TWI768165B - Heat treatment furnace - Google Patents

Abstract

The heat treatment furnace heats the object to be treated. The heat treatment furnace includes: a heat treatment unit including a space for heat-treating an object to be treated; a carry-out unit for unloading the object to be treated from the heat treatment unit; and a plurality of conveying rollers arranged in the heat treatment unit and conveying the object to be treated. The conveyance roller system can arrange and mount a plurality of to-be-processed objects horizontally and in the 2nd direction perpendicular|vertical to the 1st direction which is a conveyance direction. The unloading part is configured such that one or two objects to be processed placed on the outside of the plurality of objects to be processed arranged and placed in the second direction are placed on the inner side of the one or two objects to be processed. The placed object to be processed is conveyed to the outside.

Description

Heat treatment furnace

The technology disclosed in this patent specification relates to a heat treatment furnace for heat treatment of objects to be treated.

A heat treatment furnace (for example, a roller hearth furnace or the like) may be used to heat treat the object to be treated. Such a heat treatment furnace system includes a plurality of conveying rollers, and conveys the object to be treated by rotating the conveying roller in a state where the object to be treated is placed on the conveying roller. For example, an example of a heat treatment furnace is disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2015-64189.

In such a heat treatment furnace, in order to improve productivity, a plurality of rollers may be arranged and placed on a conveyance roller in a direction perpendicular to the conveyance direction (hereinafter also referred to as a first direction) and in a horizontal direction (hereinafter also referred to as a second direction). The objects to be processed are transported at the same time. In this case, a plurality of to-be-processed objects are simultaneously carried into the heat treatment furnace in a state where they are aligned in the second direction. Moreover, a plurality of to-be-processed objects are conveyed in the heat-treating furnace by conveyance rollers, and are carried out from the heat-treating furnace. Since a plurality of to-be-processed objects arranged and arranged in the second direction are conveyed using the same conveyance roller, they should ideally be conveyed out from the heat treatment furnace. However, when the object to be processed is placed on the conveying roller, the conveying roller may bend due to the weight of the object to be processed, and the bending becomes larger as it approaches the center of the conveying roller. Therefore, the object to be processed placed on the outer side of the conveying roller tends to incline inward, and when it is carried out from the heat treatment furnace, it comes into contact with the object to be processed that is placed on the inside and interferes with the object to be processed inside. the problem of transportation. When the object to be processed arranged on the outside interferes with the conveyance of the object to be processed arranged on the inside, it cannot be carried out from the heat treatment furnace in a state where a plurality of objects to be processed have been lined up. This problem becomes more pronounced especially in the heat treatment furnace in which the conveying distance of the object to be processed is long.

This patent specification discloses a technique for preventing a plurality of objects to be processed arranged and placed in a horizontal direction perpendicular to the conveying direction (second direction) from contacting each other when being conveyed out of a heat treatment furnace.

The heat treatment furnace disclosed in this patent specification heats the object to be treated. The heat treatment furnace includes: a heat treatment unit including a space for heat-treating an object to be treated; a carry-out unit for unloading the object to be treated from the heat treatment unit; and a plurality of conveying rollers arranged in the heat treatment unit and conveying the object to be treated. The conveyance roller system can arrange and mount a plurality of to-be-processed objects horizontally and in the 2nd direction perpendicular|vertical to the 1st direction which is a conveyance direction. The unloading part is configured such that one or two objects to be processed placed on the outside of the plurality of objects to be processed arranged and placed in the second direction are placed on the inner side of the one or two objects to be processed. The object to be processed is transported to the outside.

The above-mentioned heat treatment furnace is because in the unloading part, the object to be processed on the outside (the object to be processed at the end of the conveyance roller) is opposed to the object to be processed on the inside (the object to be disposed near the center of the conveyance roller). Since it is conveyed to the outside, it is possible to prevent the object to be processed outside from the heat treatment furnace from contacting the object to be processed inside. Therefore, the object to be treated on the outside can be prevented from interfering with the conveyance (progress) of the object to be treated on the inside, and the object to be treated after the heat treatment can be easily recovered. Moreover, since the to-be-processed object on the inside can be prevented from contacting with the to-be-processed object on the outside in the carry-out part, the to-be-processed object can be prevented from being damaged.

Main features of the embodiments described below are listed in advance. In addition, the technical elements described below are independent technical elements, exhibit technical usefulness alone or in various combinations, and are not limited to the combinations described in the patent application scope at the time of filing a patent application.

(Feature 1) In the heat treatment furnace disclosed in this patent specification, the unloading portion may include a stopper for arranging a plurality of objects to be processed arranged and placed in the second direction so as to be arranged in the second direction. The positions in the 1 direction become the same. According to such a configuration, since the objects to be processed can be aligned in the first direction (ie, the conveyance direction), the objects to be processed can be easily collected.

(Feature 2) In the heat treatment furnace disclosed in this patent specification, conveyance rollers for conveying a plurality of objects to be processed carried out from the heat treatment part may be provided in the unloading part. The conveyance roller system provided in the unloading part may include partial conveyance rollers divided into a plurality of parts in the second direction. Among the divided partial conveyance rollers, the partial conveyance roller provided on the outer side may be arranged to convey the object to be processed toward the outside. According to such a structure, the conveyance direction of the to-be-processed object in an unloading part can be adjusted easily by dividing the conveyance roller of an unloading part.

(Feature 3) In the heat treatment furnace disclosed in this patent specification, the partial conveying rollers provided on the outside may have an axial length longer than that of the partial conveying rollers provided on the inside. According to such a structure, the to-be-processed object conveyed by the partial conveyance roller arrange|positioned outside can be prevented from flying out of this partial conveyance roller. [Example]

Hereinafter, the heat treatment furnace 10 of the embodiment will be described. As shown in FIG. 1 , the heat treatment furnace 10 includes a heat treatment part 20 , a carry-in part 34 , a carry-out part 40 , and a conveying device 50 . The heat treatment furnace 10 heat-processes the to-be-processed object 12 while the to-be-processed object 12 is conveyed in the heat-processing part 20 by the conveyance apparatus 50.

Examples of the object to be processed 12 include a laminate in which a ceramic dielectric body (substrate) and an electrode are laminated, or a positive electrode material or a negative electrode material of a lithium ion battery. When heat-treating the laminated body made of ceramics using the heat-treating furnace 10, these to-be-processed objects can be placed under a flat plate-like carrier plate, and can be conveyed in the furnace. Moreover, when heat-processing the positive electrode material or the negative electrode material of a lithium ion battery using the heat-processing furnace 10, these to-be-processed objects can be accommodated in the box-shaped sagger, and can be conveyed in a furnace. In the heat treatment furnace 10 of the present embodiment, a plurality of carrier plates or saggers can be placed and transported on transport rollers 52, 54, 56a, 56b, and 58 (described later) in a state where a plurality of carrier plates or saggers are arranged in the transport direction. Hereinafter, in this embodiment, the entirety of the heat-treated substance, the carrier plate on which the heat-treated substance is placed, or the saggar that accommodates the substance is referred to as the "processed object 12". In addition, 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 the “conveyance direction” or the “first direction”, and the horizontal direction and the direction perpendicular to the first direction may be referred to as the “transport direction”. The direction (the direction perpendicular to the XZ plane in FIG. 1 ) is referred to as the "second direction".

The heat treatment unit 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 on the front end surface of the outer wall 22 (end surface on the -X side in FIG. 1 ), and an opening 28 is formed on the rear end surface of the outer wall 22 (end surface on the +X side in FIG. 1 ). The to-be-processed object 12 is conveyed from the opening 26 into the heat-processing part 20 by the conveying apparatus 50, and is conveyed from the opening 28 to the outside of the heat-processing part 20 again. That is, the opening 26 is used as a carry-in port of the heat treatment part 20 , and the opening 28 is used as a carry-out port of the heat treatment part 20 .

In the space 24, a plurality of conveyance rollers 52 and a plurality of heaters 30 and 32 are arranged. The heaters 30 are arranged at equal intervals in the conveyance direction at positions above the conveyance rollers 52 , and the heaters 32 are arranged at equal intervals in the conveyance direction at positions below the conveyance rollers 52 . The heaters 30 and 32 heat the space 24 by generating heat. In addition, in this Example, although the heaters 30 and 32 are arrange|positioned at equal intervals in the conveyance direction, respectively, it is not limited to this structure. The heater may be appropriately changed and arranged at a desired position in accordance with, for example, the type of the object to be processed 12 or the heat treatment conditions of the heat treatment section 20 . In this embodiment, the heaters 30 and 32 are arranged in the space 24, but it is not limited to this configuration. As long as heating can be performed in the space 24 , 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 to be processed 12 are arranged and conveyed in the second direction. In the present embodiment, in the heat treatment unit 20 (that is, the entire heat treatment furnace 10 ), the three to-be-processed objects 12 are aligned and conveyed in the second direction. Therefore, in the present embodiment, the size of the heat treatment section 20 in the second direction is made larger than the size of the three objects to be processed 12 arranged in the second direction, but the size of the heat treatment section 20 in the second direction is not particularly limited. The size of the heat treatment section 20 in the second direction may be a size that allows more than three objects to be processed 12 to be arranged and conveyed in the second direction. For example, four objects to be processed may be arranged and conveyed in the second direction. The size of 12 may be a size that can arrange and transport 5 pieces, or a size that can arrange and transport 6 pieces. In addition, the dimension of the heat treatment part 20 in the conveyance direction is relatively large, about 100 m, but the dimension of the heat treatment part 20 in the conveyance direction is not particularly limited. For example, the dimension in the conveyance direction of the heat treatment part 20 may be smaller than 100 m, may be 30 m to 100 m, or may be larger than 100 m. In addition, in the following description, the center side in the second direction when a plurality of objects to be processed 12 are arranged in the second direction may be referred to as "inside", and the end side (+Y direction and -Y direction) is called "outside". In addition, the to-be-processed object 12 is continuously carried into the heat-processing part 20 with predetermined space|intervals. Therefore, the to-be-processed objects 12 are arranged not only in the second direction but also in the conveyance direction.

The carrying-in part 34 is located on the upstream side of the heat treatment part 20 (that is, the upstream side in the conveyance direction, in the −X direction of the heat treatment part 20 in FIG. 1 ). The carrying-in part 34 receives the object to be processed 12 conveyed from the outside of the heat treatment furnace 10 , and then carries the received object to be processed 12 into the space 24 of the heat treatment part 20 . In the carrying-in part 34, conveyance rollers 52 are provided, and the to-be-processed object 12 conveyed from the outside of the heat treatment furnace 10 is conveyed by the conveyance rollers 52.

The carry-out portion 40 is located on the downstream side of the heat treatment portion 20 (ie, the downstream side in the conveyance direction, which is the +X direction of the heat treatment portion 20 in FIG. 1 ). The unloading part 40 unloads the object to be processed 12 from the space 24 of the heat treatment part 20 , and then delivers the unloaded object 12 to the outside of the heat treatment furnace 10 . Conveying rollers 54 , 56 a , 56 b , and 58 are provided in the unloading unit 40 , and the object to be processed 12 is conveyed out of the space 24 by the conveying rollers 54 , 56 a , 56 b , and 58 . In addition, the specific structure of the carrying-out part 40 will be described in detail later.

The conveying device 50 includes a plurality of conveying rollers 52 , 54 , 56 a , 56 b , and 58 , a driving device 60 , and a control device 62 . The conveying device 50 conveys the object to be processed 12 conveyed to the carrying-in part 34 from the carrying-in part 34 to the space 24 of the heat treatment part 20 through the opening 26 . Furthermore, the conveyance apparatus 50 is tied in the space 24 and conveys the to-be-processed object 12 from the opening 26 to the opening 28 . And the conveyance apparatus 50 conveys the to-be-processed object 12 from the space 24 to the carry-out part 40 via the opening 28. The to-be-processed object 12 is conveyed from the carrying-in part 34 to the carrying-out part 40 by conveyance rollers 52, 54, 56a, 56b, and 58.

The conveyance rollers 52, 54, 56a, 56b, and 58 are cylindrical, and all have substantially the same diameter. The conveying rollers 52 , 54 , 56 a , 56 b , 58 are supported to be rotatable about their axes, and are rotated by transmitting the driving force of the driving device 60 .

A plurality of conveying rollers 52 are arranged in each of the carrying-in portion 34 and the heat treatment portion 20 (see FIG. 1 ). As shown in FIG. 2 , the axis system of the conveyance rollers 52 extends in the second direction, and the dimension of the axis direction of the plurality of conveyance rollers 52 is larger than the dimension of the heat treatment portion 20 in the second direction. In addition, the plurality of conveyance rollers 52 are arranged at equal intervals with a constant pitch in the conveyance direction (see FIG. 1 ). In addition, the conveyance roller 52 provided in the heat-processing part 20 and the conveyance roller 52 provided in the carrying-in part 34 may be arrange|positioned at different pitches.

A plurality of conveyance rollers 54, 56a, 56b, and 58 are arranged in the carry-out portion 40 (see FIG. 3). The dimensions in the axial direction of the conveyance rollers 54 , 56 a , 56 b , and 58 are all smaller than the dimensions in the axial direction of the conveyance rollers 52 . In addition, about the structure provided in the conveyance rollers 54, 56a, 56b, 58 of the unloading part 40, it will be described in detail later.

The drive device 60 (see FIG. 1 ) is a drive device (eg, a motor) that drives the conveyance rollers 52 , 54 , 56 a , 56 b , and 58 . The drive device 60 is connected to the conveyance rollers 52, 54, 56a, 56b, and 58 via a power transmission mechanism. When the driving force of the drive device 60 is transmitted to the conveyance rollers 52, 54, 56a, 56b, and 58 via the power transmission mechanism, the conveyance rollers 52, 54, 56a, 56b, and 58 rotate. As a power transmission mechanism, a well-known thing can be used, for example, the mechanism which consists of a sprocket and a chain can be used. The drive device 60 drives each of the conveyance rollers 52, 54, 56a, 56b, and 58 so that the conveyance rollers 52, 54, 56a, 56b, and 58 rotate at substantially the same speed. The drive device 60 is controlled by the control device 62 .

Here, the configuration of the unloading unit 40 will be described in detail. As shown in FIG. 3 , the unloading part 40 is provided with a first conveying part 42 and a second conveying part 44 . Moreover, in the carrying out part 40, conveyance rollers 54, 56a, 56b, 58 and the stopper 46 are provided. In addition, in FIG. 3, among the three objects to be processed 12 arranged and placed in the second direction, the object placed in the center (inside) of the second direction is regarded as the object to be processed 12a, and the object to be processed 12a will be placed in the second direction. The object placed on the +Y direction side of the direction is regarded as the object to be processed 12b, and the object placed on the -Y direction side of the second direction is identified as the object to be processed 12c. In the following, when it is necessary to distinguish the object to be processed 12, it is described using letters of additional characters as shown in the objects to be processed 12a to 12c, and when it is not necessary to distinguish the object to be processed 12, only the object to be processed 12 is described.

The first conveyance portion 42 is located on the upstream side (the −X direction side in FIG. 3 ) of the second conveyance portion 44 . The first conveyance unit 42 is connected to the heat treatment unit 20 and receives the object to be processed 12 carried out from the heat treatment unit 20 . In the 1st conveyance part 42, conveyance rollers 54, 56a, 56b are provided. The second conveyance portion 44 is located on the downstream side (+X direction side in FIG. 3 ) of the first conveyance portion 42 . The second conveyance unit 44 is connected to the first conveyance unit 42 and receives the object to be processed 12 conveyed by the first conveyance unit 42 . In the 2nd conveyance part 44, conveyance rollers 54 and 58 are provided.

A plurality of conveyance rollers 54 are provided in each of the first conveyance portion 42 and the second conveyance portion 44 , that is, a plurality of conveyance rollers are provided over the entire area of the unloading portion 40 . The conveyance roller 54 is arrange|positioned about the center of a 2nd direction. The axis system extends parallel to the second direction, and the plurality of conveyance rollers 54 are arranged at equal intervals at a constant pitch in the conveyance direction (X direction in FIG. 3 ). The distance between the arrangement of the conveyance rollers 54 is the same as that of the arrangement of the conveyance rollers 52 provided in the heat treatment unit 20 and the carry-in unit 34 . Moreover, you may arrange|position the pitch between the conveyance rollers 54 so that it may be arrange|positioned by the pitch different from the conveyance roller 52 provided in the heat processing part 20 and the carrying-in part 34. As mentioned above, the dimension of the axial direction of the conveyance roller 54 is smaller than the dimension of the axial direction of the conveyance roller 52 (refer FIG. 2). When the carrying out part 40 is seen in the carrying direction, all the carrying rollers 54 are arrange|positioned so that it may correspond substantially. The conveying roller 54 receives the object to be processed 12 (ie, the object to be processed 12 a ) conveyed in the approximately center of the conveying roller 52 by the carrying-in unit 34 and the heat treatment unit 20 from the heat treatment unit 20 , and conveys the object to be processed 12 a to the unloading unit 40 .

The conveyance rollers 56a and 56b are provided in the first conveyance portion 42, and are respectively arranged in plural numbers so as to be adjacent to both ends (the +Y direction side and the −Y direction side in FIG. 3 ) of the conveyance roller 54 in the second direction. . Specifically, the conveyance roller 56a is arranged on the +Y direction side of the conveyance roller 54 provided in the first conveyance unit 42 , and the conveyance roller 56b is arranged at −Y of the conveyance roller 54 provided in the first conveyance unit 42 . direction side. That is, in the 1st conveyance part 42, the conveyance rollers 56b, 54, 56a are arrange|positioned in the order of the 2nd direction (Y direction).

The conveyance roller 56a conveys the object to be processed 12 (ie, the object to be processed 12b) conveyed on the outer side (specifically, the +Y direction side) of the conveyance roller 52 by the carry-in unit 34 and the heat treatment unit 20 . The axis system of the conveyance roller 56a is shifted to the upstream side (the −X direction side) from the outer end portion (the end portion on the +Y direction side) to the inner end portion (the end portion on the −Y direction side), and the plurality of conveyance rollers 56a are connected to the upstream side (−X direction side). All are inclined at the same angle to the Y direction. In addition, the plurality of conveyance rollers 56a are arranged in parallel and at equal intervals with a constant pitch. Therefore, the to-be-processed object 12b conveyed by the conveyance roller 56a is conveyed obliquely toward the outside (+Y direction side) with respect to the conveyance direction. In addition, since the object 12b is conveyed obliquely by the conveyance roller 56a, the conveyance distance of the object 12b by the conveyance roller 56a is longer than the conveyance distance of the object 12a by the conveyance roller 54. Therefore, the distance between which the conveyance rollers 56a are arranged is slightly longer than the distance between which the conveyance rollers 54 are arranged. (The same applies to the conveyance roller 56b described later). In addition, instead of making the distance between the arranged conveyance rollers 56a longer than the distance between the arranged conveyance rollers 54, the distance between the arranged conveyance rollers 56a and the distance between the arranged conveyance rollers 54 may be the same, and the first conveyance portion 42 may be arranged at the same distance. The number of the conveyance rollers 56 a is larger than the number of the conveyance rollers 54 arranged in the first conveyance section 42 . Moreover, the dimension of the axial direction of the conveyance roller 56a is smaller than the dimension of the axial direction of the conveyance roller 52 (refer FIG. 2), and it is larger than the dimension of the axial direction of the conveyance roller 54. Details will be described later, but the object to be processed 12 b conveyed by the conveyance roller 56 a may be inclined more than the state placed on the conveyance roller 52 in the carry-in portion 34 . Therefore, especially when the outer periphery of the workpiece 12 is rectangular, when the workpiece 12b is placed obliquely on the conveyance roller 56a, the length of the contact between the workpiece 12b and one conveyance roller 56a becomes long. By making the dimension of the axial direction of the conveyance roller 56a larger than the dimension of the axial direction of the conveyance roller 54, the to-be-processed object 12b can be prevented from being mounted so that it may protrude from the conveyance roller 56a.

Moreover, the conveyance roller 56b conveys the to-be-processed object 12 (namely, the to-be-processed object 12c) conveyed by the carrying-in part 34 and the heat-processing part 20 outside the conveyance roller 52 (specifically, the -Y direction side). The axis system of the conveyance roller 56b is shifted to the upstream side (-X direction side) from the outer end portion (the end portion on the -Y direction side) to the inner end portion (the end portion on the +Y direction side), and a plurality of conveyance rollers 56b are provided. The systems are all inclined at the same angle to the Y direction. As is clear from FIG. 3 , the directions in which the conveyance rollers 56a and 56b are inclined are clockwise on one side and counterclockwise on the other side in FIG. 3 . However, the inclination angles (absolute values) of the conveyance rollers 56a and 56b are the same. In addition, the plurality of conveyance rollers 56b are arranged in parallel and at equal intervals with a constant pitch. Therefore, the to-be-processed object 12c conveyed by the conveyance roller 56b is conveyed obliquely toward the outside (-Y direction side) with respect to the conveyance direction. Moreover, the dimension of the axial direction of the conveyance roller 56b is smaller than the dimension of the axial direction of the conveyance roller 52 (refer FIG. 2), and it is larger than the dimension of the axial direction of the conveyance roller 54. Therefore, it can prevent that the to-be-processed object 12c is mounted so that it may protrude from the conveyance roller 56b. In this way, in the first conveyance section 42, the objects to be processed 12b, 12c (that is, the objects to be processed 12b, 12c placed on the outside) conveyed by the conveyance rollers 56a, 56b are conveyed toward the outside, respectively. Therefore, before the first conveyance section 42 is conveyed, the objects to be processed 12b and 12c placed on the outside are respectively connected to the object to be processed 12a conveyed by the conveyance rollers 54 provided on the inside (that is, the objects on the inside The placed objects 12a) are separated, and the intervals between those are enlarged respectively.

The conveyance roller 58 is provided in the 2nd conveyance part 44, and is arrange|positioned at the both ends (+Y direction side and -Y direction side in FIG. 3) of the conveyance roller 54 in the 2nd direction, respectively. The axis system of the plurality of conveyance rollers 58 extends parallel to the second direction. In addition, the plurality of conveyance rollers 58 are arranged at equal intervals with the same pitch as the conveyance rollers 54 in the conveyance direction (X direction in FIG. 3 ). Specifically, the conveyance roller 58 is provided on the same axis as the conveyance roller 54 . The conveyance roller 58 conveys the to-be-processed objects 12b and 12c conveyed by the conveyance rollers 56a and 56b in the first conveyance section 42 . The dimension in the axial direction of the conveyance roller 58 is smaller than the dimension in the axial direction of the conveyance roller 52 (see FIG. 2 ) and larger than the dimension in the axial direction of the conveyance roller 54 . As mentioned above, the to-be-processed objects 12b and 12c conveyed by the conveyance rollers 56a and 56b in the 1st conveyance part 42 may be conveyed in a state of being inclined. By making the dimension of the axial direction of the conveyance roller 58 larger than the dimension of the axial direction of the conveyance roller 54, the to-be-processed object 12b, 12c can be prevented from being mounted so that it may protrude from the conveyance roller 58. In addition, the conveyance rollers 54, 56a, 56b, and 58 are examples of "partial conveyance rollers".

The stopper 46 is provided in the second conveyance portion 44 . The stopper 46 is flat, and is provided perpendicular to the conveying direction. The stoppers 46 are provided at positions overlapping the conveyance rollers 54 and the two conveyance rollers 58 when viewed from the conveyance direction (ie, the heat treatment unit 20 side), and the three stoppers 46 are arranged in the second direction. on the same straight line. The stopper 46 is movable in the up-down direction, and can move between a lower end position where the stopper 46 abuts the workpiece 12 and an upper end position where the stopper 46 does not abut the workpiece 12 . When the stopper 46 is located at the lower end position, the stopper 46 is in contact with the object to be processed 12 to restrict the further conveyance of the object to be processed 12 . On the other hand, when the stopper 46 is located at the upper end position, the stopper 46 does not come into contact with the object to be processed 12, and the object to be processed 12 can be further conveyed. When the conveying rollers 54, 58, and 58 rotate with the stopper 46 at the lower end position, the workpiece 12 conveyed by the second conveying section 44 is first conveyed to the entire front end face in the conveying direction and the stopper 46 contacts. When the conveying rollers 54 , 58 , and 58 further rotate in a state where the object to be processed 12 is in contact with the stopper 46 , the inclination of the object to be processed 12 is corrected by the stopper 46 . Moreover, all three to-be-processed objects 12a-12c which are lined up and mounted in the carrying-in part 34 in the 2nd direction are aligned by the stopper 46, and the conveyance rollers 54, 58, 58 continue to rotate. That is, the stopper 46 can align (align) the position in the conveyance direction of the to-be-processed objects 12a-12c which are lined up and mounted in the 2nd direction. When the positions of the objects 12a to 12c in the conveyance direction are aligned by the stopper 46, the stopper 46 moves to the upper end position. By further rotationally driving the conveyance rollers 54 , 58 , and 58 in this state, the to-be-processed objects 12 a to 12 c can be carried out from the heat treatment furnace 10 . In this embodiment, since all the objects to be processed 12a to 12c arranged and placed in the second direction can be aligned by the stopper 46, a plurality of objects to be processed 12 can be easily carried out from the unloading part 40 at the same time to the outside of the heat treatment furnace 10 . In addition, in the present embodiment, the stopper 46 is configured to abut the object to be processed 12 at the lower end position and not to abut the object to be processed 12 at the upper end position, but the stopper 46 may be configured to be located at the upper end The position is in contact with the object to be processed 12 , and the lower end position is not in contact with the object to be processed 12 . In addition, in this Example, although three stoppers 46 were provided, it is not limited to this structure. For example, one stopper may be provided over the entire length of the conveyance rollers 58, 54, and 58 in the second direction.

Moreover, in the 2nd conveyance part 44, the sensor (illustration omitted) which detects that the to-be-processed object 12 has been aligned by the stopper 46 is provided. For example, the sensor system may use an optical sensor. In this case, the sensor is arranged below or above the conveyance rollers 54 and 58, and the surface (the surface on the -X direction side in FIG. 3 ) of the stopper 46 in contact with the object to be processed 12 detects the optical path by detecting the optical path. Only the size of the front end face of the object to be processed 12 is covered, and it can be detected that the object to be processed 12 has been aligned. In addition, the sensor is not limited as long as it can detect the aligned objects 12 by means of the stopper 46 . For example, pressure sensors may also be used as sensors. The sensor is connected to the control device 62 , and the signal from the sensor is input to the control device 62 .

Next, the operation of the heat treatment furnace 10 when the object to be treated 12 is heat treated will be described. In order to heat-process the object 12 to be processed, first, the heaters 30 and 32 are activated, and the ambient gas temperature of the space 24 is set to the set temperature. Next, the to-be-processed object 12 is moved from the outside of the heat treatment furnace 10 to the conveyance rollers 52 provided in the carry-in portion 34 . At this time, three to-be-processed objects 12 are arranged and placed in the second direction. Then, the driving device 60 is actuated, and the three to-be-processed objects 12 arranged in the second direction are conveyed from the carrying part 34 through the opening 26 into the space 24 of the heat treatment part 20 . The to-be-processed object 12 conveyed into the space 24 is conveyed from the opening 26 to the opening 28 in the space 24 . Thereby, the to-be-processed object 12 is heat-processed. Then, the processed objects 12 that have been heat-treated are conveyed to the unloading part 40 through the opening 28 , and the processed objects 12 arranged and placed in the carrying-in part 34 are fixed in the unloading part 40 by the stopper 46 in the conveying direction. lined up. The aligned objects 12 are carried out from the carry-out unit 40 .

In the carrying-in section 34, the three to-be-processed objects 12 are placed on the conveying roller 52 in a state where they are aligned in the second direction. Then, since the three to-be-processed objects 12 are conveyed by the same conveyance rollers 52, they are conveyed from the carry-in unit 34 to the heat treatment unit 20 in a state of being aligned in the second direction. However, as shown in FIG. 2 , when the object to be processed 12 is placed on the conveyance roller 52 , the conveyance roller 52 is bent due to the weight of the object to be processed 12 . In this embodiment, since the three objects 12 are arranged in the second direction, the dimension in the axial direction of the conveying roller 52 is relatively long, and the central portion (ie, the inner side) of the conveying roller 52 is more curved relative to the outer side. . Therefore, as shown in FIG. 4, the to-be-processed object 12 mounted on the outer side of the conveyance roller 52 is conveyed easily to incline inwardly. In particular, in the heat treatment furnace 10 of the present embodiment, since the dimension of the heat treatment section 20 in the conveying direction is relatively long, the inward inclination of the to-be-processed object 12 placed on the outer side of the conveying roller 52 is conveyed in the heat treatment section 20 . easy to grow between.

The conveyance of the to-be-processed object 12 by the unloading part 40 is demonstrated in detail. As shown in FIG. 3 , among the three workpieces 12 conveyed from the heat treatment unit 20 to the unloading unit 40 , the workpieces 12 a placed on the inside are conveyed to the unloading unit 40 with little inclination. In the unloading part 40, the to-be-processed object 12a is conveyed to the stopper 46 by the conveyance roller 54, and when it is slightly inclined, the inclination is corrected by the stopper 46. As shown in FIG.

On the other hand, the to-be-processed objects 12b and 12c placed on the outside may incline inwardly while the heat treatment unit 20 is conveyed. In the 1st conveyance part 42 of the unloading part 40, since the conveyance rollers 56a and 56b arrange|positioned outside are provided so that it may incline toward the outside, the to-be-processed objects 12b and 12c are conveyed toward the outside, respectively. Therefore, the to-be-processed objects 12b and 12c placed on the outside are separated from the to-be-processed object 12a placed on the inside, and the interval is widened. The to-be-processed objects 12b and 12c are conveyed by the 1st conveyance part 42 and the 2nd conveyance part 44 still in the state inclined inwardly. And when it is conveyed to the stopper 46, the inclination of the to-be-processed objects 12b and 12c is corrected because the front-end|tip surfaces of the to-be-processed objects 12b and 12c contact the stopper 46.

At this time, about the three to-be-processed objects 12a-12c, the timing shift of an inclination may be corrected by the stopper 46, respectively. In this case, the rotation of the conveyance rollers 54 and 58 for conveying the to-be-processed object 12 whose inclination was corrected earlier may be stopped. For example, when the inclination of the object 12a is first corrected by the stopper 46, the rotation of the conveying roller 54 is stopped after the inclination of the object 12a is corrected and the inclination of the objects 12b and 12c is corrected. When the conveyance roller 54 continues to rotate even after the inclination of the object to be processed 12 is corrected by the stopper 46, friction occurs between the object to be processed 12a and the conveyance roller 54, and the conveyance roller 54 wears. Wear of the conveyance rollers 54 and 58 can be suppressed by stopping the rotation of the conveyance rollers 54 and 58 conveying the object 12 whose inclination has been corrected first until the inclination of the other objects 12 is corrected.

In this embodiment, the conveyance rollers 56a and 56b provided on the outer side of the first conveyance part 42 of the unloading part 40 are provided so as to incline toward the outer side. Thereby, the to-be-processed objects 12b and 12c placed on the outside are conveyed toward the outside by the carry-out portion 40. As shown in FIG. As described above, when the objects to be processed 12a to 12c are arranged and placed in the second direction, the objects to be processed 12b and 12c placed on the outside tend to incline inwardly while the heat treatment section 20 is being conveyed. When the to-be-processed objects 12b and 12c placed on the outside are inclined inward, the to-be-processed objects 12b and 12c placed on the outside may interfere with the conveyance of the to-be-processed object 12a placed on the inside. Therefore, the object to be processed 12a placed on the inside cannot reach the stopper 46, and the plurality of objects to be processed 12a to 12c arranged in the second direction cannot be aligned. In the heat treatment furnace 10 of the present embodiment, the unloading part 40 is configured to carry the objects 12b and 12c placed on the outside to the outside. Therefore, the objects 12b and 12c placed on the outside can be separated from the object 12a placed on the inside, and the objects 12b and 12c placed on the outside can be prevented from interfering with the objects 12b and 12c placed on the inside. The conveyance of the object to be processed 12a.

In addition, although the conveyance rollers 52, 54, 56a, 56b, 58 all have the same diameter in the Example, it is not limited to this structure. For example, the diameters of the conveying rollers provided in the heat treatment unit 20 may be different from the diameters of the conveying rollers provided in the conveying unit 34 and the conveying unit 40, or the diameters of the conveying rollers may be adapted to the type of the object to be processed 12 or The heat treatment conditions and the like are appropriately changed. In this embodiment, the drive device 60 drives each of the conveyance rollers 52, 54, 56a, 56b, and 58 so that the conveyance rollers 52, 54, 56a, 56b, and 58 rotate at substantially the same speed. kind of composition. For example, the heat treatment furnace 10 may include a plurality of driving devices with different driving forces, and the plurality of driving devices may be used so that the conveyance rollers 52 provided in the heat treatment part 20 are different from those in the carrying-in part 34 and the carrying-out part 40 . The provided conveying rollers 52, 54, 56a, 56b, and 58 rotate at different speeds.

In this embodiment, the axes of the conveyance rollers 56a and 56b provided in the first conveyance portion 42 of the unloading portion 40 are all inclined at the same angle to the Y direction, but the present invention is not limited to this configuration. For example, the locus connecting the center points of the conveyance rollers 56a and 56b may be set to be a smooth curve such as a spline curve when viewed in plan view. In this case, the conveyance rollers 56a and 56b are arranged so as to be orthogonal to this spline curve. By arranging the conveyance rollers 56a and 56b in this manner, the boundary portion between the heat treatment portion 20 and the first conveyance portion 42 and the boundary portion between the first conveyance portion 42 and the second conveyance portion 44 can make the difference between the adjacent conveyance rollers. The difference between the angles of the axes is reduced, and the objects 12b and 12c can be smoothly conveyed.

In addition, in this Example, although the conveyance rollers 54 and 58 were provided in the 2nd conveyance part 44 of the unloading part 40, it is not limited to this structure. For example, the conveyance roller 52 may be provided in the 2nd conveyance part 44 system. The to-be-processed objects 12b and 12c placed on the outside are conveyed to the outside by the first conveyance unit 42. As shown in FIG. Therefore, since the conveying rollers are not divided in the second direction in the second conveying portion 44, and the dimension of the conveying portion 40 in the conveying direction is small, it is possible to prevent the objects to be processed 12 placed on the outside from interfering with the objects placed on the inside. Transportation of the object to be processed 12 .

Moreover, in this Example, although the conveyance roller 54, 56a, 56b, 58 divided|segmented in the 2nd direction is provided in the unloading part 40, it is not limited to this structure. The unloading unit 40 may be configured to convey the objects to be processed 12b and 12c placed on the outside to the outside. For example, conveyance rollers with different roller diameters may be provided in one conveyance roller. Specifically, the 1st conveyance part 42 is provided with conveyance rollers which convey the part which conveys the to-be-processed object 12b, 12c mounted on the outer side, and the diameter of the roller becomes smaller toward the outer side. By using such a roller, the distance of conveying the to-be-processed objects 12b and 12c becomes longer inside than the outside, and the to-be-processed objects 12b and 12c are conveyed obliquely to the outside.

In addition, in this Example, although three to-be-processed objects 12a-12c are arranged and mounted in the 2nd direction, it is not limited to this structure. The unloading unit 40 may be configured to carry the objects to be processed 12 placed on the outside to the outside with respect to the objects to be processed 12 placed on the inside, and more than three objects may be arranged in the second direction and placed. The object to be processed 12 . For example, when four objects 12 are arranged and placed in the second direction, as long as the conveying roller (corresponding to the conveying roller 54 in FIG. 3 ) provided in the center of the unloading unit 40 is arranged in the second direction Two to-be-processed objects 12 are placed in parallel, and each of the conveying rollers (corresponding to conveying rollers 56a, 56b, and 58 in FIG. 3 ) provided on the outside may place one of the to-be-processed objects 12 thereon. In addition, in the case where five objects to be processed 12 are arranged and placed in the second direction, it may be configured such that one object to be processed 12 is placed on the conveyance roller (corresponding to the conveyance roller 54 in FIG. 3 ) provided in the center, The conveyance rollers (corresponding to conveyance rollers 56a, 56b, and 58 in FIG. 3 ) provided on the outside are aligned in the second direction and two objects to be processed 12 are placed thereon. In addition, in the case of arranging and placing six objects to be processed 12 in the second direction, the conveying rollers (corresponding to conveying rollers 54 in FIG. 3 ) provided in the center may be arranged and placed in the second direction. Each object 12 to be processed is arranged in the second direction on conveyance rollers (corresponding to conveyance rollers 56a, 56b, and 58 in FIG. 3 ) provided outside, and two objects to be processed 12 are placed. With such a configuration, in the unloading section 40, one or two objects to be processed 12 placed on the outside and one or two objects to be processed 12 placed on the inside can be separated, and It is possible to prevent the object to be processed 12 placed on the outside from interfering with the conveyance of the object to be processed 12 placed on the inside.

As mentioned above, although the specific example of the technique disclosed in this patent specification was demonstrated in detail, these are merely examples, and do not limit the scope of the patent application. The technology described in the scope of the claims includes various modifications and changes to the specific examples shown above. In addition, the technical elements described in the specification or drawings of this patent are technically useful alone or in various combinations, and are not limited to the combinations described in the claims at the time of filing the patent application.

10‧‧‧Heat treatment furnace 12. 12a~12c‧‧‧Items to be processed 20‧‧‧Heat treatment department 22‧‧‧External Wall 24‧‧‧Space 26‧‧‧Opening 28‧‧‧Opening 30‧‧‧Heater 32‧‧‧Heater 34‧‧‧Moving in 40‧‧‧Removal Department 46‧‧‧stop 50‧‧‧Transportation device 52, 54, 56a, 56b, 58‧‧‧Conveying rollers 60‧‧‧Drive 62‧‧‧Controls

1 is a diagram showing a schematic configuration of a heat treatment furnace according to an example, and is a longitudinal cross-sectional view of the heat treatment furnace when the heat treatment furnace is cut along a plane parallel to the conveying direction of the object to be treated. [Fig. 2] A cross-sectional view taken along line II-II in Fig. 1. [Fig. [FIG. 3] It is a top view which shows the schematic structure of a carry-out part. [FIG. 4] It is a figure for demonstrating the direction in which the to-be-processed object is conveyed in a heat-processing part.

12a~12c‧‧‧Items to be processed

40‧‧‧Removal Department

42‧‧‧Conveying Section 1

44‧‧‧Second Handling Section

46‧‧‧stop

54‧‧‧Conveying rollers

56a, 56b‧‧‧Conveying rollers

58‧‧‧Conveying rollers

Claims (3)

A heat treatment furnace is a heat treatment furnace for heat-treating an object to be treated, comprising: a heat treatment part including a space for heat-treating the object to be treated; a carry-out part for carrying out the object to be treated from the heat-treatment part; and a plurality of Support conveying rollers are arranged in the heat treatment part and convey the object to be processed; the conveying rollers can be arranged in a second direction horizontally and perpendicular to the first direction of the conveying direction and place a plurality of objects to be processed; The unloading part is configured such that one or two objects to be processed placed on the outside of the plurality of objects to be processed arranged and placed in the second direction are located on the inner side of the one or two objects to be processed The loaded object to be processed is conveyed to the outside; the unloading part is provided with conveying rollers for conveying a plurality of processed objects conveyed from the heat treatment part; the conveying rollers installed in the unloading part are included in the The second direction is divided into a plurality of partial conveyance rollers; among the divided partial conveyance rollers, the partial conveyance rollers provided on the outer side are arranged to convey the workpiece to the outside; among the divided partial conveyance rollers, The locus of the partial conveyance rollers provided on the outside is arranged so that the locus connecting the center points of the plurality of partial conveyance rollers becomes a spline curve when viewed in plan view. According to the heat treatment furnace of claim 1, wherein the unloading part includes a stopper, and the stopper causes the plurality of objects to be processed arranged and placed in the second direction to be aligned in the first The position of the direction becomes the same. As for the heat treatment furnace of claim 1 or 2 of the scope of the patent application, wherein the furnace placed on the outside The axial length of the partial conveying roller is longer than that of the partial conveying roller provided inside.

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