JPH0666715A - Article heat treating apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To obtain an article heat treating apparatus in which an apparatus installation area can be saved, a temperature disorder in an article treating tank is easily suppressed, individual articles can be uniformly heat treated, the articles to be heat treated such as platelike articles can be treated in a large quantity by effectively utilizing an inner volume of the tank, a running cost can be suppressed to a low value, and the adherence of dusts to the article can be suppressed. CONSTITUTION:An article heat treating apparatus comprises an article treating space 13, an article introducing inlet 11 at one side and an article delivery port 12 at the other side. The apparatus further comprises an article treating tank 1 added with a gas supply circulation unit 14 for supplying and circulating predetermined temperature gas into the space 13, a gondola 5 for supporting an article support 9 for attaching/detaching the article W to be treated in the space 13, a driver 6 for driving to vertically move the gondola 5 out of the space 13, units 41, 42 for introducing and delivering the article W to the support 9 on the gondola 5, and a hole closing member 71 for closing a gondola arm passing long hole 132.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to various electric and electronic devices,
The present invention relates to an apparatus for subjecting parts, various materials, etc. to a predetermined temperature to test their heat resistance, cold resistance, etc., and for heat-treating articles such as applying a desired heat treatment.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art A typical article heat treatment apparatus known in the prior art is shown in FIG. The conventional apparatus shown in FIG. 8A is one in which a conveyor C1 such as a chain conveyor is circulated in a processing tank H that obtains a predetermined temperature atmosphere, and the article A is placed on this conveyor to pass through the processing atmosphere. Is.

In the conventional apparatus shown in FIG. 1B, a roller conveyor C2 is arranged in the processing tank H, and the article B is placed on this conveyor and passed through the processing atmosphere. In the conventional apparatus shown in FIG. 1C, a bed b is arranged in the processing tank H, and an article conveying beam a that can be lowered from the bed upper surface or project above the bed surface is arranged. By rotating the beam a so as to draw a rectangular trajectory when viewed from the side, the article C arranged on the bed b is intermittently advanced and passed through the processing atmosphere. As a device similar to this, there is also known a device in which the bed b is a hot plate and the article C is heat-treated by the hot plate.

In addition to this, there is also a heat treatment apparatus using a transfer apparatus disclosed in Japanese Utility Model Publication No. 3-2840. In this device, as shown in the principle in FIG. 9, a rail R for guiding and holding an article, which is arranged in a constant temperature bath, and a shaft which is parallel to the rail R and is movable in the axial direction and rotatable in the circumferential direction. An article T that includes S and a projecting piece P that projects from the shaft S in the radial direction and that is sandwiched and guided by a rail R is provided with a shaft S.
Of the article T by moving the shaft S in that state, the article T is fed a predetermined distance by moving the shaft S in the axial direction, and then the shaft S is rotated back to move the article P below the article T. , And the shaft S is retracted to the initial position to prepare for the next conveyance.

[0005]

However, according to the conventional apparatus, the article is conveyed in the horizontal direction. Therefore, in order to expose the article to the treatment temperature for a predetermined time, the treatment tank must be formed to be long in the horizontal direction. As a result, there is a problem that the installation area of the heat treatment apparatus becomes large. Also,
In this way, since the processing tank is horizontally long and low,
Compared to the height inside the processing tank, the ratio of the size of the loading / unloading port of the article becomes large, and as a result, the temperature disturbance in the processing tank due to the infiltration of outside air from the loading / unloading port becomes large, and the reliability of the processing equipment decreases. There is a problem. Further, in the apparatus shown in FIG. 8C, when the bed b is a hot plate as the heating means, there is a problem that it is difficult to uniformly heat the individual articles.

Further, when the article is, for example, a plate-like object and must be arranged horizontally, the internal volume of the processing tank becomes larger than the amount of the article to be processed. However, there is a problem that the running cost becomes high because the capacity of the blower and the heater to be used becomes large. Moreover, in the device described in Japanese Utility Model Publication No. 3-2840,
There is also a problem that dust is likely to be generated due to sliding between the article T and the guide rail R when the article is transported, and that it is difficult to process various parts in the course of manufacturing various thin film devices such as liquid crystal displays and other thin film devices. .

Therefore, according to the present invention, first, compared with the conventional apparatus, the apparatus installation area can be saved, the temperature disturbance in the article processing tank can be easily suppressed, and the individual objects to be processed can be uniformly heat-treated in each part. However, even in the case of, for example, a plate-like body, it is possible to provide a product heat treatment apparatus that can effectively use the internal volume in the product processing tank to perform a large amount of processing, and can reduce the running cost accordingly. To aim.

Another object of the present invention is to provide an article heat treatment apparatus in which dust adhesion to an object is suppressed.

[0009]

According to the first object of the present invention, the present invention includes an article processing space, and has an article carrying-in port to the space on one side and an article carrying-out port from the space on the other side. Then, an article processing tank provided with a gas supply circulation part for sucking the gas in the space while supplying a gas at a predetermined temperature to the space, and a gondola capable of supporting an article support capable of loading and unloading an article to be processed in the article processing space. , Via an arm extending through an elongated hole extending vertically from the gondola to the article processing space wall,
Means for raising and lowering the gondola from outside the space; article carrying-in means for carrying in an object to be processed from the carry-in port to the part of the article support on the gondola facing the article carrying-in port; Article carrying-out means for carrying out an object to be processed from the part of the article support on the gondola facing the exit through the carry-out port, and a closed hole for closing the elongated hole of the article processing space wall except the gondola arm penetrating part. An article heat treatment apparatus is provided.

The gas supply / circulation unit may be one that can supply only heating gas or cooling gas, or one that can arbitrarily supply either heating or cooling gas, depending on the use of the article heat treatment apparatus. As the hole closing means, a slide plate, a film, or the like, which is connected to the gondola arm and moves up and down while keeping the long hole closed as the arm moves up and down, is stretched so as to close the long hole. Sheets, films, etc., in which a gondola arm penetrates and is formed with a notch that can be raised and lowered while expanding, and in the long hole, the long part is closed so as to close the upper part and the lower part of the gondola arm. A retractable member extending up and down from the arm along a hole is also conceivable. The elastic member may be, for example, a bellows-shaped member, or a flexible member having one end connected to the article processing tank and the other end connected to the gondola arm so as to be wound up and stored.

According to the second object of the present invention, the gas supply / circulation unit may supply gas having a predetermined temperature through a gas purification filter. Further, according to the second object of the present invention, an article heat treatment apparatus adopting at least one of the following requirements is also conceivable. The closing means includes a flexible closing member extending up and down from the arm along the elongated hole so as to close a portion above and below the gondola arm of the elongated hole, One end of each member is connected to the article processing tank, and the other end is connected to the gondola arm so that the member can be wound and stored. The gas suction port of the gas supply / circulation unit faces a region of the article processing space that is continuous with the elongated hole. A door for opening and closing the article processing space is provided in the article processing tank on the side opposite to the elongated hole, and a gas supply circulation blower and a gas purification filter which are components of the gas supply circulation unit are provided on the door. Forming a duct part for assembling and connecting the blower and the filter, and sealing the part except the gas suction part of the blower and the gas outlet of the filter so as to also serve as a part of the gas supply / circulation part.

[0012]

According to the article heat treatment apparatus of the present invention, a desired heat treatment can be performed by exposing the object to be treated to a predetermined temperature atmosphere, for example, as follows. That is, an article support that supports the article to be processed in a plurality of upper and lower stages with a predetermined interval is provided separately, and the article support is supported separately, and is preliminarily mounted on the gondola in the article processing tank. Initially, this gondola goes up (or down)
Then, the lowermost (or uppermost) article support portion of the support is exposed to the article carry-in port, and in this state, the gas supply circulation portion circulates the gas at the predetermined temperature in the article processing space. The gondola and the article support mounted on the gondola are lifted and lowered by a gondola lifting drive means.

Next, the article to be processed is carried in by the article carrying-in means and is supported on the lowermost stage (or the uppermost stage) of the article support, and then the support is lowered (or raised) by one step, and then, Bring in the object to be processed. In this way, the support is moved one step at a time and the object to be processed is carried in. When all the steps have been loaded, the first loaded object has already been fully exposed to the atmosphere of the specified temperature and the specified heat treatment has been completed. (Or it descends) and the to-be-processed object carried in first is made to face an article carrying-in port and an article carrying-out port simultaneously.

In this state, the first article to be heat-treated is carried out of the processing tank by the article carrying-out means, and the next article to be processed is carried into the empty portion by the carrying-out means by the article carrying-in means. After that, the article support is lowered (or raised) by one step, and the article is carried out to the next step, and as a result, the article is carried into the empty portion.

In this way, the article support is lowered (or raised) one step at a time, and unloading and loading of the object to be processed are repeated. In addition, in the initial loading of the articles to all the stages, the article to be processed that was loaded at the very end is moved up (or lowered) to the initial position of the article support after the completion of the loading of all steps, and then,
The desired heat treatment is completed in the process of descending (or rising) step by step.

In other words, looking at each object to be processed,
During the time when the article is carried into all stages of the article support, it is placed in the article processing tank and subjected to the desired heat treatment. For a flat plate-shaped and large-area product that is easily bent by supporting only both ends (for example, a large-area glass substrate of a liquid crystal display), prepare a support that can support this without bending. , This can be mounted on a gondola for heat treatment. Further, in this case, it is also possible to heat-treat the object to be treated at the loading position for a predetermined time without moving it up and down in the tank, and then carry it out as it is.

When the gas supply / circulation unit supplies gas at a predetermined temperature through the gas purification filter, dust which has flowed into the gas supply / circulation unit or is generated here is removed by this filter. . The closing means includes a flexible closing member extending up and down from the arm along the elongated hole so as to close a portion above and below the gondola arm of the elongated hole, When one end of each member is connected to the article processing tank and the other end is connected to the gondola arm so that the member can be wound up and stored, the member moves as the gondola arm is moved up and down by the gondola lifting drive means. It is pulled out from or is housed on the gondola arm so that the long hole portions above and below the arm are always closed. Moreover, the portion of the member that is pulled out and closes the long hole does not move relative to the long hole, and therefore does not rub against the article processing tank or the like, so that dust generation is suppressed accordingly.

Further, when the gas inlet of the gas supply / circulation part is exposed to a region of the article processing space which is continuous with the elongated hole, the article processing is performed through the elongated hole from the gap of the closed hole member. Dust that enters the space is quickly sucked into the gas suction port and removed by the gas purification filter.
Further, when the above-mentioned door that also serves as a part of the gas supply circulation unit that opens and closes the article processing space of the article processing tank is provided, dust that has flowed into the gas supply circulation unit and dust generated here are gas purified. Inflow from outside the filter into the article processing space is prevented and is reliably removed by the filter.

[0019]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a schematic cross-sectional view of the article heat treatment apparatus as one embodiment as seen from the front side, FIG. 2 is a schematic cross-sectional view of the article heat treatment apparatus as seen from above, and FIG. 3 is taken along line XX of FIG. FIG. This article heat treatment apparatus is provided with an article processing tank 1 which is tall in the vertical direction, and a roller conveyor 2 for carrying in an object to be processed is provided outside one side portion of the processing tank and outside the other side portion of the processing tank. Each is provided with a roller conveyor 3 for carrying out the object to be processed. The processing tank 1 has an article carrying-in port 11 on one side and an article carrying-out port 12 facing the article carrying-in port 11 on the other side at an intermediate portion in the vertical direction. The carry-in port 11 and the carry-out port 12 are at the same height position.

The roller conveyor 2 faces the article carrying-in port 11 and the roller conveyor 3 faces the article carrying-out port 12.
As shown in FIG. 2, each roller conveyor 2 (3) includes a pair of roller rows 21 ... (31 ...) That extend in parallel, and the rollers 21 (31) of each roller row are shown in FIG. As shown in FIG. 6, a portion a1 including a conical surface and a cylindrical portion b1 protruding in the horizontal direction from the portion a1 have an axis s1.
Is rotatably supported by a frame 20 (30) extending long along the roller row. Each frame 20 (30) is hollow and hermetically sealed, and the gear train G is provided in the frame.
Is arranged and is connected to the shaft s1 of each roller. Then, the gear train is driven by a drive unit (not shown), so that each roller 21 (31) is rotationally driven in the workpiece transport direction. The inside of each frame 20 (30) is connected to an exhaust device (not shown), and by operating the exhaust device to evacuate the inside of the frame, dust can be prevented.

As shown in FIG. 6, the object W to be processed is placed on the cylindrical part b1 of each roller 21 (31). If it is biased toward one roller row too much, the end of the article hits the conical slope of the roller and slides down there, eventually resulting in a cylindrical portion b.
Will be positioned on 1. A pair of roller rows 21
The article carry-in device 41 is arranged between the ... Further, the article unloading device 4 is provided between the pair of roller rows 31 ...
2 are arranged. The article carry-in device 41 and the article carry-out device 42 have the same structure, but are arranged so that their directions are opposite to each other.

In these devices 41 (42), as shown in FIG. 4, a horizontal box 403 is fixed to the upper end of a rod 402 provided on a base 401 so as to be able to move up and down, and the box 403 is provided along the longitudinal direction of the box. An article support arm 404 capable of reciprocating is provided. This device uses a glass substrate transfer robot of UTC-100HG series manufactured by Mex Co., Ltd., and the rod 402 can be moved up and down by a drive mechanism incorporated in the base 401, and a drive incorporated in the box 403. The mechanism can move the article support arm 404 forward and backward. The workpiece W is supported on the arm 404.

According to the apparatus 41, the object W to be processed, which has been conveyed by the roller conveyor 2 and has reached the position facing the carry-in port 11 of the article processing tank 1, is moved by the operation cycle CY1 of the arm 404 shown in FIG. It is brought in.
That is, as the rod 402 of the device 41 rises, the arm 404 also rises, and the article W on the roller conveyor 2 is lifted and supported by the arm 404.
Next, the arm 404 enters the processing tank 1 through the article loading port 11, so that the article W is positioned above the article supporting portion of the article support 9 which will be described later and waits in the processing tank. Next, when the rod 402 descends, the article W is placed on that portion, the emptied arm 404 retracts, returns to the initial position, and prepares for the next article loading.

Further, according to the apparatus 42, the processed article W on the article support 9 is carried out of the processing tank 1 by the operation cycle CY2 of the arm 404 shown in FIG. 1 and placed on the roller conveyor 3. That is, first, the arm 404
Moves forward and enters the processing tank 1 through the article carry-out port 12 and is positioned below one processed article, the rod 402 rises, thereby supporting the processed article on the arm 404. In this state, the arm 404 is retracted, and then the rod 402 is lowered, so that the processed article on the arm 404 can be placed on the roller conveyor 3. The articles placed on the rollers 3 are carried out by the operation of the conveyor.

As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the article processing tank 1 includes an article processing space 13 and a portion 14 for supplying and circulating a gas having a predetermined temperature and communicating with the article processing space 13. A gondola 5 for supporting the article support 9 is arranged in the article processing space 13, and a pair of arms 51 extending from the gondola are provided with a vertically long slot provided in a front wall 131 of the space 13. It penetrates through 132 and projects out of the space. An arm support block 5 is provided at the protruding end.
2 is fixed.

In FIG. 1, the gondola 5 and parts related thereto are not shown. As shown in FIG. 2, the support block 52 of the gondola arm can be guided up and down by a pair of guides 53 on a fixed frame 50 provided outside the space 13. A counter balance 54 is connected to the block 52. The block 52 has a space 1
3 is moved up and down by a gondola lifting drive unit 6 arranged outside the front wall 131 of FIG. As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the drive unit 6 includes a female screw portion 61 provided on the block 52, a vertical screw rod 62 screwed to the female screw portion, and the screw rod 62 via a timing belt transmission device 63. It is composed of a servo motor 64 that normally or reversely rotates. The screw rod 62 is rotatably supported by the fixed frame 50.

According to the drive unit 6, the servo motor 64
By rotating the gondola 5 forward, the gondola 5 is moved to the article processing space 1
Within 3, the lower limit position can be raised to the upper limit position shown in FIG. Further, by reversing the servo motor 64, the upper limit position can be lowered to the lower limit position. Although not shown in FIG. 2, as shown in FIGS. 3 and 5, a closed hole member 71 for closing the elongated hole 132 through which the gondola arm 51 penetrates from the outside is provided. The member 71 is the gondola arm 51 of the long hole 132.
One for closing the upper portion and one for closing the lower portion are provided. The upper member 71 has its upper end 71a connected to the outer surface of the article processing tank 1, and its lower end has a gondola. It is connected to a box 72 fixed to the arm 51 and is housed in the box in the shape of a spiral spring or a spring. Further, the lower member 71 has its lower end 71b fixedly connected to the outer surface of the article processing tank 1, its upper end connected to another box 72 fixed to the gondola arm 51, and swirled in the box 72. It is housed like a spring or a mainspring. Each member 71
Can be pulled out from the box 72 by applying a tensile force, but is a strip-shaped member having a self-restoring spring property that rewinds into the box 72 when the tensile force is released. Therefore, when the gondola arm 51 rises, the upper member 71 rewinds itself into the upper box 72 and its length is shortened, while the lower member 71 has its lower end 71b fixed. It is pulled out from the box 72 and becomes long. Further, when the gondola arm 51 is lowered, the upper member 71 has its upper end 71a fixed, so that the upper member 71 is pulled out from the upper box 72 and becomes longer, while the lower member 71 is in the lower box 72. Rewind by yourself and become shorter. This member 71 has its part pulled out regardless of whether the gondola arm 51 is moved up or down.
Since it does not slide against the like, dust generation is suppressed accordingly.

The member 71 is a band-shaped member having a self-restoring spring property, but a band-shaped member having no such self-restoring spring property is adopted, a shaft is provided in each box 72, and the shaft is By applying an urging force in the winding direction of the belt-shaped member by a spring or the like and connecting the belt-shaped member to this shaft, the gondola arm 51 is moved up and down to wind the belt-shaped member into the box 72 or the box 7
It may be pulled out from 2.

As shown in FIG. 3, the gas supply / circulation section 14 is a portion 14 located above the article processing space 13.
0 and a portion D extending from there to the back side of the article processing space 13
Includes and. An insulating partition wall 140a is provided between the portion 140 and the article processing space 13, and an air heater 141 is arranged in this portion. The part D
Also serves as a door for opening and closing the article processing space 13. On the door portion D, a blower 142 for gas supply and circulation, an air purifying filter 143 having a high dust collecting property, which is commonly called a HEPA filter, and further the blower 142 and the filter 1 are provided.
A duct part 144 communicating with 43 is formed.
The door D is entirely sealed except for the gas suction portion 142a of the blower 142 and the gas outlet of the filter 143. The door D can be pivotally opened and closed by a hinge d (see FIG. 2), and in the closed state, as shown in FIG.
The gas suction part 142a of the blower 142 faces the heater 141, and the filter 143 faces the article processing space 13. It should be noted that the sealing material SA is provided on the inner peripheral surface of the door D or on the main body side portion facing this so that airtightness is maintained when the door D is closed.
Is provided.

The portion 140 provided with the heater 141 has a gas suction port 14a, and this suction port 14a faces a region 13a of the article processing space 13 which is continuous with the elongated hole 132 through which the gondola arm passes. According to the gas supply / circulation unit 14, by operating the heater 141 and the blower 142, the air heated to a predetermined temperature by the heater 141 is sent by the blower 142, and the duct unit 144
After passing through the filter 143, the dust is removed to become clean air and is blown into the article processing space 13. On the other hand, the air in the space 13 is sucked into the gas supply / circulation unit 14 from the gas suction unit 14a. Thus, the gas having a predetermined temperature circulates in the article processing space 13. The dust that has entered the gas supply circulation unit 14 through the gas suction port 14a and the dust that has been generated in the gas supply circulation unit 14 pass through the inside of the door D in which the circulation gas is sealed and the filter 14
Since it is blown out from 3, it is surely removed by the filter portion. Therefore, dust is suppressed from adhering to the object to be processed in the article processing space 13 to that extent. Further, since the gas inlet 14a of the gas supply / circulation unit 14 faces the region 13a connected to the elongated hole 132, dust may enter the space 13 through the hole 132 through the gap of the hole closing member 71. Even if there is, the dust is quickly sucked into the gas supply circulation unit 14 before reaching the object to be processed in the space 13 and is reliably removed by the filter 143. It is suppressed.

Further, even if dust enters from the outside through the gap of the door seal member SA, the dust is immediately sucked toward the blower 142 and removed by the filter 143. The front wall 13 of the article processing space 13
1, the bottom wall 134, the ceiling wall 140b of the gas supply / circulation portion 140, and the outer wall DW of the door D are all heat insulating walls.

The article processing space 1 is provided in the area 13a.
A rectifying plate 13b for arranging the air flow in the inside 3 is arranged. Next, the article support 9 mounted on the gondola 5 will be described with reference to FIG. 7. The article support 9 is shown in FIG.
As shown in the figure, upper and lower quadrilateral plates 91 and 92 are provided, and shaft bars 93 extending in the vertical direction are arranged at four corners between the plates. The upper end of each shaft rod 93 is rotatably fitted to a block 94 arranged on the lower surface of the upper plate 91, and the lower end of each shaft rod 93 is lower plate 92.
Is rotatably fitted to a block 94 arranged on the upper surface of the. Each upper block 94 is a shaft 9 that is eccentric from the shaft rod 93.
5 is rotatably attached to the upper plate 91, and each of the lower blocks 94 is attached to the shaft 9 from the shaft rod 93.
It is rotatably attached to the lower plate 92 by a shaft 95 that is eccentric by the same amount as the No. 5. A plurality of rings 96 formed by synthetic resin molding are detachably fitted to each shaft rod 93, and each ring 96 includes a shelf portion 96a that supports the object W to be processed. The workpiece W is placed on the shelves 96a of the four rings 96 located at the same height.

Further, when the dimension of the object to be processed W is changed and it is desired to change the interval between the rings at the same height position, each block 94 is rotated around the eccentric shaft 95, for example, as shown in FIG. As shown in FIG. 7B, the gap may be adjusted by changing the position of the ring 96 from P1 to P2. Further, the space between the rings adjacent to each other in the vertical direction can be changed by inserting or removing a spacer having an appropriate thickness between them.

The upper and lower plates 91 and 92 can be connected to each other by, for example, passing a bolt B through these plates and screwing a nut N into the bolt. Further, various connecting means can be adopted, such as extending the eccentric shafts 95 facing each other in the vertical direction to form one, and connecting the plates 91 and 92 to each other. In addition, the support 9 can be easily disassembled and each part can be easily washed.

The article support 9 is mounted on the gondola 5, and in order to determine the position of the article support 9 on the gondola, the gondola 5 is provided with a positioning pin 5a (see FIG. 5). I am doing it. As the positioning member on the support 9 corresponding to the positioning pin 5a, for example, the bolt B can be used. The article heat treatment apparatus described above is, for example, a heat curing treatment of a pattern forming photoresist film for etching a thin film on a glass substrate in a predetermined pattern in a liquid crystal display manufacturing process, a drying treatment after cleaning a glass substrate, a glass substrate. It can be used for firing the alignment film formed above.

According to this article heat treatment apparatus, for example, the desired heat treatment can be performed by exposing the object to be treated to a predetermined temperature atmosphere as follows. That is, the entire article heat treatment apparatus is arranged in a clean room (not shown). The article support 9 of FIG. 7 that supports the article to be processed W (the liquid crystal display glass substrate having the photoresist film in this example) vertically in a plurality of steps with a predetermined gap is separately prepared. It is mounted on the gondola 5 in the article processing tank 1 in advance. Initially, the gondola 5 is raised in the article processing space 13, and the article support ring 96 at the lowermost stage of the support is exposed to the article carry-in port 11 and the article carry-out port 12, and
In this state, the gas supply / circulation unit 14 circulates a gas having a predetermined temperature in the article processing space 13. The gondola 5 and the article support 9 mounted on the gondola 5 are lifted and lowered by the operation of the gondola lift drive unit 6.

Next, the object W to be processed which has been conveyed to the vicinity of the carry-in port 11 by the roller conveyor 2 is lifted by the article carrying-in device 41 and carried into the processing tank 1, and the lowermost ring of the article support 9 is loaded. Then, the support W is lowered by one step, and the workpiece W is placed on the next step in the same manner as described above. In this way, the support body 9 is successively lowered by one step and the object W to be processed is loaded.

When the objects W to be processed have been placed on the rings 96 of all the steps, the objects W to be initially loaded have already been sufficiently exposed to the atmosphere of the predetermined temperature and the predetermined heat treatment has been completed. Then, the gondola 5 is lifted up for all stages at once, and the workpiece W initially loaded is made to face the article loading port 11 and the article loading port 12 at the same time. In this state, the article unloading device 4
The first heat-treated object W that has been heat-treated in 2 is carried out of the processing tank 1, placed on the roller conveyor 3 and placed there, and carried out by the conveyor. The next object W to be processed is carried in and placed by the article carrying-in device 41 on the ring 96 of the support 9 which is vacant by the carrying-out.

Thereafter, the article support 9 is lowered by one step, and the article is unloaded from the next-stage ring 96 and, as a result, the article is loaded into the empty portion. In this way, the article support 9 is lowered one step at a time, and the loading and unloading of the workpiece W is repeated. It should be noted that in the initial loading of the articles to all the stages, the article W to be processed, which has been loaded most lastly, has the article support 9 re-elevated to the initial position after the completion of the loading of all the steps.
The desired heat treatment is completed in the process of descending step by step.

That is, looking at each of the objects W to be processed, the objects are placed in the article processing tank 1 for the time when the articles are carried into all the stages of the article support 9 and subjected to the desired heat treatment. Become. For a flat plate-shaped and large-area product that is easily bent by supporting only both ends (for example, a large-area glass substrate of a liquid crystal display), prepare a support that can support this without bending. Then, this can be mounted on the gondola 5 and an article can be placed on the support to perform heat treatment. Further, in this case, it is also possible to heat-treat the object to be processed at the carry-in position for a predetermined time without moving it up and down in the tank 1, and then carry it out as it is.

According to the article heat treatment apparatus described above, the article treatment tank 1 is used to expose the workpiece W to the treatment temperature for a predetermined time.
Since it is formed to be tall and is conveyed vertically in this, the installation area of the entire article heat treatment apparatus is saved accordingly. Also, the article carrying-in port 11 of the article processing tank 1
Since the article carry-out port 12 can be formed smaller than the internal space height of the processing tank 1, it becomes difficult for the outside air to enter the entire tank through the carry-in port 11 and the carry-out port 12. The temperature fluctuations in the inside 1 can be suppressed, and at the same time, the individual workpieces W can be heat-treated uniformly in each part.

Even if the object W to be processed is a plate-shaped object as in the above-mentioned embodiment, the volume in the processing tank 1 can be effectively used to accommodate a plurality of upper and lower stages for large-scale processing, which is the running cost. Can be suppressed to a low level. Also, gondola 5
And the article support 9 supported by this is lowered by a predetermined distance (one step in the above embodiment) when descending,
When ascending, it can be raised to the initial position all at once, so high-speed processing can be performed despite the large amount of processing.

In the above embodiment, the gondola 5 and the article support 9 are lowered by a predetermined distance from the initially raised position, and once the articles have been carried in to all the stages, the gondola 5 and the article support 9 are all raised again to the initial position, and then the predetermined position is restored again. Although it is repeatedly lowered by the distance, conversely, the gondola 5 and the support body 9 are initially lowered, and then the goods are loaded by moving them up by a predetermined distance from the gondola 5 and the support 9, and then the goods are loaded into all the stages. It is also possible to repeatedly lower the initial position and raise it again by a predetermined distance.

Further, according to the apparatus of the above embodiment, the gondola driving unit 6 which generates a large amount of dust is located outside the article processing tank 1, and the article to be processed W does not rub against the article support 9 but simply the support 9
The dust is suppressed to that extent because it is only placed on or lifted from the ring 9 of.
Further, since the gas supply / circulation unit 14 supplies the gas at the predetermined temperature through the gas purification filter, the dust that has flowed into the gas supply / circulation unit or generated here is removed by this filter, and only that much is covered. The adhesion of dust to the processed material W is suppressed.

Further, since the closing member 71 extends up and down from the arm so as to close the upper part and the lower part of the gondola arm 51 of the long hole 132, the dust from the long hole is formed. Intrusion is prevented as much, and the member 71 is pulled out so that the slot 13
Since the portion that closes 2 does not move relative to the long hole 132 and therefore does not rub against the article processing tank or the like, dust generation is suppressed accordingly.

Further, since the gas suction port 14a of the gas supply / circulation unit 14 is exposed to the region 13a of the article processing space 13 which is continuous with the long hole 132, it passes through the long hole 132 from the gap of the closed hole member 71. Dust that enters the article processing space 13 is quickly sucked into the gas suction port 14a and removed by the gas purification filter 143. Further, since the door D that opens and closes the article processing space 13 of the article processing tank 1 also serves as a part of the gas supply circulation unit 14 and is hermetically closed, dust that has flowed into the gas supply circulation unit 14 and The generated dust is removed from the gas purification filter 143 of the door through the article processing space 1
3 is blocked and reliably removed by the filter 143.

[0047]

As described above, according to the present invention, the apparatus installation area can be saved as compared with the conventional apparatus, the temperature disturbance in the article processing tank can be easily suppressed, and the individual objects to be processed can be uniformly heat-treated in each part. Even when the object to be processed is, for example, a plate-like object, an article heat treatment apparatus capable of effectively utilizing the internal volume in the article processing tank to perform a large amount of processing and reducing the running cost accordingly. Can be provided.

Further, according to the article heat treatment apparatus of each of claims 2, 3, 4, and 5, the dust adhesion to the object to be treated is suppressed only by adopting the configuration of the claim, and the object to dislike the dust is suppressed. Suitable for processing processed materials.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic cross-sectional view seen from the front side in which a part of an embodiment of the present invention is omitted.

FIG. 2 is a schematic cross-sectional view of the device shown in FIG. 1 as seen from above.

FIG. 3 is a schematic cross-sectional view, partly omitted, taken along line XX of FIG.

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of an article loading / unloading device.

FIG. 5 is a perspective view of a gondola, a part of a drive unit thereof, and a hole closing unit.

FIG. 6 is a sectional view of an article carry-in / carry-out roller conveyor.

FIG. 7A is a cross-sectional view of the article support with a part thereof omitted, and FIG. 7B is an operation explanatory view of the article support.

FIG. 8A, FIG. 8B and FIG. 8C are explanatory views of a conventional example.

FIG. 9 is a perspective view of a part of still another conventional example.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF REFERENCE NUMERALS 1 article processing tank 11 article carry-in port 12 article carry-out port 13 article processing space 131 front wall 132 of space 13 long hole 13a of wall 131 region 13 connected to the long hole 132 of the space 13 gas supply / circulation section 14a gas suction port 140 gas Part of the supply circulation section 14 above the space 13 140a Partition wall 141 Heater 142 Blower 142a Gas suction part of blower 142 143 Gas purification filter 144 Duct part D Door 2 Article carry-in roller conveyor 3 Article carry-out roller conveyor 41 Article carry-in device 42 Article Unloading device 5 Gondola 51 Gondola arm 52 Gondola arm support block 6 Gondola lifting drive unit 71 Closing member 72 Storage box for closing member 71 9 Article support

Claims (5)

[Claims] 1. An article processing space, comprising an article carry-in port to the space on one side and an article carry-out port from the space on the other side, and supplying gas at a predetermined temperature to the space. An article processing tank provided with a gas supply circulation unit for sucking a space gas, a gondola capable of supporting an article support capable of loading and unloading an object in the article processing space, and extending vertically from the gondola to the article processing space wall Means for raising and lowering the gondola from outside the space through an arm extending through the long hole, and carrying in the object to be processed from the carry-in port to the part of the article support on the gondola facing the article carrying-in port. An article carry-in means for carrying out, an article carry-out means for carrying out an object to be processed from the part of the article support on the gondola facing the article carry-out opening through the carry-out opening, and the elongated hole of the article processing space wall. The gondola Article heat treatment apparatus is characterized in that a closed porosity means for closing except beam penetrating portion. 2. The article heat treatment apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the gas supply / circulation unit supplies gas at a predetermined temperature through a gas purification filter. 3. A flexible closing member extending up and down from the arm along the elongated hole so that the closing means closes a portion of the elongated hole above and below the gondola arm, respectively. 3. The article heat treatment apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a hole member, one end of each member being connected to the article processing tank, and the other end being connected to the gondola arm so as to be retractable. 4. The article heat treatment apparatus according to claim 1, 2 or 3, wherein a gas suction port of the gas supply / circulation unit faces a region of the article processing space that is continuous with the elongated hole. 5. A door for opening and closing the article processing space in the article processing tank is provided on the side opposite to the elongated hole, and a blower for gas supply circulation, which is a component of the gas supply circulation unit, is provided in the door. A duct part that connects the blower and the filter is formed while incorporating the gas purification filter, and the gas blower is sealed except for the gas suction part of the blower and the gas outlet of the filter, and also serves as a part of the gas supply circulation part. The article heat treatment apparatus according to claim 1, 2, 3, or 4.