller is eliminated, the workpiece is moved from the loading entrance roller to the workpiece. The processing furnace according to claim 1, wherein the inlet roller is rotated so that objects are fed. The mobile device includes:
The attachment member is removably attached, is provided along the second conveyance path , and extends from the carry-in port through the processing chamber to the carry-out port, and passes through the outside or inside of the furnace body. a roller chain returning from the loading port to the loading port;
The processing furnace according to claim 1 or 2, further comprising a drive motor that drives the roller chain. The method further includes a plurality of heaters that are arranged in the processing chamber along the first conveyance path and heat the object to be processed that is conveyed by the inlet roller, the plurality of guide rollers, and the outlet roller. and
In a state in which a predetermined heating atmosphere is created in the processing chamber by the plurality of heaters, the passing device passes the workpiece wound around the carry-in entrance roller through the plurality of guide rollers from the carry-in port. The processing furnace according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the processing furnace can be bridged to the discharge port via the processing furnace. The processing furnace according to claim 4, wherein in the predetermined heating atmosphere, the temperature within the processing chamber is 0 to 400°C or less. The method further includes an air supply device that supplies gas into the processing chamber, and an exhaust device that exhausts the gas in the processing chamber,
In a state in which a predetermined atmosphere is created in the processing chamber by the air supply device and the exhaust device, the passing device transports the workpieces wound around the carry-in entrance roller through the plurality of The processing furnace according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein the processing furnace can be spanned to the outlet via a guide roller. The processing furnace according to claim 4, wherein in the predetermined atmosphere, the oxygen concentration within the processing chamber is 10% or less. 5. The processing furnace according to claim 4, wherein the predetermined atmosphere has a dew point within the processing chamber of 0° C. or lower.

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