JP2011064425A - Heat treatment device - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a heat treatment device capable of preventing introduced gas from being mixed between regions. <P>SOLUTION: In the heat treatment device, the inside of a furnace is partitioned into a plurality of regions so that an atmosphere around a workpiece W is different in each of the regions, and the workpiece W is advanced to the partitioned regions in order, and heat treatment is applied to the workpiece W. The heat treatment device includes a gas introduction part 2 for supplying treatment gas in the respective partitioned regions, an exhausting part 3 for exhausting atmospheric gas in the plurality of the partitioned regions, and a purge gas supply part 7. The purge gas supply part 7 is disposed between the adjacent regions, and has injection ports 17a and 17b for injecting purge gas from the upper side to the lower side of the workpiece W. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2011,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a heat treatment apparatus for heat-treating a workpiece while moving in a furnace.

As a heat treatment apparatus for heat-treating the workpiece in the furnace, the furnace is divided into a plurality of regions, and the atmosphere (temperature, gas concentration, etc.) around the workpiece is different for each divided region. 2. Description of the Related Art An apparatus that heats a workpiece by sequentially conveying the workpiece by a conveyor is known.
As such a heat treatment apparatus, for example, as shown in Patent Document 1, the gas concentration in a certain region partitioned in the furnace is detected, and is provided before and after the region so as to be the target gas concentration. There is a heat treatment device that controls the opening degree of the exhaust port.

JP-A-8-60254 (see FIG. 5)

According to the apparatus described in Patent Document 1, since the gas concentration in the region partitioned in the furnace is controlled to be the target gas concentration, the atmosphere in the region can be stabilized.
Moreover, the following can be considered as another heat treatment apparatus for heat-treating the workpiece in the furnace. That is, as shown in FIG. 6, a plurality of partitioned areas A1, A2,..., A gas introduction unit 90 that supplies a predetermined processing gas to each of the partitioned areas A1, A2,. It is possible to consider an apparatus that includes an exhaust part 91 that exhausts gas from each of them, and is provided with exhaust parts 91 and 91 before and after the gas introduction part 90 in the traveling direction of the workpiece W.
According to this apparatus, a predetermined processing gas can be supplied to the region A1, for example, by the gas introduction unit 90, and the gas can be exhausted by the exhaust unit 91 from before and after the region A1. With this configuration, the inside of the furnace is divided into a plurality of regions with the exhaust portion 91 as a boundary so that the atmosphere is different for each region.

  However, in the configuration of the apparatus shown in FIG. 6, for example, the gas in the region A1 is not completely exhausted by the exhaust portions 91 and 91 on the upstream side and the downstream side, and a part of the gas in the region A1 is upstream. There is a risk of flowing to other regions on the side or downstream side. In this case, for example, part of the gas in the region A1 is mixed with the gas in the other region A2, and the region A2 as a whole cannot have a target atmosphere (for example, gas type, composition, flow rate, etc.). If it does so, desired heat processing cannot be performed with respect to the workpiece | work W in area | region A2.

  Further, as shown in FIG. 6, the exhaust port 91a of the exhaust unit 91 for exhausting the gas is disposed in front and rear of the introduction port 90a of the gas introduction unit 90 for supplying the processing gas. For example, when the supply amount of the processing gas in one region A1 is increased according to the necessary heat treatment, it is necessary to increase the exhaust amount by the exhaust unit 91 on the downstream side, and this increase in the exhaust amount is a cause. This may affect the atmosphere in the downstream area A2. In other words, the conventional configuration is easily affected by adjacent regions, and the regions cannot be individually adjusted, and the balance between the introduction and exhaust of gas in each region, that is, the adjustment of the atmosphere in each region. Is difficult.

Therefore, in such a heat treatment apparatus, it is desired to improve the performance of separating the partitioned areas (separating the atmosphere).
Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide a heat treatment apparatus capable of preventing the introduced processing gas from being mixed between regions.

  In order to achieve the above object, the heat treatment apparatus of the present invention is configured such that the furnace is partitioned into a plurality of regions so that the atmosphere around the workpieces is different for each region. A heat treatment apparatus for performing a heat treatment, wherein a gas introduction unit that supplies a processing gas to each of the plurality of partitioned regions, an exhaust unit that exhausts atmospheric gas of each of the plurality of partitioned regions, and the adjacent regions And a purge gas supply unit having a jet port for jetting purge gas from above to below the workpiece.

According to the present invention, the purge gas supply unit separates adjacent regions by the purge gas by ejecting the purge gas from the jet port provided between the adjacent regions from the upper side to the lower side of the workpiece, and is adjacent to the purge region. It is possible to prevent gas from being mixed between the regions. Further, the separation of the area by the purge gas can be effectively performed without being influenced by the conveyor for carrying and transferring the work, for example.
And in each area | region isolate | separated by purge gas in this way, a gas introduction part supplies process gas, and an exhaust part exhausts the atmospheric gas of each said area | region, and maintains the atmosphere of each area | region in a desired state. be able to.

  Further, according to the configuration of the present invention, the gas introduction part and the exhaust part are provided for each region, and each region separated by the purge gas can be in an independent state. The introduction part and the exhaust part operate independently with respect to the gas introduction part and the exhaust part in other regions, so that it is possible to adjust the balance between the introduction of the processing gas and the exhaust of the atmospheric gas in each region. Therefore, for example, even if the supply amount of the processing gas is changed in one region according to the necessary heat treatment, the exhaust amount of the atmospheric gas by the exhaust part in the one region may be adjusted according to this change. As described above, since it is easy to adjust the balance between the introduction of the processing gas and the exhaust of the atmospheric gas in each region, that is, the adjustment of the atmosphere for each region, it is possible to change the supply amount of the processing gas in one region. The influence on adjacent regions can be suppressed, and the state where each region is separated is maintained.

Moreover, it is preferable that the introduction port for discharging the processing gas in the gas introduction unit and the exhaust port for sucking the atmospheric gas in the exhaust unit are arranged in the same section with respect to the traveling direction of the workpiece.
In this case, the atmospheric gas derived from the processing gas discharged from the inlet port is sucked from the exhaust port in the same section with respect to the traveling direction of the workpiece, so that the atmospheric gas does not easily enter the adjacent region.

Further, it is preferable that the processing gas supply amount per unit time by the gas introduction unit and the atmospheric gas exhaust amount per unit time by the exhaust unit are set to be equal.
For example, if the processing gas supply amount is too large compared to the atmospheric gas exhaust amount, the gas easily flows into the adjacent region, but according to this configuration, it is possible to prevent this inflow.

Further, the purge gas supply unit includes a first jet port for jetting the purge gas, a second jet port for jetting the purge gas provided downstream of the first jet port in the moving direction of the workpiece, It is preferable to have a suction port provided between the first jet port and the second jet port for sucking the purge gas.
According to this configuration, since the suction port is provided between the first jet port for ejecting the purge gas and the second jet port, the atmospheric gas derived from the processing gas supplied to the region for processing the workpiece is The exhaust from the suction port can be prevented.

In this case, the purge gas ejection amount per unit time of the purge gas ejected from the first ejection port and the second ejection port, and the purge gas per unit time of the purge gas sucked from the suction port The suction amount is preferably set to be equal.
In this case, since all the purge gas ejected from the first ejection port and the second ejection port can be sucked by the suction port, it is possible to prevent the purge gas from flowing into the region where the processing gas is introduced. It is possible to prevent the purge gas from being mixed with the processing gas in the region and affecting the atmosphere in the region.

According to the heat treatment apparatus of the present invention, the ability to separate adjacent regions with a purge gas is enhanced, so that it is possible to prevent gas from being mixed between adjacent regions, and the atmosphere in each region is maintained in a desired state. can do. For this reason, a desired heat treatment can be performed on the workpiece for each region.
Further, according to the heat treatment apparatus of the present invention, the gas introduction part and the exhaust part are provided for each region, and the atmosphere can be adjusted for each region, so that an ideal atmosphere can be realized for each region. And interference between adjacent regions is prevented.
The present invention is particularly useful when it is necessary to strictly separate the atmosphere for each region.

It is a longitudinal cross-sectional view which shows a part of heat processing apparatus of this invention. It is a cross-sectional view of the II-II arrow of FIG. It is a cross-sectional view of the III-III arrow of FIG. It is a cross-sectional view of the IV-IV arrow of FIG. It is explanatory drawing which shows the relationship between the position of the advancing direction of the workpiece | work in a heat processing furnace, and atmospheric gas in the said position. It is a longitudinal cross-sectional view which shows a part of conventional heat processing apparatus.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.
FIG. 1 is a longitudinal sectional view showing a part of the heat treatment apparatus of the present invention. This heat treatment apparatus includes a heat treatment furnace (heating chamber) 1 that is long in one direction, a processing gas containing oxygen or the like is supplied into the heat treatment furnace 1, and a workpiece (in a atmosphere formed in the furnace by the processing gas ( The object to be processed (W) is heat-treated. A conveyor device 9 having a mesh belt 9a is provided in the heat treatment furnace 1, and the workpiece W is heat-treated while being conveyed while being placed on the mesh belt 9a. The traveling direction of the workpiece W (hereinafter referred to as the workpiece traveling direction) and the longitudinal direction of the heat treatment furnace 1 are the same direction.

In the heat treatment apparatus shown in FIG. 1, a work W inlet (not shown) is provided on the left side of the heat treatment furnace 1, and a work W discharge port (not shown) is provided on the right side. The workpieces W are sequentially loaded from the loading port, and these workpieces W are heat-treated in the heat treatment furnace 1. That is, this heat treatment apparatus is a continuous type.
The inside of the heat treatment furnace 1 is divided into a plurality of regions A0, A1, A2,..., And is formed in the region by the temperature around the workpiece W and the processing gas in each region A0, A1, A2,. It is configured to be adjustable so as to be different from the atmosphere to be performed. And the workpiece | work W advances in order by the said conveyor apparatus 9 in each divided area, and the said workpiece | work W is heat-processed according to the temperature and atmosphere of each area | region.

Further, the heat treatment apparatus is present in each of the plurality of divided areas A0, A1, A2,... And an exhaust section 3 for exhausting the atmospheric gas being discharged to the outside.
The gas introduction unit 2 is provided for each partitioned region, and each gas introduction unit 2 includes a processing gas source for heat-treating the workpiece W, a pressure adjusting valve, a flow meter and the like, a heat treatment furnace, and a heat treatment furnace. 1 and an introduction pipe 22 to which a processing gas is supplied from a delivery device 21. Then, a processing gas is supplied from the introduction pipe 22 into the heat treatment furnace 1.
The delivery device 21 of each gas introduction unit 2 can operate independently of the delivery device 21 provided in another area. Then, it is possible to supply a processing gas set to a different composition and flow rate to each of the plurality of regions.

  2 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line II-II in FIG. The introduction pipe 22 is a tubular member that is long in the transverse direction of the heat treatment furnace 1, and is disposed so as to face the placement surface of the workpiece W (the upper surface of the mesh belt 9 a). When projected onto the placement surface, the direction is orthogonal to the workpiece traveling direction. The introduction pipe 22 is formed with an introduction port 23 that opens downward and discharges the processing gas from above the workpiece W downward. Each gas introduction unit 2 shown in FIG. 1 has a plurality of introduction pipes 22 branched from the delivery device 21. That is, one processing gas pipe unit 25 is constituted by a plurality of sets of introduction pipes 22. The introduction pipes 22 are in a parallel arrangement.

  The exhaust part 3 is provided for each partitioned area, and each exhaust part 3 exists in each area, and an exhaust pipe 32 through which the atmospheric gas existing in each area passes when exhausted to the outside. And an exhaust device 31 having an ejector or the like having a function of exhausting the atmospheric gas that has been discharged to the outside through the exhaust pipe 32. In FIG. 2, the exhaust pipe 32 is installed on both sides in the width direction of each region, and the exhaust pipe 32 opens toward the center in the width direction of each region, and exhaust ports (exhaust holes) for sucking atmospheric gas. A plurality of 33 are formed. The exhaust device 31 of each exhaust unit 3 can operate independently of the exhaust devices 31 provided in other regions.

  And as shown in FIG. 1, the inlet 23 which the gas introduction part 2 has, and the exhaust port 33 which the exhaust part 3 has are arrange | positioned in the same area regarding the workpiece advancing direction. . That is, in the area in each section, the introduction port 23 is located above the workpiece W and the exhaust port 33 is located on the side of the workpiece W, but the exhaust port 33 exists in the workpiece traveling direction. The introduction port 23 is disposed within the range. In each region, one gas introduction part 2 is provided for one exhaust part 3, and there is a relationship between the gas introduction part 2 and the exhaust part 3 dedicated to each other.

  Then, in order to divide the inside of the heat treatment furnace 1 into a plurality of regions and prevent mixing of the atmosphere due to the composition and flow rate of the processing gas around the workpiece W in each region, the heat treatment apparatus is further adjacent (atmosphere of the atmosphere). A purge gas supply unit 7 is provided which has jet ports 17a and 17b provided between regions (to prevent mixing) and jets purge gas from the jet ports 17a and 17b to the regions. The purge gas is, for example, nitrogen gas. That is, the purge gas is ejected from the upper side to the lower side of the workpiece W from the jet ports 17a and 17b.

  The purge gas supply unit 7 includes a supply device 11 having a purge gas source, a pressure regulating valve, a flow meter, and the like, a first supply pipe unit 12a installed in the heat treatment furnace 1 and supplied with purge gas from the supply device 11, and a second supply pipe unit 12a. And a supply pipe portion 12b. The first supply pipe portion 12a is formed with a first jet port 17a for jetting purge gas to the lower surface of the work W, and the second supply pipe portion 12b has a lower work piece. A second jet port 17b for jetting purge gas to the W mounting surface is formed.

Further, the purge gas supply unit 7 sucks the purge gas ejected from the jet outlets 17a and 17b and allows the purge gas to pass therethrough and exhausts the purge gas to the outside through the suction pipe unit 13. And a discharge device 14 having an ejector or the like having a function. The suction pipe portion 13 is formed with a suction port 18 that opens downward and sucks the purge gas.
Each supply device 11 and each discharge device 14 can operate independently of the supply device 11 and the discharge device 14 provided in other areas.

  3 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line III-III in FIG. 1, and FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line IV-IV in FIG. The first supply pipe section 12a, the second supply pipe section 12b, and the suction pipe section 13 provided in each purge gas supply section 7 are tubular members that are long in the transverse direction of the heat treatment furnace 1, and are shown in FIG. In the embodiment, these pipe portions 12a, 12b, and 13 are integrally formed, and the pipe portions 12a, 12b, and 13 constitute a purge gas pipe unit 15. The purge gas pipe unit 15 is arranged in parallel with the introduction pipe 22 for the processing gas.

In FIG. 1, in the purge gas pipe unit 15, the second jet port 17b of the second supply pipe part 12b is located downstream of the first jet port 17a of the first supply pipe part 12a in the workpiece traveling direction. A suction port 18 is provided between the first jet port 17a and the second jet port 17b.
Further, the first jet port 17a, the second jet port 17b, and the suction port 18 are provided at the same level in the height direction, and are lower than the introduction port 23 of the introduction pipe 22 for processing gas. In the position.

The purge gas pipe unit 15 is provided for each divided area. That is, one purge gas pipe unit 15 is provided between the processing gas pipe units 25 and 25 adjacent to each other in the work traveling direction, and the purge gas pipe unit 15 is connected to the processing gas pipe unit 25 and the work progressing. They do not overlap with each other and are provided at different positions.
Each processing gas pipe unit 25 is provided for each of the regions A0, A1, A2,. Further, an exhaust port 33 formed in the exhaust pipe 32 of the exhaust unit 3 is also provided for each of the divided areas A1, A2,... They do not overlap with each other and are provided at different positions.

  According to the heat treatment apparatus having the above-described configuration, purge gas is supplied from the jet outlet 17a of the first supply pipe section 12a and the jet outlet 17b of the second supply pipe section 12b of the purge gas supply section 7 on the left side in FIG. By ejecting to the placement surface of the workpiece W (the upper surface of the mesh belt 9a), the region A0 on the upstream side in the workpiece traveling direction can be separated from the region A1 on the downstream side in the workpiece traveling direction. It is possible to prevent the atmospheric gas derived from the processing gas introduced from the introduction pipe 22 from flowing into the region A0.

  Further, the purge gas is placed from the upper side to the lower side of the workpiece W from the jet port 17a of the first supply pipe part 12a and the jet port 17b of the second supply pipe part 12b of the purge gas supply part 7 in the center in FIG. By ejecting to the surface, it is possible to separate the area A1 on the upstream side in the workpiece traveling direction and the area A2 on the downstream side in the workpiece traveling direction, and the processing gas introduced in each of the areas A1 and A2 It is possible to prevent the gas from flowing to another region, and it is possible to prevent the atmosphere gas from being mixed between the region A1 and the region A2. Hereinafter, similarly, the region A2 and the region A3 are separated from each other, and the atmospheric gas can be prevented from being mixed.

  As a result, as shown in FIG. 5, the atmosphere gas can be made different in each region A0, A1, A2, A3... And the position of the purge gas pipe unit 15 of the purge gas supply unit 7 is a boundary. As described above, the regions can be separated into different atmosphere gases. Moreover, according to the present invention, since the separation performance between the regions is high, a uniform atmosphere can be obtained over the entire region in each region A0, A1, A2, A3.

Thus, according to the purge gas supply unit 7, the purge gas is ejected between the regions 17A and 17b of the purge gas pipe unit 15 provided between the regions where the atmospheres are different, by the purge gas. The performance of separating adjacent regions is improved, and it is possible to prevent the atmosphere gas from being mixed between adjacent regions.
And in each area | region isolate | separated by purge gas in this way, process gas is supplied from the inlet pipe 22 of the gas introduction part 2, and the atmospheric gas in the said area | region is exhausted outside from the exhaust pipe 32 of the exhaust part 3. The atmospheric gas in each region can be maintained in a desired state. As a result, the workpiece W can be heat-treated in a desired atmosphere for each region, and the occurrence of defective products can be reduced. Furthermore, according to the type of the workpiece W, it is possible to prevent the binder generated by heat treatment in one region from flowing out to another region.

  Further, according to the embodiment of FIG. 1, the inlet 23 formed in the introduction pipe 22 of the gas introduction unit 2 installed in one region (for example, the region A1), and the exhaust unit installed in the one region. Since the exhaust port 33 formed in the third exhaust pipe 32 is disposed in the same section with respect to the workpiece traveling direction, the processing gas released from the introduction port 23 is exhausted in the same section with respect to the workpiece traveling direction. Sucked from. For this reason, it becomes difficult for the processing gas released into one region (region A1) to enter the adjacent region (region A0, region A2), and the separation performance of the region can be further improved.

  In addition, as described with reference to FIG. 6, the conventional configuration is easily influenced by adjacent regions, and the regions cannot be adjusted individually, and the balance adjustment between the introduction and exhaust of the processing gas in each region, that is, It was difficult to adjust the atmosphere for each area.

  However, according to the present invention, the regions separated by the purge gas supplied from the purge gas supply unit 7 can be made independent, and the gas introduction unit 2 and the exhaust unit 3 are provided for each region. Therefore, it becomes easy to adjust the balance between the introduction of the processing gas and the exhaust of the atmospheric gas. The balance adjustment between the introduction of the processing gas and the exhaust of the atmospheric gas is realized by adjusting the delivery device 21 of each gas introduction unit 2 and the exhaust device 31 of each exhaust unit 3 as described above. Further, the delivery device 21 of each gas introduction unit 2 and the exhaust device 31 of each exhaust unit 3 operate independently of the delivery device 21 in the other region and the exhaust device 31 in the other region. It is easy to adjust the balance between the introduction of gas and the exhaust of atmospheric gas.

  In FIG. 1, the purge gas pipe unit 15 of the purge gas supply unit 7 is provided with a first jet port 17 a and a second jet port 17 b for jetting purge gas before and after the suction port 18. The processing gas supplied by the introduction unit 2 can be prevented from being exhausted from the suction port 18. That is, the suction port 18 can be prevented from affecting the atmosphere of the region where the workpiece W is heat-treated.

Further, in the purge gas supply unit 7, the supply amount and the discharge amount of the supply device 11 and the discharge device 14 are adjusted to be ejected from the first jet port 17 a and the second jet port 17 b (total). The purge gas ejection amount per unit time of the purge gas and the purge gas suction amount per unit time of the purge gas sucked from the suction port 18 are set to be equal.
According to this setting, since all of the purge gas ejected from the first ejection port 17a and the second ejection port 17b can be sucked by the suction port 18, the processing gas is introduced by the gas introduction unit 2. The purge gas can be prevented from flowing into the region where the purge gas flows, and the purge gas can be prevented from being mixed with the processing gas in the region and affecting the atmosphere in the region.

Further, with respect to the gas introduction part 2 and the exhaust part 3 for the processing gas, the process gas supply per unit time by the gas introduction part 2 is adjusted by adjusting the supply amount and the discharge amount of the delivery device 21 and the exhaust device 31. The amount and the atmospheric gas exhaust amount per unit time by the exhaust unit 3 are set to be equal.
For example, if the processing gas supply amount is too large compared to the atmospheric gas exhaust amount, the atmospheric gas is likely to flow into the adjacent region. However, according to this setting, this flow can be prevented.

In addition, the heat treatment apparatus of the present invention is not limited to the illustrated form, and may be of other forms within the scope of the present invention. For example, regarding the introduction pipe 22 of the gas introduction part 2, the above-described embodiment includes a plurality of pipes. However, the number may be one, and with respect to the exhaust pipe 32 of the exhaust part 3, The number of exhaust ports 33 is one for each left and right of each region, and a plurality of exhaust ports 33 leading from the exhaust pipe 32 to the inside of the furnace are provided. Also good. Furthermore, the inlet 23 may be provided on the side wall or the upper wall of the heat treatment furnace 1.
Further, the purge gas pipe unit 15 may be configured such that each pipe part is independent.
Further, the belt of the conveyor device 9 may not be a mesh, and further, the conveyor device 9 may be of a wire type, a roller type, a walking beam type or the like other than the belt type. In addition, the work W may be transported in a state where the work W is directly placed on the transport surface, and a tray on which the work W is placed may be placed on the transport surface.
Note that the present invention is preferably used when the work W needs to strictly manage the atmosphere around the work W during heat treatment regardless of the material and form of metal, semiconductor, ceramics, etc. Can do.

1: heat treatment furnace, 2: gas introduction unit, 3: exhaust unit, 7: purge gas supply unit, 17a: first jet port, 17b: second jet port, 18: suction port, 23: introduction port, 33: Exhaust port, W: Workpiece

Claims (5)

The furnace is partitioned into a plurality of regions so that the atmosphere around the workpiece is different for each region, and the workpiece advances in order in each partitioned region and heat-treats the workpiece,
A gas introduction part for supplying a processing gas to each of the plurality of partitioned regions;
An exhaust section for exhausting the atmosphere gas of each of the plurality of partitioned regions;
A purge gas supply unit provided between the adjacent regions and having a jet port for jetting purge gas from above to below the workpiece;
A heat treatment apparatus comprising:   The introduction port that the gas introduction unit has and discharges the processing gas and the exhaust port that the exhaust unit has and sucks the atmospheric gas are arranged in the same section with respect to the traveling direction of the workpiece. The heat processing apparatus as described in.   The heat treatment apparatus according to claim 1 or 2, wherein a processing gas supply amount per unit time by the gas introduction unit and an atmospheric gas exhaust amount per unit time by the exhaust unit are set to be equal.   The purge gas supply unit includes a first jet port that ejects the purge gas, a second jet port that is provided downstream of the first jet port in the traveling direction of the workpiece and ejects the purge gas, and the first jet port. The heat processing apparatus as described in any one of Claims 1-3 which has the suction port which is provided between the jet nozzle of this and the said 2nd jet nozzle, and attracts | sucks the said purge gas.   The purge gas ejection amount per unit time of the purge gas ejected from the first ejection port and the second ejection port is equivalent to the purge gas suction amount per unit time of the purge gas sucked from the suction port. The heat processing apparatus of Claim 4 set to these.

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