KR20080084531A - Continuous firing furnace - Google Patents

Abstract

A continuous firing furnace is provided to efficiently cool the entire surface of a treatment object such as a glass substrate and perform a cooling operation within a short time while preventing partial bending or deformation of the treatment object by installing exhaust ducts in a cooling chamber and controlling a flow path of the cooling air after cooling air has been introduced into the cooling chamber. As a continuous firing furnace having a cooling chamber(15) in which a heated treatment object(100) is carried along a predetermined carrying direction, the continuous firing furnace is characterized in that the cooling chamber includes introduction duct(1) for uniformly ejecting cooling gas along the entire area in a direction perpendicular to the carrying direction, and exhaust ducts(2) for uniformly ejecting gas in the cooling chamber along the entire area in the direction perpendicular to the carrying direction, the cooling chamber having the introduction ducts and the exhaust ducts formed on the same inner wall surface thereof along the carrying direction. The exhaust ducts are disposed at the upper stream side of the introduction ducts in the carrying direction. The introduction ducts eject the cooling gas toward the exhaust ducts within the cooling chamber. The introduction ducts and the exhaust ducts are formed on an upper inner wall surface(15A) of the cooling chamber.

Description

Continuous kiln {CONTINUOUS FIRING FURNACE}

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a continuous kiln in which uniform heat treatment, slow cooling treatment and cooling treatment are successively performed on the object to be treated of the gas substrate for plasma display panel (PDP).

The continuous kiln is provided with a heating chamber and a slow cooling chamber inside the furnace, and a cooling chamber is provided outside the furnace. The conveying means which conveys a process object continuously is arrange | positioned between the heating chamber to the cooling chamber via the slow cooling chamber. As a conveying means, the continuous firing furnace of the roller-bus system which arrange | positions many rollers at the same interval is known.

A plurality of rollers are rotated with both ends being exposed to the outside from the through-holes of the side walls of the furnace and the cooling chamber, and a driving force supplied to one end side exposed to the outside. The glass substrate to be processed is conveyed in a state where it is placed on a thin setter by the rotation of a plurality of rollers.

As one example, the glass substrate is heated to 500 to 600 ° C. while being conveyed inside the heating chamber and maintained for a predetermined time (uniform heat treatment), and then the temperature is about 350 to 450 ° C. while being conveyed inside the slow cooling chamber. Is lowered (slow cooling treatment) and quenched to a temperature that can be taken out while being conveyed from the inside of the cooling chamber (cooling treatment) (see, for example, Patent Document 1 below). The cooling chamber is equipped with a water cooling fin cooler and a fan filter unit (hereinafter referred to as FFU). The water-cooled fin cooler cools the object to be treated. FFU secures the transparency of the area through which the treatment object passes.

[Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2003-148869

The water-cooled fin coolers and the FFUs provided in the cooling chambers of the conventional continuous kiln are respectively provided for individual uses, and do not exhibit functions while cooperating together. In addition, the conventional cooling chamber is not provided with an exhaust means, and the cooling air introduced into the cooling chamber is exhausted to the outside from each of the various through-holes for the roller formed on the side wall of the cooling chamber after the atmosphere of the cooling chamber and the glass substrate are heat exchanged. do. Inside the cooling chamber, the outside air is partially introduced by interposing a plurality of introduction ducts from the FFU. However, only a part of the glass substrate is rapidly cooled in the vicinity of the introduction duct, and partial warpage or deformation may occur.

An object of the present invention is to provide an exhaust duct in the cooling chamber to control the flow path of the cooling air after being introduced into the cooling chamber so that the entire surface of the object, such as a glass substrate, can be efficiently cooled, and partially It is an object of the present invention to provide a continuous firing furnace which can realize cooling treatment in a short time without warping or deformation.

In the continuous firing furnace of the present invention, an introduction duct and an exhaust duct are provided on the same inner wall surface of the cooling chamber into which the object to be processed after heating is carried in along a predetermined conveying direction. The introduction duct flushes the cooling gas evenly over the whole in the direction perpendicular to the conveying direction. The exhaust duct uniformly discharges the gas in the cooling chamber over the whole in the direction perpendicular to the conveying direction. The introduction duct and the exhaust duct are arranged along the conveying direction.

In the structure of this invention, the flow path of a cooling gas is uniformly formed in the cooling chamber over the whole width direction of the furnace perpendicular | vertical to a conveyance direction along the conveyance direction of a process target. The cooling gas is uniformly in contact with the entire surface of the object to be conveyed inside the cooling chamber, and the entire surface of the object is uniformly cooled.

In the structure of this invention, it is also preferable to arrange | position the exhaust duct in the conveyance direction upstream. The object to be treated can be efficiently brought into contact with the cooling gas, and the cooling efficiency can be improved.

In addition, it is also preferable that the introduction duct blows the cooling gas toward the exhaust duct. The flow path of the cooling gas can be efficiently formed from the introduction duct toward the exhaust duct.

That is, it is also preferable that the introduction duct and the exhaust duct are provided on the inner wall surface above the cooling chamber. In the roller-bus continuous kiln, the object to be processed which is placed on the setter and conveyed can be efficiently cooled by bringing a cooling gas into contact with the upper surface thereof.

According to the present invention, in the cooling chamber, the flow path of the cooling gas can be uniformly formed over the whole width direction of the furnace along the conveying direction of the object to be treated. The cooling gas can be brought into uniform contact with the entire surface of the object to be conveyed inside the cooling chamber, and the entire surface of the object on the treatment table can be cooled uniformly. As a result, the cooling treatment can be realized in a short time without causing partial warping or deformation of the object to be treated.

Hereinafter, specific embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. 1 is a side cross-sectional view showing an example of a continuous firing furnace according to an embodiment of the present invention. The continuous kiln 10 is equipped with the 1st heating chamber 12, the 2nd heating chamber 13, and the slow cooling chamber 14 in the furnace 11 along the conveyance direction X, and conveyance direction X In the furnace 11, the cooling chamber 15 is provided outside the furnace 11 on the downstream side of the slow cooling chamber 14. In the 1st heating chamber 12, the 2nd heating chamber 13, the slow cooling chamber 14, and the cooling chamber 15, many rollers 16 rotate freely at equal intervals along the conveyance direction X. It is arranged.

The first heating chamber 12 performs the first temperature raising treatment and the first uniform heat treatment, and as an example, heats the object to 350 to 400 ° C. and maintains this state for 20 minutes. The second heating chamber 13 performs the second temperature raising treatment and the second uniform heat treatment, and as an example, heats the object to 600 ° C. and maintains this state for 30 minutes. The slow cooling chamber 14 performs a cooling treatment, and, as an example, cools the object to 400 ° C. over 40 minutes. The slow cooling chamber 15 performs a cooling treatment, and, as an example, cools the treatment object to room temperature in about 50 minutes.

The plurality of rollers 16 are axially supported from both ends through the side walls of the furnace 11 and the cooling chamber 15. The plurality of rollers 16 are supplied with a driving force from one end side to rotate, and transport the processed object 100 such as a glass substrate mounted on the upper surface of the setter 200 along the conveying direction X.

2 is a side sectional view of a cooling chamber in the continuous kiln. (A) and (B) of FIG. 3 are sectional drawing in the A-A position and B-B position of FIG. 2, respectively. The cooling chamber 15 is provided with the introduction duct 1 and the exhaust duct 2. The introduction duct 1 and the exhaust duct 2 form an opening in 15 A of upper inner wall surfaces of the cooling chamber 15 as an example.

A water-cooling jacket (not shown) is disposed on the upper wall surface of the cooling chamber 15, and a plurality of water-cooling fins 15B protrude from the inner wall surface 15A of the upper side. As an example, the water-cooled jacket is embedded with heat-transfer cement in a state in which a copper pipe through which cooling water flows in a SUS muffle (cover) is wound in a coil shape. The water-cooled fins 15B are arranged with the lengthwise direction parallel to the conveying direction X, so that heat exchange between the atmosphere in the cooling chamber 15 and the cooling water in the cooling jacket occurs actively.

In the example shown in FIG. 2, the introduction duct 1 and the exhaust duct 2 are provided in plural pairs. In each pair, the exhaust duct 2 is arranged upstream of the inlet duct 1 in the conveyance direction X as an example.

The introduction duct 1 has a filter 17 and a wind direction plate 18. The inlet duct 1 is supplied with air from a high pressure clean air, CDA (clean dry air) or blower (not shown). The filter 17 removes dust from the air passing downwards. The wind direction plate 18 directs the direction in which air is blown out from the introduction duct 1 to the upstream side in the conveying direction X.

The air supplied to the inlet duct 1 is blown out in the cooling chamber 15 upstream in the cooling chamber 15 after the dust is removed from the filter 17. The inlet duct 1 is opened in the cooling chamber 15 almost all over the width direction Y of the furnace perpendicular | vertical to the conveyance direction X, and blows air uniformly over almost the whole width direction Y of the furnace.

The exhaust duct 2 is provided with the fan 21. The fan 21 discharges the air in the cooling chamber 15 to the outside via the exhaust duct 2. The exhaust duct 2 is open over the whole width direction Y of the furnace inside the cooling chamber 15, and discharges the air in the cooling chamber 15 uniformly from almost the whole width direction Y of the furnace.

The air discharged from the introduction duct 1 flows along the upper surface of the object 100 to be upstream in the conveying direction X. The exhaust duct 2 mainly discharges the air above the object 100 to the outside.

However, the air flowing in the upstream side of the conveying direction X along the upper surface of the object 100 after being discharged from the inlet duct 1 is mainly exchanged with the object 100 after being heat-exchanged to the outside along the exhaust duct 2. Discharged. The flow path of the cooling gas is formed uniformly in almost the entire width direction Y of the furnace from the downstream side in the conveyance direction X to the upper side of the object 100 to be processed.

Water-cooled fins 15B protrude from the inner wall surface 15A where the inlet duct 1 and the exhaust duct 2 form an opening, and the flow path of air introduced from the inlet duct 1 is a water-cooled fin 15B. The length of is parallel to the long direction. The introduced air is cooled by the water-cooled fins 15B while flowing above the object 100 and continues heat exchange with the object 100 until it is discharged from the exhaust duct 2. In cooperation with the introduction duct 1, the exhaust duct 2, and the water-cooled fin 15B, the object to be treated 100 is efficiently cooled.

In the cooling chamber 15, the treatment object 100 is uniformly cooled in the entire upper surface by a cooling gas. The treatment object 100 can be cooled within a short time without causing warpage or deformation to the treatment object 100.

The present invention can be similarly applied to a setlessless continuous kiln in which the object to be processed 100 is not directly placed on the setter 200 but is directly conveyed by the roller 16.

In addition, in the conveyance direction X, the space | interval of the introduction duct 1 and the exhaust duct 2 can be set suitably based on the length of the process target object 100, the length of the cooling chamber 15, etc. The inlet duct 1 and the exhaust duct 2 do not necessarily need to be installed in pairs.

The surface on which the introduction duct 1 and the exhaust duct 2 are disposed in the cooling chamber 15 is not limited to the inner wall surface 15A on the upper side, and may be disposed on another surface provided that they are on the same surface. have. However, considering the cooperation with the water-cooled fin 15B and the cooling efficiency with respect to the object 100 to be conveyed on the roller 16, the inlet duct 1 and the exhaust duct 2 are disposed on the inner wall surface of the upper side ( It is most efficient to arrange at 15A).

It should also be noted that the description of the above-described embodiments is all illustrative and not restrictive. The scope of the invention is indicated by the claims rather than the above-described embodiments. In other words, the scope of the present invention means that all changes which come within the meaning and range equivalent to the claims are included.

1 is a side cross-sectional view showing an example of a continuous firing furnace according to an embodiment of the present invention.

2 is a side sectional view of a cooling chamber in the continuous firing furnace.

3 is a sectional view A on line A-A in FIG. 2 and a cross sectional view B on line B-B in FIG. 2.

[Description of Major Reference Code]

1: introduction duct

2: exhaust duct

10: continuous kiln

11: slave

15: cooling chamber

100: object to be treated

Claims (4)

A continuous kiln with a cooling chamber into which a processed object after heating is carried in a predetermined conveying direction, The cooling chamber includes an introduction duct for uniformly blowing out the cooling gas in the direction perpendicular to the conveying direction, and an exhaust duct uniformly discharging the gas in the cooling chamber throughout the entire direction in the direction perpendicular to the conveying direction, A continuous firing furnace provided on the same inner wall surface along the conveying direction. The method of claim 1, The exhaust duct is disposed in an upstream side of the introduction duct in the conveying direction. The method according to claim 1 or 2, The inlet duct is a continuous firing, characterized in that the cooling gas in the cooling chamber toward the exhaust duct. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 3, The inlet duct and the exhaust duct are provided on the upper inner wall surface of the cooling chamber.

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