TW201930803A - Heat treatment furnace and method for manufacturing same - Google Patents

Abstract

This heat treatment furnace performs a heat treatment on an object to be treated. The heat treatment furnace is provided with: a heat treatment part that is provided with a space for performing a heat treatment on the object to be treated; and a plurality of conveyance rollers that are arranged in the heat treatment part and that convey the object. The conveyance rollers provided to the heat treatment part are classified into a plurality of groups on the basis of the magnitude of curvature amounts of portions, of the respective conveyance rollers, where the curvatures thereof in an axis perpendicular direction are the largest. Conveyance rollers, belonging to a group having a small average curvature amount among the classified groups, are arranged on the upstream side of the conveying direction of the heat treatment part.

Description

Heat treatment furnace and manufacturing method thereof

The technique disclosed in this patent specification relates to a heat treatment furnace for heat-treating a workpiece and a method of manufacturing the same.

The object to be treated is sometimes subjected to heat treatment using a heat treatment furnace (for example, a roller hearth furnace or the like). This heat treatment furnace includes a plurality of conveyance rollers, and conveys the workpiece by rotating the conveyance roller while the workpiece is placed on the conveyance roller. An example of a heat treatment furnace is disclosed in Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. 2015-64189.

[Problems to be solved by the invention]

The conveyance roller provided in such a heat treatment furnace is deformed by warpage or the like at the time of its manufacture. Therefore, when the conveyance roller is provided in the heat treatment furnace, the conveyance roller which generate|occur|produces the warpage amount of predetermined magnitude or more is excluded, and only the curvature amount is the fixed range. However, even if the amount of warpage is within a fixed range, if the amount of warpage between the adjacent conveyance rollers is greatly different, the transfer of the workpiece to the adjacent conveyance roller during conveyance cannot be smoothed. The ground is carried out, and the problem of the object being processed is snaked. In particular, when this problem occurs near the entrance of the conveyance path, since the subsequent conveyance is continuously affected, this problem becomes remarkable in the heat treatment furnace in which the conveyance distance of the workpiece is long. This patent specification discloses a technique for smoothly conveying a workpiece in a conveyance path as a whole.
[Means for solving the problem]

The object to be treated is heat-treated in the heat treatment furnace disclosed in this patent specification. The heat treatment furnace includes a heat treatment portion including a space for heat-treating the workpiece, and a plurality of conveyance rollers disposed in the heat treatment portion to carry the workpiece. The plurality of conveyance rollers disposed in the heat treatment portion are classified into a plurality of groups according to the amount of warpage of the portion where the warpage of the conveyance roller is maximized in the direction perpendicular to the axis. In the upstream end of the heat treatment portion in the conveyance direction, a conveyance roller belonging to the group having the smallest average value of the warpage amount among the plurality of groups of the classification is disposed.

In the heat treatment furnace described above, the conveyance roller having the smallest average value of the amount of warpage is disposed at the upstream end of the heat treatment portion in the conveyance direction, so that the conveyance of the workpiece near the entrance of the conveyance path can be reduced. . As a result, the entire conveyance path can reduce the conveyance of the workpiece, and the workpiece can be smoothly conveyed.

Further, in the method for producing a heat treatment furnace disclosed in the present specification, a heat treatment furnace is provided, the heat treatment furnace comprising: a heat treatment portion including a space for heat-treating the workpiece; and a plurality of conveyance rollers disposed in the heat treatment And conveying the processed object; the manufacturing method of the heat treatment furnace includes: a measuring step of measuring a warpage of the conveying roller in a direction perpendicular to the axis of the plurality of conveying rollers disposed in the heat treating portion The amount of warpage that becomes the largest part; the sorting step is to classify the plurality of conveyance rollers into a plurality of groups according to the amount of warpage measured in the measuring step; and the setting step is upstream of the conveyance direction of the heat treatment portion At the end, the transport roller of the group having the smallest average value of the warpage amount among the plurality of the classified groups is set.

In the above-described method for producing a heat treatment furnace, a conveyance roller belonging to the group having the smallest average value of the amount of warpage among the plurality of groups classified is provided at the upstream end in the conveyance direction of the heat treatment portion. Therefore, the conveyance of the workpiece in the vicinity of the entrance of the conveyance path can be reduced, and the workpiece can be conveyed smoothly in the entire conveyance path.

The main features of the embodiments described below are listed in advance. Further, the technical elements described below are independent of each other, and are technically useful individually or in various combinations, and are not limited to the combinations described in the patent application scope when the patent is filed.

(Feature 1) In the heat treatment furnace disclosed in this patent specification, the heat treatment unit may be arranged in a group unit in a group unit to continuously arrange the conveyance rollers classified into the same group in the conveyance direction. The plurality of conveyance rollers may be arranged such that the average value of the amount of warpage of the conveyance rollers classified into the group becomes larger from the upstream of the conveyance direction to the downstream when viewed in units of groups. According to this configuration, by continuously arranging the conveyance rollers classified into the same group in the conveyance direction, the regions of the conveyance rollers classified into the same group are collectively arranged, and the amount of warpage between the adjacent conveyance rollers can be increased. The difference in size becomes smaller. Further, the plurality of groups classified are arranged such that the average value of the amount of warpage of the conveyance rollers becomes larger from the upstream of the conveyance direction to the downstream. Therefore, in the portion adjacent to the conveyance roller classified into the different groups, the difference in the amount of warpage of the conveyance roller can be made small. Moreover, a conveyance roller of a group having a small amount of warpage is provided on the upstream side in the conveyance direction. A conveyance roller of a group having a large amount of warpage is provided on the downstream side in the conveyance direction. Therefore, the conveyance roller which has a smaller amount of the entrance warpage of the conveyance path is arranged, and the conveyance of the to-be-processed object can become small in the conveyance path whole.

(Feature 2) In the heat treatment furnace disclosed in this patent specification, the plurality of conveyance rollers disposed in the heat treatment portion are classified into a plurality of large groups according to the material of the conveyance roller, and are classified into a plurality of large arrays. The transport roller system is further classified into a complex array group according to the amount of warpage. Further, a plurality of transport rollers may be continuously disposed in each of the large groups in the transport direction, and at least the transport roller system of the large group disposed on the upstream side is configured to be an average of the warpage amount of the complex array group belonging to the large group. The value becomes a mountain shape from the upstream to the downstream of the conveyance direction. According to this configuration, by continuously arranging the conveying rollers having the same material, the conveying rollers having the same material are collectively arranged in the heat treatment portion. For example, the plurality of conveyance rollers are classified into a first large group composed of a conveyance roller formed of a first material, and a conveyance roller formed of a second material having a property different from that of the first material system. In the case of the second largest group, the transport rollers belonging to the first large group are continuously arranged in the transport direction, and the transport rollers belonging to the second largest group are continuously arranged in the transport direction. Moreover, the conveyance roller which consists of a large group arrange|positioned on the upstream side is arrange|positioned, and the average value of the amount of the curvature of the conveyance roller is substantially mountain type. For example, the average value of the amount of warpage configured to be the conveyance roller gradually increases from the upstream to the downstream, and then gradually decreases from the upstream to the downstream. Therefore, in the portion adjacent to the conveyance roller that is classified into a large group, the conveyance roller of the group in which the average value of the amount of warpage is relatively small is adjacent. As a result, at the boundary portion of these, it is possible to prevent the difference in the amount of warpage of the conveyance roller from becoming large. Therefore, the irregularity of handling of the object to be processed can be made small.
[Examples]
(Example 1)

Hereinafter, the heat treatment furnace 10 of the first embodiment will be described. As shown in FIG. 1 , the heat treatment furnace 10 includes a heat treatment unit 20 , a loading unit 34 , a carry-out unit 40 , and a conveyance device 50 . In the heat treatment furnace 10, the workpiece 12 is conveyed between the workpieces 12 in the heat treatment unit 20 by the conveyance device 50, and the workpiece 12 is heat-treated.

The material to be processed 12 is, for example, a laminate in which a dielectric body (base material) made of ceramics and an electrode are laminated, or a positive electrode material or a negative electrode material of a lithium ion battery. When the ceramic laminate is heat-treated using the heat treatment furnace 10, the objects to be processed are placed in a flat carrier plate and conveyed in the furnace. Further, when the positive electrode material or the negative electrode material of the lithium ion battery is heat-treated by using the heat treatment furnace 10, the objects to be processed are stored in a box-shaped crucible and conveyed in the furnace. The heat treatment furnace 10 of the present embodiment can be conveyed in a state in which a plurality of sheet carriers or rafts are arranged in the conveyance direction on the conveyance rollers 52 (described later). Hereinafter, in the present embodiment, the entirety of the substance to be heat-treated, the carrier plate on which the material to be heat-treated, or the material containing the substance is placed is referred to as "the object to be treated 12". In the following description, the direction in which the workpiece 12 is conveyed (the direction perpendicular to the YZ plane in FIG. 1) may be referred to as "transport direction" or "first direction", and may be horizontal and perpendicular to the first direction. The direction (the direction perpendicular to the XZ plane of Fig. 1) is referred to as the "second direction".

The heat treatment unit 20 includes a substantially rectangular box-shaped furnace body, and an outer wall 22 is provided inside the furnace body to surround the surrounding space 24. An opening 26 is formed in the front end surface (the end surface on the -X side in Fig. 1) of the outer wall 22, 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 workpiece 12 is transported from the opening 26 into the heat treatment unit 20 by the transport device 50, and is transported from the opening 28 to the outside of the heat treatment unit 20. That is, the opening 26 is used as the carry-in port of the heat treatment portion 20, and the opening 28 is used as the carry-out port of the heat treatment portion 20.

In the space 24, a plurality of conveyance rollers 52 and a plurality of heaters 30 and 32 are disposed. The heaters 30 are disposed at a position above the conveyance roller 52 at equal intervals in the conveyance direction, and the heaters 32 are disposed at positions below the conveyance rollers 52 at equal intervals in the conveyance direction. The heaters 30, 32 are heated by heating in the space 24. Further, in the present embodiment, the heaters 30 and 32 are arranged at equal intervals in the conveyance direction, but are not limited to such a configuration. In addition, the heater may be appropriately changed to a desired position and disposed, for example, in accordance with the type of the workpiece 12 or the heat treatment condition of the heat treatment unit 20. Further, in the present embodiment, the heaters 30 and 32 are disposed in the space 24, but the configuration is not limited thereto. As long as the heating can be performed in the space 24, for example, a gas burner or the like may be provided in the space 24.

As shown in FIG. 2, in the heat treatment unit 20, a plurality of objects 12 to be processed are arranged and transported in the second direction. In the present embodiment, in the heat treatment unit 20 (that is, the entire heat treatment furnace 10), three objects 12 to be processed are arranged and conveyed in the second direction. Therefore, in the present embodiment, the dimension of the heat treatment portion 20 in the second direction is larger than the size of the three workpieces 12 arranged in the second direction, but the dimension of the heat treatment portion 20 in the second direction is not particularly large. limited. The size of the heat treatment portion 20 in the second direction may be such that the size of the three or more objects 12 to be processed may be arranged in the second direction. Moreover, the dimension of the heat treatment part 20 in the conveyance direction is relatively large, about 100 m, but the dimension of the heat processing part 20 in the conveyance direction is not specifically limited. For example, the dimension of the heat treatment portion 20 in the conveyance direction may be smaller than 100 m, may be 30 m to 100 m, or may be larger than 100 m. Further, the workpiece 12 is continuously carried into the heat treatment portion 20 at a predetermined interval. Therefore, the objects 12 to be processed are arranged not only in the second direction but also in the conveyance direction.

Further, as shown in FIG. 2, in the present embodiment, among the three objects 12 to be placed and placed in the second direction, the person placed on the +Y direction side in the second direction is regarded as the object to be processed. In the 12a, the person in the center in the second direction is regarded as the object to be processed 12b, and the person placed in the -Y direction on the second direction is treated as the object to be processed 12c. Hereinafter, other constituent elements may be described using letters along the word when it is necessary to distinguish the constituent elements, and the letters along the word are omitted when it is not necessary to distinguish the constituent elements, and only numbers are described.

The loading unit 34 is located on the upstream side of the heat treatment unit 20 (that is, on the upstream side in the conveyance direction, and in the -X direction of the heat treatment unit 20 in Fig. 1). The loading unit 34 receives the workpiece 12 conveyed from the outside of the heat treatment furnace 10, and carries the received workpiece 12 into the space 24 of the heat treatment unit 20. The conveyance unit 34 is provided with a conveyance roller 52, and conveys the workpiece 12 conveyed from the outside of the heat treatment furnace 10 by the conveyance roller 52.

The carry-out portion 40 is located on the downstream side of the heat treatment portion 20 (that is, on the downstream side in the conveyance direction, and in the +X direction of the heat treatment portion 20 in Fig. 1). The unloading unit 40 carries out the workpiece 12 from the space 24 of the heat treatment unit 20, and then delivers the workpiece 12 that has been carried out to the outside of the heat treatment furnace 10. In the carry-out unit 40, the conveyance roller 52 is provided, and the workpiece 12 is conveyed to the outside of the space 24 by the conveyance roller 52.

The conveying device 50 includes a plurality of conveying rollers 52, a driving device 60, and a control device 62. The conveyance device 50 conveys the workpiece 12 conveyed to the loading unit 34 from the loading unit 34 through the opening 26 into the space 24 of the heat treatment unit 20 . Further, the conveying device 50 is placed in the space 24, and conveys the workpiece 12 from the opening 26 to the opening 28. Further, the transport device 50 transports the workpiece 12 from the space 24 to the carry-out unit 40 via the opening 28 . The workpiece 12 is transported from the loading unit 34 to the carry-out unit 40 by the transport roller 52.

The conveyance roller 52 has a cylindrical shape, and its axis extends in a direction orthogonal to the conveyance direction. The plurality of transport rollers 52 all have the same diameter and are arranged at equal intervals at a fixed pitch in the transport direction. Further, the diameter of the transport roller provided in the heat treatment portion 20 may be different from the diameter of the transport roller provided in the carry-in portion 34 and the carry-out portion 40. Moreover, the conveyance roller 52 provided in the heat processing unit 20 may be disposed at a different pitch from the conveyance roller 52 provided in the loading unit 34 and the delivery unit 40. The carrying roller 52 is supported to be rotatable about its axis and rotated by the driving force of the driving device 60. The conveyance roller 52 is disposed in a plurality of portions in the heat treatment portion 20, the loading portion 34, and the carry-out portion 40, and the materials of the plurality of conveyance rollers 52 are all the same. Further, the material of the transport roller 52 provided in the carry-in portion 34 and the carry-out portion 40 may be different from the material of the transport roller 52 provided in the heat treatment portion 20. The dimension of the conveyance roller 52 in the axial direction is larger than the dimension of the heat treatment part 20 in the 2nd direction (refer FIG. 2).

The plurality of transport rollers 52 disposed in the heat treatment unit 20 are classified into a plurality of groups, and are collectively arranged in accordance with the group unit to be classified. The group of the conveyance rollers 52 is the amount of warpage in which the warpage is maximized in a plurality of portions in the axial direction of the conveyance roller 52 when the respective conveyance rollers 52 are observed in the axial direction (that is, the second direction or the Y direction). The size (hereinafter also referred to as the amount of warpage of the conveyance roller 52) is determined. The plurality of portions in the axial direction of the conveyance roller 52 may be, for example, a portion near the center of the conveyance roller 52 and a conveyance roller 52 when the conveyance roller 52 is arranged in the second direction and a plurality of workpieces 12 are placed. A portion in the vicinity of a portion where the end portion of each of the objects 12 in the second direction contacts. In the present embodiment, as shown in FIG. 3, since the conveyance rollers 52 are arranged in the second direction and placed on the three objects to be processed 12a to 12c, the end portion side (+Y direction side) of the workpiece 12a is placed. The vicinity of the end portion is referred to as the portion A, and the vicinity of the boundary between the workpiece 12a and the workpiece 12b is referred to as the portion B, and the vicinity of the center of the conveyance roller 52 in the axial direction is referred to as the portion C, and the workpiece 12b and the workpiece are treated. The vicinity of the boundary of 12c is regarded as the portion D, and the vicinity of the end portion on the end side (-Y direction side) of the workpiece 12c is regarded as the portion E. Therefore, in the present embodiment, the amount of warpage of the portion where the warpage is the largest among the five portions A to E in the axial direction of the conveyance roller 52 is taken as the amount of warpage of the conveyance roller 52. Further, in the present embodiment, the amount of warpage of the conveyance roller 52 is set from the magnitude of the amount of warpage of the five portions A to E in the axial direction of the conveyance roller 52, but the configuration is not limited thereto. The amount of warpage of the conveyance roller 52 may be set according to the amount of warpage of a portion where the ratio of the conveyance roller 52 is more than five, or may be based on the amount of warpage of a portion smaller than five. To set. Further, a plurality of portions in the axial direction may be set regardless of the position of the workpiece 12 placed on the conveyance roller 52.

In the present embodiment, the conveyance rollers 52 disposed in the heat treatment portion 20 are classified into five groups according to the magnitude of the amount of warpage. In each group, the range of the amount of warpage of the conveyance roller 52 is set. For example, the conveyance roller 52 whose size of the conveyance roller 52 is less than 0.6 mm is classified into the group G1, and the conveyance roller 52 has a warpage amount of 0.6 mm or more and less than 1.0 mm. The transport roller 52, which is classified into the group G2 and has a warpage amount of the transport roller 52 of 1.0 mm or more and less than 1.4 mm, is classified into a group G3, and the amount of warpage of the transport roller 52 is 1.4 mm or more. The conveyance rollers 52 having a width of 1.8 mm are classified into a group G4, and the conveyance rollers 52 having a warpage amount of the conveyance rollers 52 of 1.8 mm or more are classified into a group G5. In each of the groups G1 to G5, since the range of the amount of warpage of the conveyance rollers 52 is set, the number of the conveyance rollers 52 belonging to the five groups G1 to G5 is uneven.

Further, in the present embodiment, the range of the amount of warpage of the conveyance roller 52 is set in each of the groups G1 to G5 as described above, but the configuration is not limited thereto. The conveyance roller 52 may be classified into a plurality of groups depending on the amount of warpage. For example, the range of the amount of warpage may be set such that the number of the conveyance rollers 52 classified into a plurality of groups is the same. Moreover, the range of the amount of warpage of the conveyance rollers 52 of each of the groups G1 to G5 can be appropriately set, and the above numerical range is only an example. Further, in the present embodiment, the conveyance rollers 52 are classified into five groups, but the configuration is not limited thereto. The number of groups to be classified by the conveyance roller 52 can be appropriately determined according to the size of the conveyance roller 52 or the total number of the conveyance rollers 52 to be provided, and the number of groups of the conveyance rollers 52 can be more than five groups, or less than five groups. .

As shown in FIG. 4, in the heat treatment unit 20, the group having the smallest average value of the amount of warpage is disposed in the vicinity of the inlet side of the heat treatment unit 20 (the side in the direction of the -X direction in FIG. 4). That is, the conveyance roller 52 of the group G1). By disposing in this way, the irregularity of the conveyance of the workpiece 12 in the vicinity of the inlet of the heat treatment portion 20 can be reduced, and the unevenness of the conveyance of the workpiece 12 can be reduced in the entire heat treatment portion 20.

Further, downstream of the conveyance roller 52 of the group G1 which is the smallest average value of the amount of warpage (that is, on the side of the +X direction of FIG. 4), the group which is the second smallest mean value of the warpage amount is collectively arranged (ie, The conveying roller 52 of the group G2). In this manner, the conveyance rollers 52 are collectively disposed in each group so that the average value of the amount of warpage from the upstream of the heat treatment portion 20 to the downstream (that is, from the inlet to the outlet of the heat treatment portion 20) becomes large. Therefore, the heat treatment unit 20 is arranged in the order of the groups G1, G2, G3, G4, and G5 when viewed from the upstream to the downstream. By arranging in this manner, the portion adjacent to the conveyance roller 52 belonging to the different group (for example, the portion of the conveyance roller 52 belonging to the group G1 and the conveyance roller 52 belonging to the group G2) can be made to be the conveyance roller 52. The difference in the amount of warpage becomes small. In addition, since the conveyance roller 52 having a smaller entrance warpage amount of the heat treatment portion 20 is disposed, the entire heat treatment portion 20 can reduce the conveyance of the workpiece 12 to be small.

Further, in the group unit, the conveyance rollers 52 belonging to the same group are randomly arranged. Since the amount of warpage of the conveyance rollers 52 belonging to the same group is within a fixed range, the difference in the amount of warpage between the conveyance rollers 52 is small. Therefore, by arranging the conveyance rollers 52 belonging to the same group in a concentrated manner, even if the conveyance rollers 52 are randomly arranged in the group unit, the conveyance of the workpiece 12 can be reduced.

The drive unit 60 (see FIG. 1) is a drive unit (for example, a motor) that drives the conveyance roller 52. The drive unit 60 is connected to the conveyance roller 52 via a power transmission mechanism. When the driving force of the driving device 60 is transmitted to the conveying roller 52 via the power transmission mechanism, the conveying roller 52 rotates. As the power transmission mechanism, a well-known person can be used, for example, a mechanism (not shown) composed of a sprocket and a chain is used. The drive unit 60 drives the respective conveyance rollers 52 to rotate the conveyance rollers 52 at substantially the same speed. Further, in the present embodiment, the driving device 60 drives the respective conveying rollers 52 to rotate the conveying rollers 52 at substantially the same speed, but the configuration is not limited thereto. For example, the heat treatment furnace 10 may include a plurality of driving devices having different driving forces, and the plurality of driving devices may be configured to be disposed in the conveying roller 52 provided in the heat treatment portion 20 and in the loading portion 34 and the loading portion 40. The set conveying rollers 52, 54 are rotated at different speeds. The drive unit 60 is controlled by the control unit 62.

Next, a method of manufacturing the heat treatment furnace 10 will be described with reference to Figs. 3 and 4 . Further, in the present embodiment, the step of measuring the amount of warpage of the conveyance roller 52, the step of classifying the plurality of conveyance rollers 52 into groups, and the step of disposing the conveyance roller 52 in the heat treatment section 20 are characterized. In the step, conventionally known steps can be used. Therefore, in the following, only the characteristic portions of the present embodiment will be described, and the description of the other steps will be omitted.

The manufacturing method of the heat treatment furnace 10 of the present embodiment includes a measuring step of measuring the amount of warpage of the portion of the conveying roller 52 where the warpage in the direction perpendicular to the axis is the largest; the sorting step is based on the measured warpage The number of the conveyance rollers 52 is divided into a plurality of groups, and the setting step is such that the conveyance rollers 52 belonging to the group having a small amount of warpage are disposed near the entrance of the heat treatment portion 20.

First, by the measuring step, the amount of warpage of the portion where the warpage of each of the plurality of conveyance rollers 52 is measured becomes the largest portion. The measurement steps were carried out in accordance with the following procedures. First, both ends of the conveying roller 52 are supported to be rotatable. For example, two V-shaped blocks are used to support both ends of the conveying roller 52.

Next, the amount of warpage of the respective portions A to E of the conveyance roller 52 in the axial direction is measured using, for example, a gauge of a gauge (see FIG. 3). Specifically, a gauge is set in the portion A, and the conveyance roller 52 is rotated one turn around the axis to measure the difference between the conveyance roller 52 at the uppermost position and the state in which the conveyance roller 52 is not warped (hereinafter also referred to as the amount of warpage). ). For the portions B to E, the same measurements as above were also performed. 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 portion where the amount of warpage of the parts A to E is the largest is used as the conveyance roller 52. The amount of warpage.

After the amount of warpage of each of the conveyance rollers 52 is measured, each of the conveyance rollers 52 is classified into one of the groups G1 to G5 by a sorting step. Each of the conveyance rollers 52 is classified into one of the groups G1 to G5 in accordance with the amount of warpage of the conveyance rollers 52 measured in the measurement step.

After the plurality of transport rollers 52 are classified into one of the groups G1 to G5, the transport roller 52 of the group G1 having the smallest average value of the warpage amount is disposed near the entrance of the heat treatment portion 20 by the setting step (ie, heat treatment) The upstream end of the portion 20) (see Fig. 4). At this time, the conveyance rollers 52 belonging to all of the group G1 are continuously provided in the heat treatment unit 20. Further, in the present embodiment, the conveyance roller 52 belonging to the group G1 is provided in the vicinity of the inlet of the heat treatment portion 20 (that is, the upstream end portion of the heat treatment portion 20), and the other procedures regarding the installation step are Since a conventionally known method can be used, detailed descriptions of other procedures for the setting procedure are omitted.

Moreover, the installation step further includes a step of providing the conveyance rollers 52 belonging to the other groups G2 to G5 in groups of groups downstream of the conveyance rollers 52 belonging to the group G1. At this time, the conveyance roller 52 is collectively provided for each group so that the average value of the amount of warpage from the upstream of the heat treatment portion 20 to the downstream (that is, from the inlet to the outlet of the heat treatment portion 20) becomes larger as viewed in the group unit. . Specifically, all of the conveyance rollers 52 belonging to the group G2 are disposed downstream of the conveyance rollers 52 belonging to the group G1. Further, all of the transport rollers 52 belonging to the group G3 are disposed downstream of the transport roller 52 belonging to the group G2, and further, the transport rollers 52 belonging to all of the groups G4 and the transport rollers belonging to all of the groups G5 are sequentially disposed downstream thereof. 52.

Next, the operation of the heat treatment furnace 10 for heat-treating the workpiece 12 will be described. In order to heat-treat the workpiece 12, first, the heaters 30 and 32 are operated to set the ambient gas temperature of the space 24 to the set temperature. Next, the three objects 12 to be processed are respectively moved from the outside of the heat treatment furnace 10 to the conveyance rollers 52 provided on the loading unit 34. At this time, the objects 12 to be processed are arranged in the second direction and placed three. Next, the drive device 60 is operated to transport the three objects 12 arranged in the second direction from the loading unit 34 to the space 24 of the heat treatment unit 20 via the opening 26 . The workpiece 12 conveyed into the space 24 is transported from the opening 26 to the opening 28 in the space 24. Thereby, the workpiece 12 is subjected to heat treatment. Then, the workpiece 12 that has been subjected to the heat treatment is conveyed to the carry-out portion 40 through the opening 28, and is then carried out from the carry-out portion 40.

Since the conveyance roller 52 is warped or deformed at the time of manufacture, it is impossible to make all the conveyance rollers 52 provided in the heat treatment furnace 10 into the identical shape. In addition, since the amount of warpage generated by each of the transport rollers 52 is different, the transport roller 52 may be disposed adjacent to the heat treatment unit 20 regardless of the amount of warpage of the transport roller 52. A large difference in the amount of warpage between the conveyance rollers 52 occurs. When there is a difference in the amount of warpage between the adjacent conveyance rollers 52, the conveyance of the workpiece 12 cannot be smoothly performed, and the workpiece 12 is caused to snake. In particular, since the heat treatment furnace 10 of the present embodiment has a relatively long dimension in the conveyance direction, when the workpiece 12 is snaked near the entrance of the heat treatment portion 20, the distance over which the influence of the meandering is continued becomes long.

In the present embodiment, the conveyance rollers 52 are classified into a plurality of groups according to the amount of warpage of the conveyance rollers 52, and the conveyance rollers 52 belonging to the group having a small average value of the warpage amount are disposed near the entrance of the heat treatment portion 20. . Thereby, it is possible to reduce the irregularity of the conveyance of the workpiece 12 in the vicinity of the entrance of the conveyance path. Therefore, in the entire conveyance path, the conveyance of the workpiece 12 can be reduced, and the workpiece 12 can be smoothly conveyed.

In the present embodiment, the conveyance roller 52 is disposed such that the average value of the warpage amount from the upstream of the heat treatment portion 20 to the downstream is increased. However, the configuration is not limited thereto. For example, a conveyance roller 52 belonging to the group G1 having the smallest average value of the warpage amount may be disposed in the vicinity of the entrance of the heat treatment portion 20, and the remaining conveyance rollers 52 may be randomly disposed downstream of the heat treatment portion 20 (that is, the conveyance belonging to the groups G2 to G5) Roller 52). Even in such a configuration, the irregularity of conveyance of the conveyance roller 52 in the vicinity of the entrance can be reduced, and the conveyance of the workpiece 12 can be reduced in the entire conveyance path.
(Example 2)

In the heat treatment furnace 10 of the first embodiment described above, the transportation roller 52 having the same material is provided in the heat treatment portion 20, but the configuration is not limited thereto. For example, the heat treatment unit 20 may be provided with conveyance rollers 52a and 52b having different materials. Further, the heat treatment furnace 10 of the present embodiment has a configuration in which the conveyance rollers 52a and 52b provided in the heat treatment unit 20 are different from the configuration of the conveyance roller 52 provided in the heat treatment unit 20 of the first embodiment, and the other configuration is substantially the same. Therefore, the same configuration as that of the heat treatment furnace 10 of the first embodiment will be omitted. Zong

In the present embodiment, the plurality of transport rollers 52a and 52b disposed in the heat treatment unit 20 are classified into two large groups according to the material thereof, and further classified into a complex array group according to the magnitude of the warpage amount. First, the conveyance rollers 52a and 52b are classified according to their materials. Specifically, the conveyance rollers 52a and 52b are classified into two large groups of the large group Ga to which the conveyance roller 52a belongs and the large group Gb to which the conveyance roller 52b having a material different from the conveyance roller 52a belongs. For example, the conveyance roller 52a may be formed of a material of the first material, and the conveyance roller 52b may be formed of a material of a second material different from the first material. By changing the material of the conveyance roller 52 in response to the position of the heat treatment portion 20, the conveyance roller 52 can be given characteristics corresponding to the position of the treatment portion 20.

The conveyance rollers 52a and 52b classified into the large groups Ga and Gb are further classified according to the amount of warpage. Here, the number of groups of the group further classified by the transport roller 52a classified into the large group Ga may be different from the number of groups of the group further classified by the transport roller 52b classified into the large group Gb, and may be The material of the conveyance rollers 52a and 52b or the number of the conveyance rollers 52a and 52b to be provided is appropriately determined. For example, when the number of the conveyance rollers 52a and 52b provided in the heat treatment unit 20 is large, it is possible to classify a plurality of groups, and when the number of the conveyance rollers 52a and 52b provided in the heat treatment unit 20 is small, Classified into fewer groups. In the present embodiment, the conveyance roller 52a is provided in a relatively large number in the heat treatment portion 20, and the conveyance roller 52b is provided in the heat treatment portion 20 to be relatively small. Therefore, the conveyance rollers 52a classified into a large group of Ga are further classified into five groups according to the amount of warpage, and the conveyance rollers 52b classified into the large groups Gb are further classified into two according to the amount of warpage. 3 groups of groups. Specifically, the conveyance roller 52a belonging to the large group Ga is further classified into the group Ga1 to Ga5 in the order of the smaller average value of the amount of warpage of the conveyance roller, and the conveyance roller 52b belonging to the large group Gb is in accordance with the conveyance roller. The order in which the average value of the amount of warpage is small is further classified into groups Gb1 to Gb3.

As shown in FIG. 5, in the heat treatment unit 20, the conveyance roller 52a belonging to the large group Ga and the conveyance roller 52b belonging to the large group Gb are continuously arranged. Specifically, the conveyance roller 52a belonging to the large group Ga is continuously disposed on the upstream side in the conveyance direction of the heat treatment portion 20, and the conveyance roller 52b belonging to the large group Gb is continuously disposed on the downstream side in the conveyance direction of the heat treatment portion 20. By arranging in this manner, the conveying rollers 52a and 52b having the same material can be continuously arranged. Therefore, for example, in the case where the environmental gas in the heat treatment unit 20 has been changed depending on the location, the conveyance rollers 52a and 52b including the characteristics suitable for the respective environmental gases can be disposed in accordance with the place of the heat treatment unit 20.

The arrangement of the conveyance rollers 52a belonging to the large group Ga (that is, the groups Ga1 to Ga5) disposed on the upstream side in the conveyance direction of the heat treatment unit 20 will be further described. In the vicinity of the entrance of the heat treatment unit 20, the conveyance rollers 52a of the group Ga1 having the smallest average value of the warpage amount among the groups Ga1 to Ga5 are collectively arranged. By disposing in this way, the irregularity of the conveyance of the workpiece 12 in the vicinity of the inlet of the heat treatment portion 20 can be reduced, and the unevenness of the conveyance of the workpiece 12 can be reduced in the entire heat treatment portion 20.

In addition, the conveyance roller 52a of the large group of Ga is arranged in a group unit in such a manner that the average value of the amount of warpage from the upstream of the heat treatment unit 20 to the downstream (that is, from the inlet to the outlet of the heat treatment unit 20) is substantially mountain type. Roller 52a. Further, in the present specification, when the average value of the warpage amounts of the groups Ga1 to Ga5 is plotted in the order from the entrance to the exit of the heat treatment unit 20, the bending point (i.e., the inflection point) exists. The shape of one point is called "rough mountain type". Specifically, the average value corresponding to the amount of warpage is gradually increased from the inlet to the outlet, and then gradually decreases from the inlet to the outlet. In the present embodiment, the conveyance roller 52a belonging to the group Ga3 is disposed downstream of the conveyance roller 52a belonging to the group Ga1, and the conveyance roller 52a belonging to the group Ga5 is disposed downstream. Then, downstream of the conveyance roller 52a belonging to the group Ga5, the conveyance roller 52a belonging to the group Ga4 is disposed, and further, the conveyance roller 52a belonging to the group Ga2 is disposed downstream. Therefore, when observed in groups, it is arranged from the upstream to the downstream in the order of the groups Ga1, Ga3, Ga5, Ga4, and Ga2. In this case, the inflection point is located at the boundary of the group Ga5 and Ga4. By arranging in this manner, the portion adjacent to the conveyance roller 52a belonging to the different group (for example, the portion of the conveyance roller 52a belonging to the group Ga1 and the conveyance roller 52a belonging to the group Ga3) can avoid the conveyance roller 52a. The difference in the magnitude of the amount of warpage becomes large, and the irregularity of conveyance of the workpiece 12 can be made small.

Next, the arrangement of the conveyance rollers 52b belonging to the large group Gb (that is, the groups Gb1 to Gb3) disposed on the downstream side in the conveyance direction of the heat treatment unit 20 will be further described. In a portion adjacent to the conveyance roller 52a belonging to the large group Ga (that is, a portion adjacent to the conveyance roller 52a belonging to the group Ga2), the group Gb1 which is the smallest average value of the amount of warpage among the groups Gb1 to Gb3 is collectively disposed. Transport roller 52b. On the most downstream side of the transport roller 52a belonging to the large group Ga, the transport roller 52a of the group Ga2 having a relatively small average value of the warpage amount is disposed. Therefore, the conveyance roller 52b belonging to the group Gb1 having the smallest mean value of the warpage amount is disposed in a portion adjacent to the conveyance roller 52a belonging to the large group Ga, and the conveyance roller 52a belonging to the large group Ga and the large group Gb are disposed. The portion adjacent to the conveyance roller 52b can prevent the difference in the amount of warpage of the conveyance rollers 52a and 52b from becoming large.

In addition, the conveyance roller 52b which is a large group Gb arranges the conveyance roller 52b in the group unit so that the average value of the amount of warpage from the upstream of the heat processing part 20 may become large. Specifically, when viewed in groups, it is arranged from the upstream to the downstream in the order of the groups Gb1, Gb2, and Gb3. Therefore, in the present embodiment, the conveyance roller 52a belonging to the large group Ga is disposed such that the average value of the warpage amount from the upstream of the heat treatment portion 20 to the downstream is substantially mountain type, and on the other hand, the conveyance of the large group Gb. The roller 52b is disposed in such a manner that the amount of warpage is gradually increased.

In the present embodiment, the conveyance rollers 52a and 52b having different materials are arranged in a large group unit, and the conveyance roller 52a disposed on the upstream side is an average value of the amount of warpage from the upstream of the heat treatment unit 20 to the downstream. It is configured to be a mountain type. Therefore, in the present embodiment, in the portion adjacent to the conveyance rollers 52a and 52b which are classified into the different groups, the difference in the amount of warpage of the conveyance rollers 52a and 52b can be made small, and the processed portion can be processed. The handling of the object 12 is not neat and small.

The specific examples of the technology disclosed in the present specification are described in detail above, but these are merely examples and are not intended to limit the scope of the patent application. The technology described in the patent application scope includes various modifications and changes to the specific examples described above. Further, the technical elements described in the patent specification or the drawings are technically useful individually or in various combinations, and are not limited to the combinations described in the claims.

10‧‧‧heat treatment furnace

12‧‧‧Processed objects

20‧‧‧ Heat Treatment Department

22‧‧‧ outer wall

24‧‧‧ Space

26‧‧‧ openings

28‧‧‧ openings

30‧‧‧heater

32‧‧‧heater

34‧‧‧ Moving into the Department

40‧‧‧ Moving out

50‧‧‧Transportation device

52, 52a, 52b‧‧‧ carrying rollers

60‧‧‧ drive

62‧‧‧Control device

1 is a view showing a schematic configuration of a heat treatment furnace according to Examples 1 and 2, and is a longitudinal cross-sectional view when the heat treatment furnace is cut in a plane parallel to the conveyance direction of the workpiece.

Fig. 2 is a cross-sectional view taken along line II-II of Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is a view showing a portion where the amount of warpage of the conveyance roller is measured.

Fig. 4 is a view schematically showing a conveyance roller disposed in the heat treatment portion in the first embodiment.

Fig. 5 is a view schematically showing a conveyance roller disposed in the heat treatment portion in the second embodiment.

Claims (4)

A heat treatment furnace is a heat treatment furnace for heat-treating a workpiece, and the system includes: The heat treatment portion includes a space for heat-treating the object to be processed; and a plurality of transport rollers are disposed in the heat treatment portion and transport the processed object; The plurality of transport rollers disposed in the heat treatment portion are classified into a plurality of groups according to the amount of warpage of the portion where the warpage of the transport roller is maximized in the direction perpendicular to the axis; In the upstream end of the heat transfer portion in the conveyance direction, a conveyance roller belonging to the group having the smallest average value of the warpage amount among the plurality of groups of the classification is disposed. The heat treatment furnace according to claim 1, wherein the heat treatment unit is configured to collectively arrange the conveyance rollers classified into the same group in units of groups so as to be continuously arranged in the conveyance direction; The plurality of conveyance rollers are disposed such that the average value of the amount of warpage of the conveyance rollers classified into the group when viewed in groups is increased from upstream to downstream in the conveyance direction. The heat treatment furnace according to claim 1, wherein the plurality of transport rollers disposed in the heat treatment portion are classified into a plurality of complex arrays according to materials of the transport rollers, and are classified into a plurality of transport rollers of a plurality of groups. According to the amount of warpage, it is classified into a complex array group; The plurality of transport rollers are continuously disposed in the transport direction in the respective groups, and the transport rollers belonging to the large group disposed at least on the upstream side are arranged to belong to the warp amount of the multi-group of the large group The average value becomes a mountain shape from the upstream to the downstream of the conveyance direction. A method of manufacturing a heat treatment furnace, the heat treatment furnace comprising: The heat treatment portion includes a space for heat-treating the object to be processed; and a plurality of transport rollers are disposed in the heat treatment portion and transport the processed object; The manufacturing method includes: The measuring step is to measure the amount of warpage of the portion of the plurality of conveying rollers disposed in the heat treatment portion, where the amount of warping of the conveying roller in the direction perpendicular to the axis is the largest; a sorting step of classifying the plurality of carrying rolls into a plurality of groups according to the amount of the warping measured in the measuring step; The installation step is to provide a conveyance roller belonging to the group having the smallest average value of the warpage amount among the plurality of groups classified in the upstream end of the conveyance direction of the heat treatment portion.