JPWO2019138890A1 - Heat treatment furnace and its manufacturing method - Google Patents

Abstract

The heat treatment furnace heat-treats the object to be treated. The heat treatment furnace includes a heat treatment section provided with a space for heat-treating the object to be processed, and a plurality of transfer rollers arranged in the heat treatment section to convey the object to be processed. The plurality of transport rollers arranged in the heat treatment section are classified into a plurality of groups based on the magnitude of the warp amount of the portion where the magnitude of the warp in the direction perpendicular to the axis of the transport roller is the largest. Upstream in the transport direction of the heat treatment section, transport rollers belonging to the group having the smaller average value of the warp amount among the plurality of classified groups are arranged.

Description

The technique disclosed in the present specification relates to a heat treatment furnace for heat-treating an object to be treated and a method for producing the same.

The object to be treated may be heat-treated using a heat treatment furnace (for example, a roller hers kiln). This type of heat treatment furnace is provided with a plurality of transfer rollers, and conveys the object to be processed by rotating the transfer roller with the object to be processed placed on the transfer rollers. For example, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2015-64189 discloses an example of a heat treatment furnace.

The transport roller installed in this type of heat treatment furnace is distorted such as warped during its manufacture. For this reason, when installing the transfer rollers in the heat treatment furnace, only the transfer rollers having a warp amount within a certain range are used, except for the transfer rollers in which the amount of warpage is larger than a predetermined size. .. However, even if the amount of warpage is within a certain range, if there is a large difference in the amount of warpage between adjacent transfer rollers, the object to be processed can be smoothly transferred to the adjacent transfer rollers during transfer. If not done, the problem of meandering of the object to be treated can occur. In particular, if this problem occurs near the inlet of the transport path, it continues to affect the subsequent transport, and this problem becomes remarkable in a heat treatment furnace in which the transport distance of the object to be processed is long. The present specification discloses a technique for smoothly transporting an object to be processed in the entire transport path.

The heat treatment furnace disclosed in the present specification heat-treats the object to be treated. The heat treatment furnace includes a heat treatment section provided with a space for heat-treating the object to be processed, and a plurality of transfer rollers arranged in the heat treatment section to convey the object to be processed. The plurality of transport rollers arranged in the heat treatment section are classified into a plurality of groups based on the magnitude of the warp amount of the portion where the magnitude of the warp in the direction perpendicular to the axis of the transport roller is the largest. At the upstream end of the heat treatment section in the transport direction, a transport roller belonging to the group having the smallest average value of the warp amount among the plurality of classified groups is arranged.

In the above heat treatment furnace, by arranging a transfer roller belonging to the group having the smallest average value of the amount of warpage at the upstream end in the transfer direction of the heat treatment section, the disturbance in the transfer of the object to be processed near the inlet of the transfer path is reduced. be able to. As a result, it is possible to reduce the disturbance in the transportation of the object to be processed in the entire transfer path, and the object to be processed can be smoothly conveyed.

Further, in the method for manufacturing a heat treatment furnace disclosed in the present specification, a heat treatment furnace including a heat treatment section provided with a space for heat-treating the object to be processed and a plurality of transfer rollers arranged in the heat treatment section to convey the object to be processed. To manufacture. The manufacturing method of the heat treatment furnace includes a measurement step of measuring the amount of warpage of a portion where the magnitude of warpage in the direction perpendicular to the axis of the transfer roller is the largest for each of a plurality of transfer rollers arranged in the heat treatment section. , A classification step of classifying a plurality of transport rollers into a plurality of groups based on the magnitude of the warp amount measured in the measurement step, and a warp amount of the plurality of classified groups at the upstream end of the heat treatment section in the transport direction. It is provided with an installation process for installing a transfer roller belonging to the group having the smallest average value of.

In the above-mentioned manufacturing method of the heat treatment furnace, a transfer roller belonging to the group having the smallest average value of the warpage amount among the plurality of classified groups is installed at the upstream end of the heat treatment section in the transfer direction. Therefore, it is possible to reduce the turbulence in transporting the object to be processed near the inlet of the transport path, and it is possible to smoothly transport the object to be processed in the entire transport path.

It is a figure which shows the schematic structure of the heat treatment furnace which concerns on Examples 1 and 2, and is the vertical sectional view when the heat treatment furnace is cut in the plane parallel to the transport direction of the object to be processed. FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line II-II of FIG. The figure which shows the part which measures the warp amount of a transport roller. The figure which shows typically the transfer roller arranged in the heat treatment part in Example 1. FIG. The figure which shows typically the transfer roller arranged in the heat treatment part in Example 2.

The main features of the examples described below are listed. It should be noted that the technical elements described below are independent technical elements and exhibit technical usefulness alone or in various combinations, and are not limited to the combinations described in the claims at the time of filing. Absent.

(Characteristic 1) In the heat treatment furnace disclosed in the present specification, the heat treatment section may be collectively arranged in group units so that the transfer rollers classified into the same group are continuously arranged in the transfer direction. The plurality of transport rollers may be arranged so that the average value of the amount of warpage of the transport rollers classified into the group increases from the upstream to the downstream in the transport direction when viewed in group units. According to such a configuration, by arranging the transfer rollers classified into the same group continuously in the transfer direction, the transfer rollers classified into the same group are arranged together in the area between the adjacent transfer rollers. The difference in the amount of warpage can be reduced. Further, the plurality of classified groups are arranged so that the average value of the warpage amount of the transport rollers increases from the upstream to the downstream in the transport direction. Therefore, it is possible to reduce the difference in the amount of warpage of the transport rollers in the portions where the transport rollers classified into different groups are adjacent to each other. Further, a group of transport rollers having a small amount of warpage is installed on the upstream side in the transport direction, and a group of transport rollers having a large amount of warpage is installed on the downstream side in the transport direction. Therefore, a transport roller having a smaller amount of warpage is arranged closer to the inlet of the transport path, and it is possible to reduce the disturbance of transport of the object to be processed in the entire transport path.

(Characteristic 2) In the heat treatment furnace disclosed in the present specification, the plurality of transfer rollers arranged in the heat treatment section are classified into a plurality of large groups and a plurality of large groups based on the material of the transfer rollers. The conveyed transport rollers may be further classified into a plurality of small groups based on the magnitude of the amount of warpage. A plurality of transfer rollers are continuously arranged in the transfer direction for each large group, and at least the transfer rollers belonging to the large group arranged on the upstream side have a plurality of small groups belonging to the large group having a warp amount. The average value may be arranged so as to have a substantially mountain shape from the upstream to the downstream in the transport direction. According to such a configuration, the transfer rollers of the same material are continuously arranged, so that the transfer rollers of the same material are collectively arranged in the heat treatment section. For example, a plurality of transport rollers are composed of a first large group of transport rollers made of a first material and a second transport roller made of a second material having properties different from those of the first material. When classified into two large groups, the transfer rollers belonging to the first large group are continuously arranged in the transfer direction, and the transfer rollers belonging to the second large group are continuously arranged in the transfer direction. Further, the transport rollers belonging to the large group arranged on the upstream side are arranged so that the average value of the warpage amount of the transport rollers is substantially mountain-shaped. For example, the average value of the amount of warpage of the transport roller is arranged so as to gradually increase from the upstream to the downstream and then gradually decrease from the upstream to the downstream. Therefore, in the portion where the transport rollers classified into different large groups are adjacent to each other, the transport rollers of a small group having a relatively small average value of the warp amount can be adjacent to each other. As a result, it is possible to avoid a large difference in the amount of warpage of the transport roller at these boundary portions. Therefore, it is possible to reduce the disturbance in the transportation of the object to be processed.

(Example 1)
Hereinafter, the heat treatment furnace 10 according to the first embodiment will be described. As shown in FIG. 1, the heat treatment furnace 10 includes a heat treatment section 20, a carry-in section 34, a carry-out section 40, and a transfer device 50. The heat treatment furnace 10 heat-treats the object to be processed 12 while the object to be processed 12 is conveyed in the heat treatment section 20 by the transfer device 50.

Examples of the object 12 to be treated include a laminate in which a ceramic dielectric (base material) and an electrode are laminated, a positive electrode material and a negative electrode material of a lithium ion battery, and the like. When the ceramic laminates are heat-treated using the heat treatment furnace 10, they can be placed on a flat plate-shaped setter and conveyed in the furnace. Further, when the positive electrode material and the negative electrode material of the lithium ion battery are heat-treated using the heat treatment furnace 10, they can be housed in a box-shaped saggar and transported in the furnace. In the heat treatment furnace 10 of the present embodiment, a plurality of setters and sags can be placed and transported in a state of being arranged in the transport direction on the transport roller 52 (described later). Hereinafter, in the present embodiment, the entire combination of the substance to be heat-treated, the setter on which the substance to be heat-treated is placed, and the container containing the heat-treated substance is referred to as "object 12 to be treated". Further, in the following description, the direction in which the object to be processed 12 is conveyed (the direction perpendicular to the YZ plane in FIG. 1) may be referred to as a "transportation direction" or a "first direction", and is horizontal and perpendicular to the first direction. (Direction perpendicular to the XZ plane in FIG. 1) may be referred to as a "second direction".

The heat treatment section 20 includes a substantially rectangular box-shaped furnace body, and a space 24 surrounded by an outer wall 22 is provided inside the furnace body. An opening 26 is formed in the front end surface of the outer wall 22 (the end surface on the −X side in FIG. 1), and an opening 28 is formed in the rear end surface (the end surface on the + X side in FIG. 1) of the outer wall 22. .. The object 12 to be processed is conveyed from the opening 26 into the heat treatment section 20 by the transfer device 50, and is conveyed from the opening 28 to the outside of the heat treatment section 20. That is, the opening 26 is used as a carry-in port of the heat treatment section 20, and the opening 28 is used as a carry-out port of the heat treatment section 20.

A plurality of transfer rollers 52 and a plurality of heaters 30 and 32 are arranged in the space 24. The heaters 30 are arranged at positions above the transport roller 52 at equal intervals in the transport direction, and the heaters 32 are arranged at positions below the transport roller 52 at equal intervals in the transport direction. The heat generated by the heaters 30 and 32 heats the space 24. In this embodiment, the heaters 30 and 32 are arranged at equal intervals in the transport direction, but the configuration is not limited to this. The heater may be appropriately changed and arranged at a desired position according to, for example, the type of the object 12 to be processed, the heat treatment conditions of the heat treatment unit 20, and the like. Further, in this embodiment, the heaters 30 and 32 are arranged in the space 24, but the present invention is not limited to such a configuration. It suffices if the space 24 can be heated, and for example, a gas burner or the like may be installed in the space 24.

As shown in FIG. 2, in the heat treatment unit 20, a plurality of objects 12 to be processed are conveyed side by side in the second direction. In this embodiment, in the heat treatment section 20 (that is, the entire heat treatment furnace 10), the three objects to be processed 12 are transported side by side in the second direction. Therefore, in this embodiment, the dimension of the heat treatment section 20 in the second direction is larger than the dimension in which three objects 12 to be processed are arranged in the second direction, but the dimension of the heat treatment section 20 in the second direction is larger. , Not particularly limited. The size of the heat treatment unit 20 in the second direction may be such that more than three objects 12 to be processed can be arranged and conveyed in the second direction. Further, the dimension of the heat treatment unit 20 in the transport direction is relatively large, about 100 m, but the dimension of the heat treatment unit 20 in the transport direction is not particularly limited. For example, the size of the heat treatment unit 20 in the transport direction may be smaller than 100 m, 30 m to 100 m, or larger than 100 m. The object to be processed 12 is continuously carried into the heat treatment unit 20 at predetermined intervals. Therefore, the objects to be processed 12 are arranged side by side not only in the second direction but also in the transport direction.

As shown in FIG. 2, in this embodiment, of the three objects to be processed 12 placed side by side in the second direction, the object to be processed 12a is placed on the + Y direction side of the second direction. , The one placed in the center of the second direction is referred to as the object to be processed 12b, and the one placed in the −Y direction side of the second direction is distinguished as the object to be processed 12c. Hereinafter, for other components as well, when it is necessary to distinguish the components, the alphabet of the characters is used, and when it is not necessary to distinguish the components, the alphabet of the characters is omitted. It may be described in numbers.

The carry-in unit 34 is located on the upstream side of the heat treatment unit 20 (that is, on the upstream side in the transport direction, and in FIG. 1, in the −X direction of the heat treatment unit 20). The carry-in unit 34 receives the object to be processed 12 carried from the outside of the heat treatment furnace 10 and carries the received object 12 into the space 24 of the heat treatment unit 20. A transfer roller 52 is installed in the carry-in unit 34, and the object 12 to be processed carried from the outside of the heat treatment furnace 10 is conveyed by the transfer roller 52.

The carry-out section 40 is located on the downstream side of the heat treatment section 20 (that is, on the downstream side in the transport direction, and in FIG. 1, in the + X direction of the heat treatment section 20). The carry-out unit 40 carries out the object to be processed 12 from the space 24 of the heat treatment unit 20, and delivers the carried-out object 12 to the outside of the heat treatment furnace 10. A transport roller 52 is installed in the carry-out portion 40, and the object 12 to be processed is transported to the outside of the space 24 by the transport roller 52.

The transfer device 50 includes a plurality of transfer rollers 52, a drive device 60, and a control device 62. The transport device 50 transports the object to be processed 12 carried to the carry-in section 34 from the carry-in section 34 through the opening 26 into the space 24 of the heat treatment section 20. Further, the transport device 50 transports the object 12 to be processed from the opening 26 to the opening 28 in the space 24. Then, the transport device 50 transports the object 12 to be processed from the space 24 through the opening 28 to the carry-out portion 40. The object 12 to be processed is conveyed from the carry-in portion 34 to the carry-out portion 40 by the transfer roller 52.

The transport roller 52 has a cylindrical shape, and its axis extends in a direction orthogonal to the transport direction. The plurality of transfer rollers 52 all have the same diameter, and are arranged at equal intervals at a constant pitch in the transfer direction. The diameter of the transport roller installed in the heat treatment section 20 may be different from the diameter of the transport roller installed in the carry-in section 34 and the carry-out section 40. Further, the transport rollers 52 installed in the heat treatment section 20 may be arranged at a pitch different from that of the transport rollers 52 installed in the carry-in section 34 and the carry-out section 40. The transport roller 52 is rotatably supported around its axis, and rotates by transmitting the driving force of the driving device 60. A plurality of transfer rollers 52 are arranged in the heat treatment section 20, the carry-in section 34, and the carry-out section 40, and the plurality of transfer rollers 52 are all made of the same material. The material of the transfer roller 52 installed in the carry-in section 34 and the carry-out section 40 may be different from the material of the transfer roller 52 installed in the heat treatment section 20. The axial dimension of the transport roller 52 is larger than the second direction dimension of the heat treatment section 20 (see FIG. 2).

The plurality of transfer rollers 52 arranged in the heat treatment unit 20 are classified into a plurality of groups, and are collectively arranged in the classified group units. In the group in which the transfer rollers 52 are classified, when each transfer roller 52 is viewed along the axial direction (that is, the second direction or the Y direction), the warp is the largest among the plurality of parts in the axial direction of the transfer rollers 52. It is determined based on the amount of warpage of the portion to be increased (hereinafter, also referred to as the amount of warpage of the transport roller 52). As the plurality of parts in the axial direction of the transport roller 52, for example, when a portion near the center of the transport roller 52 and a plurality of objects 12 to be processed are placed side by side in the second direction on the transport roller 52, each portion to be processed is to be processed. A portion near the portion where the end portion of the object 12 in the second direction and the transport roller 52 come into contact with each other can be adopted. In this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 3, since the three objects to be processed 12a to 12c are placed side by side in the second direction on the transport roller 52, the end side (+ Y direction side) end of the object to be processed 12a is placed. The vicinity of the portion is designated as the portion A, the vicinity of the boundary between the object to be processed 12a and the object to be processed 12b is designated as the portion B, the vicinity of the axial center of the transport roller 52 is designated as the portion C, and the vicinity of the boundary between the object to be processed 12b and the object to be processed 12c Is designated as a portion D, and the vicinity of the end portion on the end portion side (−Y direction side) of the object to be processed 12c is designated as a portion E. Therefore, in this embodiment, the magnitude of the warp amount of the portion having the largest warp among the five portions A to E in the axial direction of the transport roller 52 is defined as the magnitude of the warp amount of the transport roller 52. In this embodiment, the size of the warp amount of the transport roller 52 is set from the size of the warp amount of the five parts A to E in the axial direction of the transport roller 52, but the configuration is not limited to this. .. The amount of warpage of the transfer roller 52 may be set based on the amount of warpage of more than five parts in the axial direction of the transfer roller 52, or the amount of warpage of less than five parts. It may be set based on the above. Further, a plurality of parts in the axial direction may be set regardless of the position of the object to be processed 12 placed on the transport roller 52.

In this embodiment, the transport rollers 52 arranged in the heat treatment unit 20 are classified into five groups based on the magnitude of the warp amount. In each group, the range of the amount of warpage of the transport roller 52 is set. For example, the transport roller 52 having a warp amount of less than 0.6 mm of the transport roller 52 is classified into Group G1, and the transport roller 52 having a warp amount of 0.6 mm or more and less than 1.0 mm of the transport roller 52 is classified. 52 is classified into group G2, and the transport roller 52 having a warp amount of 1.0 mm or more and less than 1.4 mm of the transport roller 52 is classified into group G3, and the warp amount of the transport roller 52 is large. The transport rollers 52 having a size of 1.4 mm or more and less than 1.8 mm are classified into the group G4, and the transport rollers 52 having a warp amount of 1.8 mm or more of the transport rollers 52 are classified into the group G5. In each group G1 to G5, the range of the amount of warpage of the transfer rollers 52 is set, so that the number of transfer rollers 52 belonging to the five groups G1 to G5 varies.

In this embodiment, in each group G1 to G5, the range of the amount of warpage of the transport roller 52 is set as described above, but the configuration is not limited to this. The transport rollers 52 may be classified into a plurality of groups based on the magnitude of the warp amount. For example, the size of the warp amount is the same so that the number of transport rollers 52 classified into the plurality of groups is the same. The range of may be set. Further, the range of the amount of warpage of the transport rollers 52 in each group G1 to G5 can be appropriately set, and the above numerical range is only an example. Further, in this embodiment, the transport rollers 52 are classified into five groups, but the configuration is not limited to this. The number of groups for classifying the transport rollers 52 can be appropriately determined based on the dimensions of the transport rollers 52, the total number of transport rollers 52 to be installed, and the like, and the number of groups for classifying the transport rollers 52 is 5 or more. It may be more or less than five.

As shown in FIG. 4, the heat treatment section 20 has a group (that is, a group) having the smallest average value of the amount of warpage on the upstream side in the transport direction, that is, near the inlet of the heat treatment section 20 (on the −X direction side in FIG. 4). The transport rollers 52 belonging to G1) are collectively arranged. By arranging in this way, it is possible to reduce the disturbance of the transportation of the object to be processed 12 near the inlet of the heat treatment unit 20, and it is possible to reduce the disturbance of the transportation of the object to be processed 12 in the entire heat treatment unit 20.

Then, downstream of the transfer roller 52 belonging to the group G1 having the smallest average value of the warp amount (on the + X direction side in FIG. 4), the transfer roller belonging to the group having the next smallest average value of the warp amount (that is, group G2). 52 are arranged together. In this way, the transport rollers 52 are collectively arranged for each group so that the average value of the amount of warpage increases from the upstream to the downstream of the heat treatment unit 20 (that is, from the inlet to the outlet of the heat treatment unit 20). To. Therefore, the heat treatment unit 20 is arranged in the order of groups G1, G2, G3, G4, and G5 when viewed in group units from upstream to downstream. By arranging in this way, the amount of warpage of the transport rollers 52 in the portion where the transport rollers 52 belonging to different groups are adjacent to each other (for example, the portion where the transport rollers 52 belonging to the group G1 and the transport rollers 52 belonging to the group G2 are adjacent to each other). The difference in size can be reduced. Further, since the transfer roller 52 having a smaller amount of warpage is arranged closer to the inlet of the heat treatment unit 20, it is possible to reduce the disturbance of the transfer of the object to be processed 12 in the entire heat treatment unit 20.

Further, in the group unit, the transport rollers 52 belonging to the same group are randomly arranged. Since the amount of warpage of the transfer rollers 52 belonging to the same group is within a certain range, the difference in the amount of warpage between these transfer rollers 52 is small. Therefore, by arranging the transport rollers 52 belonging to the same group together, even if the transport rollers 52 are randomly arranged in the group unit, the disturbance of the transport of the object 12 to be processed can be reduced.

The drive device 60 (see FIG. 1) is a drive device (for example, a motor) that drives the transfer roller 52. The drive device 60 is connected to the transfer roller 52 via a power transmission mechanism. When the driving force of the drive device 60 is transmitted to the transfer roller 52 via the power transmission mechanism, the transfer roller 52 rotates. As the power transmission mechanism, a known one can be used, and for example, a mechanism using a sprocket and a chain is used (not shown). The drive device 60 drives each of the transfer rollers 52 so that the transfer rollers 52 rotate at substantially the same speed. In this embodiment, the drive device 60 drives each of the transfer rollers 52 so that the transfer rollers 52 rotate at substantially the same speed, but the drive device 60 is not limited to such a configuration. For example, the heat treatment furnace 10 is provided with a plurality of drive devices having different driving forces, and the transfer roller 52 installed in the heat treatment unit 20 by the plurality of drive devices is a transfer roller installed in the carry-in section 34 and the carry-out section 40. It may be configured to rotate at a speed different from 52 and 54. The drive device 60 is controlled by the control device 62.

Next, a method for manufacturing the heat treatment furnace 10 will be described with reference to FIGS. 3 and 4. In this embodiment, there are features in a step of measuring the amount of warpage of the transport roller 52, a step of classifying a plurality of transport rollers 52 into each group, and a step of arranging the transport roller 52 in the heat treatment unit 20. As for the step of, a conventionally known step can be used. Therefore, in the following, only the characteristic portion of this embodiment will be described, and the description of other steps will be omitted.

The method for manufacturing the heat treatment furnace 10 of this embodiment is based on a measurement step of measuring the amount of warpage of the portion where the amount of warpage of the transport roller 52 in the direction perpendicular to the axis is the largest, and the measured amount of warpage. It includes a classification step of classifying a plurality of transport rollers 52 into a plurality of groups, and an installation step of installing a transport roller 52 belonging to a group having a small amount of warpage near the inlet of the heat treatment unit 20.

First, by the measuring step, the amount of warpage of the portion where the warp of the transport roller 52 is the largest is measured for each of the plurality of transport rollers 52. The measurement step is carried out in the following procedure. First, both ends of the transport roller 52 are rotatably supported. For example, both ends of the transport roller 52 are supported by using two V-shaped blocks.

Next, the amount of warpage of each portion A to E in the axial direction of the transport roller 52 is measured using a measuring device, for example, a dial gauge (see FIG. 3). Specifically, a dial gauge is installed at the portion A, the transport roller 52 is rotated once around the axis, and the difference between when the transport roller 52 is located at the uppermost position and when the transport roller 52 is not warped (hereinafter, warpage). (Also called quantity) is measured. The same measurement is performed for the parts B to E. After measuring the amount of warpage of each part A to E, the measurement results of the five parts A to E are compared, and the amount of warpage of the part having the largest amount of warpage among the amount of warpage of parts A to E is determined by the transport roller 52. The amount of warpage.

When the amount of warpage of each transfer roller 52 is measured, each transfer roller 52 is classified into one of the groups G1 to G5 by the classification step. Each transport roller 52 is classified into one of the groups G1 to G5 based on the magnitude of the warp amount of the transport roller 52 measured in the measuring step.

When the plurality of transfer rollers 52 are classified into any of the groups G1 to G5, the transfer rollers 52 belonging to the group G1 having the smallest average value of the warp amount are located near the inlet of the heat treatment unit 20 (that is, heat treatment) depending on the installation process. It is installed at the upstream end of the portion 20 (see FIG. 4). At this time, all the transfer rollers 52 belonging to the group G1 are continuously installed in the heat treatment unit 20. The present embodiment is characterized in that the transport roller 52 belonging to the group G1 is installed near the entrance of the heat treatment unit 20 (that is, the upstream end of the heat treatment unit 20), and the other procedures of the installation process are described. Since a conventionally known method can be used, detailed description of other procedures in the installation process will be omitted.

Further, the installation step further includes a step of installing the transport rollers 52 belonging to the other groups G2 to G5 in group units downstream of the transport rollers 52 belonging to the group G1. At this time, when viewed in group units, the transport rollers 52 are group-by-group so that the average value of the amount of warpage increases from the upstream to the downstream of the heat treatment unit 20 (that is, from the inlet to the outlet of the heat treatment unit 20). It is installed together in. Specifically, all the transfer rollers 52 belonging to the group G2 are installed downstream of the transfer rollers 52 belonging to the group G1. Then, all the transport rollers 52 belonging to the group G3 are installed downstream of the transport rollers 52 belonging to the group G2, and all the transport rollers 52 belonging to the group G4 and all the transport rollers 52 belonging to the group G5 are further downstream thereof. Installed in order.

Next, the operation of the heat treatment furnace 10 when the object 12 to be treated is heat-treated will be described. In order to heat-treat the object 12 to be processed, first, the heaters 30 and 32 are operated to set the ambient temperature of the space 24 to a set temperature. Next, the three objects to be processed 12 are moved from the outside of the heat treatment furnace 10 onto the transfer rollers 52 installed in the carry-in section 34, respectively. At this time, three objects 12 to be processed are placed side by side in the second direction. Next, the drive device 60 is operated to convey the three objects 12 to be processed arranged in the second direction from the carry-in portion 34 through the opening 26 into the space 24 of the heat treatment portion 20. The object 12 to be transported in the space 24 is transported in the space 24 from the opening 26 to the opening 28. As a result, the object 12 to be treated is heat-treated. Then, the heat-treated object 12 is conveyed to the carry-out section 40 through the opening 28, and is carried out from the carry-out section 40.

Since the transfer roller 52 is warped or distorted during manufacturing, all the transfer rollers 52 installed in the heat treatment furnace 10 cannot have exactly the same shape. Further, since the magnitude of the warp amount generated in each transport roller 52 is different, if the transport roller 52 is installed in the heat treatment unit 20 without considering the magnitude of the warp amount of the transport roller 52, the transport rollers 52 are located between the adjacent transport rollers 52. There may be a large difference in the amount of warpage. If there is a difference in the amount of warpage between the adjacent transport rollers 52, the object to be processed 12 cannot be smoothly connected, which causes the object to be processed 12 to meander. In particular, since the heat treatment furnace 10 of this embodiment has a relatively long dimension in the transport direction of the heat treatment section 20, if the object to be processed 12 meanders near the inlet of the heat treatment section 20, the distance that the meandering influence continues becomes long.

In this embodiment, the transport rollers 52 are classified into a plurality of groups based on the magnitude of the warp amount of the transport rollers 52, and the transport rollers 52 belonging to the group having a small average value of the warp amount are arranged near the inlet of the heat treatment unit 20. doing. As a result, it is possible to reduce the disturbance in the transportation of the object 12 to be processed near the entrance of the transportation path. Therefore, it is possible to reduce the disturbance of the transport of the object to be processed 12 in the entire transport path, and the object to be processed 12 can be smoothly transported.

In this embodiment, the transport rollers 52 are arranged so that the average value of the amount of warpage increases from the upstream to the downstream of the heat treatment unit 20, but the configuration is not limited to this. For example, a transfer roller 52 belonging to the group G1 having the smallest average value of the warp amount is arranged near the inlet of the heat treatment unit 20, and the remaining transfer rollers 52 (that is, the transfer rollers 52 belonging to the groups G2 to G5) are arranged downstream of the transfer roller 52. ) May be randomly arranged. Even with such a configuration, it is possible to reduce the turbulence of the transport near the inlet of the transport roller 52, and it is possible to reduce the turbulence of the transport of the object 12 to be processed in the entire transport path.

(Example 2)
In the heat treatment furnace 10 of the first embodiment, the transfer roller 52 of the same material is installed in the heat treatment section 20, but the configuration is not limited to this. For example, the heat treatment section 20 may be provided with transfer rollers 52a and 52b made of different materials. In the heat treatment furnace 10 of this embodiment, the configurations of the transfer rollers 52a and 52b installed in the heat treatment section 20 are different from the configurations of the transfer rollers 52 installed in the heat treatment section 20 of Example 1, and other components. The configuration is almost the same. Therefore, the description of the same configuration as that of the heat treatment furnace 10 of the first embodiment will be omitted.

In this embodiment, the plurality of transfer rollers 52a and 52b arranged in the heat treatment unit 20 are classified into two large groups based on the material thereof, and further divided into a plurality of small groups based on the magnitude of the warp amount. being classified. First, the transport rollers 52a and 52b are classified based on their materials. Specifically, the transfer rollers 52a and 52b are classified into two large groups, a large group Ga to which the transfer roller 52a belongs and a large group Gb to which the transfer roller 52b made of a material different from the transfer roller 52a belongs. For example, the transfer roller 52a can be formed of a material of the first material, and the transfer roller 52b can be formed of a material of a second material different from the first material. By changing the material of the transfer roller 52 according to the position of the heat treatment unit 20, it is possible to impart the characteristics according to the position of the heat treatment unit 20 to the transfer roller 52.

The transport rollers 52a and 52b classified into the large groups Ga and Gb are further classified based on the magnitude of the warp amount. Here, the number of small groups that further classify the transport rollers 52a classified into the large group Ga and the number of small groups that further classify the transport rollers 52b classified into the large group Gb do not have to be the same. It can be appropriately determined based on the materials of the transport rollers 52a and 52b, the number of the transport rollers 52a and 52b to be installed, and the like. For example, when the number of transport rollers 52a and 52b installed in the heat treatment unit 20 is large, they are classified into many small groups, and when the number of transport rollers 52a and 52b installed in the heat treatment unit 20 is small, the number is small. It may be classified into groups. In this embodiment, the transfer rollers 52a are installed in the heat treatment section 20 in a relatively large number, and the transfer rollers 52b are installed in the heat treatment section 20 in a relatively small number. Therefore, the transport rollers 52a classified into the large group Ga are further classified into five small groups based on the magnitude of the warp amount, and the transport rollers 52b classified into the large group Gb are classified into the magnitude of the warp amount. Based on this, it is further divided into three subgroups. Specifically, the transport rollers 52a belonging to the large group Ga are further classified into the small groups Ga1 to Ga5 in ascending order of the average value of the magnitude of the warp amount, and the transport rollers 52b belonging to the large group Gb have the large warpage amount. It is further classified into small groups Gb1 to Gb3 in ascending order of average value.

As shown in FIG. 5, in the heat treatment section 20, a transfer roller 52a belonging to the large group Ga and a transfer roller 52b belonging to the large group Gb are continuously arranged. Specifically, the transfer rollers 52a belonging to the large group Ga are continuously arranged on the upstream side of the heat treatment unit 20 in the transfer direction, and the transfer rollers 52b belonging to the large group Gb are continuously arranged on the downstream side of the heat treatment unit 20 in the transfer direction. Is placed. By arranging in this way, the transfer rollers 52a and 52b of the same material can be continuously arranged. Therefore, for example, when the atmosphere in the heat treatment section 20 is changed depending on the location, the transfer rollers 52a and 52b having characteristics suitable for each atmosphere can be arranged according to the location of the heat treatment section 20.

The arrangement of the transfer rollers 52a belonging to the large group Ga (that is, the small groups Ga1 to Ga5) arranged on the upstream side in the transfer direction of the heat treatment unit 20 will be further described. In the vicinity of the inlet of the heat treatment unit 20, the transport rollers 52a belonging to the small group Ga1 having the smallest average value of the warpage amount among the small groups Ga1 to Ga5 are collectively arranged. By arranging in this way, it is possible to reduce the disturbance of the transportation of the object to be processed 12 near the inlet of the heat treatment unit 20, and it is possible to reduce the disturbance of the transportation of the object to be processed 12 in the entire heat treatment unit 20.

Then, in the transport roller 52a belonging to the large group Ga, the average value of the amount of warpage becomes substantially mountain-shaped from the upstream to the downstream of the heat treatment unit 20 (that is, from the inlet to the outlet of the heat treatment unit 20). The transfer rollers 52a are arranged together in groups. In this specification, when the average value of the warpage amount of the small groups Ga1 to Ga5 is graphed in the order in which they are arranged from the inlet to the outlet of the heat treatment unit 20, the bending point (that is, the inflection point) is formed. The shape in which one point exists is referred to as a "substantially mountain shape". Specifically, it corresponds to the case where the average value of the amount of warpage gradually increases from the inlet to the exit and then gradually decreases from the inlet to the exit. In this embodiment, the transport roller 52a belonging to the small group Ga3 is arranged downstream of the transport roller 52a belonging to the small group Ga1, and the transport roller 52a belonging to the small group Ga5 is further downstream thereof. Then, the transfer roller 52a belonging to the small group Ga4 is arranged downstream of the transfer roller 52a belonging to the small group Ga5, and the transfer roller 52a belonging to the small group Ga2 is further arranged downstream thereof. Therefore, when viewed in group units, the small groups Ga1, Ga3, Ga5, Ga4, and Ga2 are arranged in this order from upstream to downstream. In this case, the inflection point is located at the boundary between the small groups Ga5 and Ga4. By arranging in this way, in the portion where the transport rollers 52a belonging to different groups are adjacent to each other (for example, the portion where the transport rollers 52a belonging to the small group Ga1 and the transport rollers 52a belonging to the small group Ga3 are adjacent to each other), the transport rollers 52a It is possible to avoid a large difference in the amount of warpage, and it is possible to reduce the disturbance in the transportation of the object 12 to be processed.

Subsequently, the arrangement of the transfer rollers 52b belonging to the large group Gb (that is, the small groups Gb1 to Gb3) arranged on the downstream side in the transfer direction of the heat treatment unit 20 will be further described. The portion adjacent to the transport roller 52a belonging to the large group Ga (that is, the portion adjacent to the transport roller 52a belonging to the small group Ga2) is the small group Gb1 having the smallest average value of the warpage amount among the small groups Gb1 to Gb3. The transport rollers 52b to which they belong are arranged together. On the most downstream side of the transport rollers 52a belonging to the large group Ga, the transport rollers 52a belonging to the small group Ga2 having a relatively small average value of the amount of warpage are arranged. Therefore, by arranging the transfer rollers 52b belonging to the small group Gb1 having the smallest average value of the warp amount in the portion adjacent to the transfer rollers 52a belonging to the large group Ga, the transfer rollers 52a belonging to the large group Ga and the large group Gb It is possible to avoid a large difference in the amount of warpage between the transport rollers 52a and 52b in the portion where the transport rollers 52b belonging to the above are adjacent to each other.

Then, in the transport rollers 52b belonging to the large group Gb, the transport rollers 52b are collectively arranged in groups so that the average value of the amount of warpage increases from the upstream to the downstream of the heat treatment unit 20. Specifically, when viewed in group units, the small groups Gb1, Gb2, and Gb3 are arranged in this order from upstream to downstream. Therefore, in the present embodiment, the transport rollers 52a belonging to the large group Ga belong to the large group Gb while the transport rollers 52a are arranged so that the average value of the amount of warpage is substantially mountain-shaped from the upstream to the downstream of the heat treatment unit 20. The transport roller 52b is arranged so that the amount of warpage gradually increases.

In this embodiment, the transport rollers 52a and 52b made of different materials are arranged together in a large group unit, and the transport rollers 52a arranged on the upstream side have a warp amount from the upstream to the downstream of the heat treatment unit 20. Arranged so that the average value is approximately mountain-shaped. Therefore, also in this embodiment, the difference in the amount of warpage of the transport rollers 52a and 52b can be reduced in the portion where the transport rollers 52a and 52b classified into different groups are adjacent to each other, and the object to be processed 12 Disturbance of transportation can be reduced.

Although specific examples of the techniques disclosed in the present specification have been described in detail above, these are merely examples and do not limit the scope of claims. The techniques described in the claims include various modifications and modifications of the specific examples illustrated above. In addition, the technical elements described in the present specification or the drawings exhibit technical usefulness alone or in various combinations, and are not limited to the combinations described in the claims at the time of filing.

The drive device 60 (see FIG. 1) is a drive device (for example, a motor) that drives the transfer roller 52. The drive device 60 is connected to the transfer roller 52 via a power transmission mechanism. When the driving force of the drive device 60 is transmitted to the transfer roller 52 via the power transmission mechanism, the transfer roller 52 rotates. As the power transmission mechanism, a known one can be used, and for example, a mechanism using a sprocket and a chain is used (not shown). The drive device 60 drives each of the transfer rollers 52 so that the transfer rollers 52 rotate at substantially the same speed. In this embodiment, the drive device 60 drives each of the transfer rollers 52 so that the transfer rollers 52 rotate at substantially the same speed, but the drive device 60 is not limited to such a configuration. For example, the heat treatment furnace 10 is provided with a plurality of drive devices having different driving forces, and the transfer roller 52 installed in the heat treatment unit 20 by the plurality of drive devices is a transfer roller installed in the carry-in section 34 and the carry-out section 40. 5 2 and may be configured to rotate at different speeds. The drive device 60 is controlled by the control device 62.

Claims (4)

A heat treatment furnace that heat-treats an object to be processed.
A heat treatment unit provided with a space for heat-treating the object to be treated,
It is provided with a plurality of transport rollers arranged in the heat treatment section and transport the object to be processed.
The plurality of transport rollers arranged in the heat treatment section are classified into a plurality of groups based on the magnitude of the warp amount of the portion where the magnitude of the warp in the direction perpendicular to the axis of the transport roller is the largest.
A heat treatment furnace in which a transfer roller belonging to the group having the smallest average value of the warpage amount among the plurality of classified groups is arranged at the upstream end of the heat treatment unit in the transfer direction. In the heat treatment section, the transfer rollers classified into the same group are collectively arranged in group units so as to be continuously arranged in the transfer direction.
The plurality of transfer rollers are arranged so that the average value of the amount of warpage of the transfer rollers classified into the group increases from upstream to downstream in the transfer direction when viewed in units of the group. Item 2. The heat treatment furnace according to item 1. The plurality of transfer rollers arranged in the heat treatment section are classified into a plurality of large groups based on the material of the transfer rollers, and the transfer rollers classified into the plurality of large groups are further based on the magnitude of the warp amount. Is classified into multiple small groups
The plurality of transfer rollers are continuously arranged in the transfer direction for each of the large groups, and the transfer rollers belonging to at least the large group arranged on the upstream side include a plurality of small groups belonging to the large group. The heat treatment furnace according to claim 1, wherein the average value of the amount of warpage is arranged so as to have a substantially mountain shape from the upstream to the downstream in the transport direction. A heat treatment unit having a space for heat-treating the object to be treated,
A method for manufacturing a heat treatment furnace, which is arranged in the heat treatment section and includes a plurality of transfer rollers for conveying the object to be processed.
A measurement step of measuring the amount of warpage of a portion where the magnitude of warpage in the direction perpendicular to the axis of the transport roller is the largest for each of the plurality of transport rollers arranged in the heat treatment section.
A classification step of classifying the plurality of transport rollers into a plurality of groups based on the magnitude of the warp amount measured in the measurement step, and a classification step.
A method for manufacturing a heat treatment furnace, comprising an installation step of installing a transport roller belonging to the group having the smallest average value of the warpage amount among a plurality of classified groups at the upstream end of the heat treatment section in the transport direction.

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