JPS6360804B2 - - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to a workpiece heat treatment apparatus used for workpiece hardening, plug hardening (strain correction due to hardening), and the like.

For example, quenching of a workpiece is performed by heating the workpiece and then cooling it quickly, but in the past, this heating and cooling were performed using separate and independent equipment, which resulted in a relatively large installation area for the equipment. There was a problem in that the time from heating to cooling varied, making it difficult to uniformly harden each product.

In addition, in the past, especially when heating a workpiece, the workpiece came into contact with air (atmosphere) and its surface was oxidized to some extent, and the oxidized surface was eventually finished by shot cleaning, etc. There was also the problem that the number of steps would increase overall.

The present invention solves the above-mentioned problems, and the first object of the present invention is to reduce the installation area of the equipment, and to reduce the variation in time from heating to cooling. An object of the present invention is to provide a workpiece heat treatment device that eliminates the need for heat treatment.

In order to achieve such an object, the first invention of the present application basically uses a workpiece transfer device that sequentially intermittently feeds a workpiece to each station at intervals between equally spaced stations, and is capable of moving up and down. A heating table, a positioning device provided above the heating table that can be raised and lowered, a heating device having a heating means, a lower cooler that has a built-in plug that can be raised and lowered and is fixed to the base, and a lower cooler that is fixed to the base. A cooling device having an upper cooler located above and movable up and down is disposed in the station.

With this configuration, the workpiece is heated by the heating device and cooled by the cooling device at the same time, but when the heating and cooling are completed, the workpiece transfer device is activated to transfer the new workpiece. The heated workpiece is quickly transferred to the heating table, the heated workpiece to the lower cooler of the cooling device, and the cooled workpiece to, for example, a heater for the next tempering.

Then, in the heater, with the positioning tool,
The workpiece is positioned and uniformly heated by the heating means. On the other hand, since this positioning is also performed with respect to the station, transfer to the next process can be carried out quickly.
Also in the cooler, the workpiece is positioned by a plug, so it can be quickly transferred to the next process. In this way, the workpiece is heated and cooled continuously and efficiently, but the workpiece transfer is quickly carried out by a workpiece transfer device that feeds the workpiece intermittently, and the transition time from heating to cooling is reduced. No variation occurs. In addition, in order to continuously heat and cool the workpiece, the workpiece heating device and the workpiece cooling device are arranged with a small interval between the stations of the workpiece transfer device, and the heating table and positioning tool for the heated product are , the lower cooler of the cooling device is fixed, and the upper cooler is not horizontally driven but is driven up and down, and the workpiece is supported by this small space arrangement. This means that the bases (beds) etc. for storage can be shared, and the overall installation area can be reduced.

In a preferred embodiment of the first invention of the present application, a heating device, a cooling device, and a heating device can be arranged in the station in this order in the transport direction of the workpiece.

Thereby, the workpiece can be quenched and tempered. According to this preferred embodiment, not only normal hardening and tempering operations, but also plug hardening and tempering operations for correcting distortion caused by hardening of cylindrical parts and the like can be performed continuously.
Of course, even if the third station is not further provided with a workpiece heating device, the heating at the first station and the cooling at the second station can be
The above plug can be used for hardening.

In addition to the first invention, it is an object of the second invention of the present application to provide a workpiece heat treatment apparatus in which the surface of the workpiece is not easily oxidized.

In order to achieve this object, in the second invention of the present application, in addition to the configuration of the first invention, for example, N ₂
An inert gas supply device is attached to supply inert gas such as gas.

With this configuration, the work being heated by the heating means of the heating device is isolated from the air (atmosphere) by the inert gas, and surface oxidation of the work is prevented.

Furthermore, the object of the third invention of the present application is to
It is an object of the present invention to provide a heat treatment apparatus for a workpiece, which prevents surface oxidation of the workpiece even more than the second invention.

In order to achieve this object, in the third invention of the present application, in addition to the second invention, the heating device and the cooling device have a heating chamber and a cooling chamber defined by vertical walls.

A passage opening for the workpiece is opened in this vertical wall, and a shutter means for allowing the passage of the workpiece is provided in the passage opening.

By providing the vertical wall in this way, the workpiece is almost completely isolated from the air outside the vertical wall from heating to cooling, which further prevents surface oxidation of the workpiece. It happens.
The vertical wall as described above has an inlet and an outlet for the workpiece to pass through, but these inlets and outlets are closed by shutter means that allows the workpiece to pass through at least in the transport direction. It's getting old. Such shutter means can be, for example, in the form of an inert gas fluid curtain or in the form of a door plate pivotably mounted on the vertical wall.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS The present invention will be described in detail below with reference to drawings showing embodiments of a plug quenching and tempering apparatus.

In FIG. 1, reference numeral 1 denotes a base, above which a work transfer device 2 is disposed extending horizontally. In the embodiment, the workpiece transfer device 2 is configured to intermittently transfer four workpieces (indicated by the symbol W in the drawings) in series from the left to the right in FIG. As the station, the front station A, the first station
It has a total of five stations: station B, second station C, third station D, and rear station E.

The first station B includes a workpiece heating device 3.
The second station C is provided with a workpiece cooling device 4, and the third station D is provided with a workpiece heating device 5. Each device 3, 4, 5 consists of a vertical wall 6 erected on the base 1 and a top wall 7 placed and fixed on top of the vertical wall 6.
As a result, the workpiece heating chamber 3 is
A, a workpiece cooling chamber 4A, and a workpiece heating chamber 5A. More specifically, in the transfer direction of the workpiece, there are four vertical walls 6a ₁ to 6a 1 from the upstream side to the downstream side.
6a ₄ are arranged, among which the middle two vertical walls 6
Among a ₂ and 6a ₃ , 6a ₂ defines a heating chamber 3A and a cooling chamber 4A, and 6a ₃ defines a cooling chamber 4A and a heating chamber 5A. And, in the vertical walls 6a ₁ to 6a ₄ ,
Workpiece passage ports 6b ₁ to 6b ₄ are opened as an inlet, an outlet, or an inlet/outlet for the workpiece to pass through.

Next, each of the devices 2 to 5 will be individually explained in detail.

Workpiece Transfer Device In FIGS. 1 to 3, a plurality of brackets 8 are fixed on the base 1 at intervals in the workpiece transfer direction, and a pair of upper and lower guide rollers 9, 10 are respectively held on each bracket 8. Accordingly, a moving bar 11 formed by combining two elongated members (see Fig. 5)
is held so as to be freely displaceable in the workpiece transfer direction. The moving bar 11 has the stations A to E.
A total of four sets of gripping claws 12 to 15 each consisting of a pair of right and left claw members are attached at each adjacent interval (the only gripping claw 15 is one claw member 15A). Each of the gripping claws 12 to 15 has a pair of claw members 12A, 12B, and 13 as its constituent elements.
The base ends of A, 13B... are rotatably attached to the movable bar 11 via pins 16, respectively, and tooth profiles 12a, 12b, 1 formed on the outer periphery of the base ends.
3a and 13b... are engaged with each other (fourth
(see figure).

Further, a connecting bar 17 is arranged in parallel with the moving bar 11, and the connecting bar 17 is connected to one claw member 12a of each of the gripping claws 12 to 15 via a pin 18.
13a... is rotatably attached (the fourth
(see figure). Both bars 11 and 17 are provided with pins 19 and 19 at their downstream ends in the work transfer direction.
20, one end and the intermediate portion of the lever 21 are rotatably connected (see FIGS. 2 and 3),
As a result, both bars 11 and 17 and one claw member 1
2a, 13a... and the lever 21 constitute a parallel link. A knuckle 23 is rotatably connected to the other end of the lever 21 via a pin 22.

Furthermore, a trolley 24 is arranged on the base 1 at the downstream end in the transport direction of the workpiece, and the trolley 24
is reciprocated in the direction of transport of the workpiece by a cylinder device 25 attached to the base 1 using a guide rail 26 as a guide. Then, another cylinder device 27 attached to the truck 24 is connected to the knuckle 23.
is connected to. Such a double cylinder device 2
5, 27, as shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, each of the gripping claws 12 to 15 is moved by relatively displacing both bars 11 and 17 in the opposite direction in the transfer direction of the workpiece using the cylinder device 27. The cylinder device 25 opens (releases the workpiece) and closes (grips the workpiece).
As a result, each of the gripping claws 15 to 17 is reciprocated at intervals between adjacent stations. Since such an operation itself can be fully understood from the explanation of the above-mentioned configuration, a detailed explanation thereof will not be given.

In addition, in the figure, 28 is a guide rail for making it possible to transfer the workpiece more reliably, and 29 is a receiving rail for receiving the processed workpiece at the fourth station E. Moreover, the cylinder devices 25 and 27 can also be replaced with motors.

Workpiece heating device (first station) As shown in Fig. 1, station heating chamber 3A
Inside, a heating table (workpiece mounting table) 30 made of a heat-resistant material is arranged at a lower position. It is said to be able to move up and down freely. Two guide rods 32 are fixed to the base 1 and extend downward, and the guide rods 32 include:
An elevating table 33 is held movably up and down, and a mounting frame 34 is fixed to the lower end of the guide rod 32. The lifting platform 33 has a built-in motor 35,
A rotating and lifting shaft 36 that is rotationally driven by the motor 35 is held by the bearing member 31. Then, the cylinder device 37 attached to the mounting frame 34
is connected to the lifting platform 33. Therefore, the heating table 30 is driven up and down by the cylinder device 37 via the lifting table 33, the rotating lifting shaft 36, and the bearing member 31, and the heating table 30 is driven up and down by the motor 35. The heating table 30 is rotationally driven via 31.

On the other hand, above the heating table 30, a high frequency heating coil 38 is fixedly arranged concentrically with the heating table 30 in the heating chamber 3A. A positioning tool 39 is firmly disposed with respect to this coil 38, and a rotating lifting shaft 40 extends integrally from the positioning tool 39.
passes through a bearing member 41 attached to the top wall 7 so as to be rotatable and slidable (elevating and lowering). A cylinder device 43 is mounted on the top wall 7 via a bracket 42, and a pin 45 integrally connected to the piston rod via a joint 44 is connected to the rotational lifting shaft 40 via a bearing 46. They are connected to each other so that they can rotate freely and move together in the vertical direction.

The positioning tool 39 has a tapered surface 39a on its lower end surface, and this tapered surface is formed to correspond to the inner diameter of the perforated workpiece to be plug quenched and tempered.

In such a heating device 3, when a workpiece is placed on the heating table 30 in the state shown in FIG. Then, the workpiece is roughly positioned relative to the heating table 30 (ultimately to the coil 38). After this positioning, the internal pressure of the cylinder device 43 is released and it becomes free. Next, the cylinder device 37 and the motor 3
5, the heating table 30 rotates and rises from the position shown in FIG. 1, and the positioning tool 39 follows this rotation and rise to rotate and rise. When the positioning tool 39 is fitted to the workpiece, the heating table 3
0 (workpiece) rotates, the workpiece is accurately positioned with respect to the heating table 30 (coil 38). When the workpiece reaches the coil 38, the coil 38 applies high-frequency heating to the workpiece to a predetermined temperature, but the heating table 30 continues to rotate during this heating to prevent uneven heating of the workpiece. After this heating, the heating table 30 is lowered,
The state returns to the state shown in FIG. If the workpiece is not completely clamped due to a workpiece transfer error, the proximity switch 64 is activated to stop the apparatus.

Note that the shape of the heating coil 38 can be selected as appropriate, and the shape of the heating coil 38 can be selected as appropriate.
The heating coil 38 may be brought closer to the workpiece by displacing the heating coil 38 toward the workpiece from an appropriate direction.

Work Cooling Device As shown in FIG. 1, a lower cooler 50 on which a work heated by the heating device 3 is placed is connected to
It is fixed on the base 1 in the cooling chamber 4A via. A cylinder device 52 fixed to the base 1 is disposed below the support 51, and a rod 53 fixed to the piston rod slidably passes through a metal bearing 54 attached to the base 1 to attach to the support. A plug 55 is fixed at the tip of the rod 53 to be inserted into the inner hole of the heated workpiece.

On the other hand, above the lower cooler 50, a cooling chamber 4A is provided.
A guide rod 57 integrally extends from the die plate 47 holding the upper cooler 56 and slides (raises and lowers) a bearing 58 attached to the top wall 7. ) It penetrates freely. A piston rod of a cylinder device 59 mounted on the top wall 7 is connected to the upper cooler 56 to drive it up and down.

In such a cooling device 4, when a heated workpiece is placed on the lower cooler 50, the cylinder device 52 raises the plug 55 from the position shown in FIG. 1 and fits it into the inner hole of the workpiece. Let it be inserted. Next, the upper cooler 56 is lowered by the cylinder device 59 to bring it into close contact with the lower cooler 50, and a cooling liquid is supplied into the space formed by the cooling containers 50 and 56 to cool the workpiece. to cool down. After cooling the workpiece, the upper cooler 56 is raised and the plug 55 is lowered to return to the state shown in FIG. 1.

Note that the upper cooler 56 may be displaced relative to the lower cooler 50 by a pivoting motion using a lever.

Work heating device (third station) As shown in Fig. 1, this is basically the same as the work heating device in the first station, and therefore has substantially the same components as the work heating device in the first station. will be given the symbol "'" and the explanation thereof will be omitted, and only the different parts will be described.

In the heating device of this third station,
Because it is used for tempering, the heating coil 3
8' is a low-frequency heating coil, that is, one that induces a low-frequency current in the workpiece, and since no particular accuracy is required for positioning the workpiece, the heating table 30' does not rotate. .

The overall operation of the plug quenching and tempering apparatus as described above will be briefly explained.The premise is that the workpiece mounting table 60 is installed on the base 1 at the front station A, and the workpiece mounting table 60 is placed on the base 1. A workpiece to be supplied to the heating device 3 is supplied to 60 by a conveyor or the like (not shown). Further, a workpiece collection conveyor (not shown) is arranged near the rear station E, so that the workpieces processed by the heating device 5 are transferred onto the receiving rail 29 and then collected by the collection conveyor. It's getting old.

Now, with the workpieces placed at each of the stations A to D, each of the devices 3 to 5 simultaneously performs corresponding processing on the workpieces. This simultaneous processing constitutes one cycle, and when one cycle is completed, the gripping claws 12 transfer the workpiece on the front station A (mounting table 60) to the first station B (heating table 30), The gripping claw 13 transfers the work heated at the first station B to the second station C.
(the lower cooler 50), and the gripping claws 14
The workpiece cooled at the station C is transferred to the third station D (heating table 30'), and the gripping claw 15 transfers the workpiece tempered at the third station D to the fourth station D.
It is transferred to station E, that is, the receiving rail 29.

The above-mentioned works are transferred at the same time, and when the transfer is completed, the corresponding processing is performed again by each of the devices 3 to 5.

In this way, the workpiece supplied to the front station A is sequentially heated (first station), cooled, and heated (third station) by reciprocating the gripping claws 12 to 15 four times in the workpiece transfer direction. After passing through the station) process, it is collected as a treated product, and such a time chart is shown in FIG.

7 to 9 show another embodiment of the present invention, in which the heating device 5 for tempering is removed from the embodiment shown in FIG. 1. That is, it is suitable for cases where tempering is performed as a separate process or used only for simple hardening work that does not require tempering.

FIG. 10 shows still another embodiment of the present invention, in which the heating device 3 in the first station B is
an inert gas supply device 61A for spraying an inert gas such as N ₂ gas onto the workpiece;
61B is further added. By supplying this inert gas, the workpiece and air are of course cut off, and the inside of the heating chamber 3A becomes at least atmospheric pressure due to the supply of inert gas, and the workpiece passage port 6
Air (atmosphere) from b ₁ and 6b ₂ can be prevented from entering the heating chamber 3A. The heating chamber 3A includes a first inert gas supply device 61A that supplies inert gas to the work being heated in the vicinity of the coil 38, and a heating table 3 that is in a lowered position.
There are two types of second inert gas supply device 61B for supplying inert gas to the workpiece above. However, both supply devices 61A,
61B, the inert gas storage source, its power source, etc. can be made common by only changing the orientation (opening) position of the inert gas injection nozzle.

Furthermore, in the one in FIG. 10, the cooling chamber 4
A supply device 61C for supplying inert gas to the workpiece placed on the lower cooler 50 is also attached inside A. Thereby, oxidation of the surface of the workpiece until the workpiece is cooled can be more reliably prevented.

Figures 11 and 12 show workpiece passage ports 6b ₁ to 6.
b ₃ is blocked _by a shutter means, and _in the one shown in FIG. An inert gas supply device for this purpose is indicated by reference numeral 62), and the passage ports 6b ₁ and 6b ₃ are closed (preventing air flow with the outside) by a fluid curtain of inert gas. ing. In addition, in the one shown in FIG. 12, the workpiece passage ports 6b ₁ to 6b ₃ are connected to door plates 63A to 63C whose upper ends are rotatably supported on the vertical walls 6a ₁ to 6a ₃ via hinges. It was twisted to block it. Of course, the door plates 63A to 63C are normally loaded with their own weight or springs to close the work passage ports 6a ₁ to 6.
A ₃ is closed, but when the work to be transferred comes into contact with it, the transfer force causes it to open.

Although the embodiments have been described above, the present invention is not limited thereto, and includes, for example, the following cases.

The workpiece transfer device 2 may be of any type, such as a turntable type, as long as it can intermittently feed a plurality of workpieces in series at the same time. In addition, in the case of a turntable type, the devices 3 to 5 may be arranged along the periphery thereof, and gripping claws for clamping the workpiece may be attached to the turntable.

A cleaning device or the like may be attached to the position of the rear station E.

The heating coil 38' in the tempering heating device 5 of the third station D can be replaced with an electric furnace, hot air circulation furnace, or the like.

As is clear from the above, the first application of the present application
According to the invention, the entire apparatus can be made compact, heat treatment can be performed uniformly for each workpiece, and heat treatment can be performed efficiently.

Further, in the second invention of the present application, in addition to the above, surface oxidation of the workpiece can be prevented and a good heat-treated product can be obtained, and especially in the third invention of the present application, extremely high quality heat treatment can be obtained. You can get the goods.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a longitudinal sectional view showing one embodiment of the present invention, FIGS. 2 and 3 are plan views showing different operating modes of the workpiece transfer device, and FIGS. 4 and 5 are different views of the workpiece transfer device. Partially enlarged plan view showing operation mode, No. 6
The figure is a sectional view taken along the line of FIG. 4, and FIGS. 7 to 9 show other embodiments of the present invention, of which FIG. 7 is a longitudinal sectional view, and FIGS. FIG. 10 is a vertical sectional view showing still another embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 11, FIG.
The figure is a vertical sectional view of a main part showing still another embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 13 is a time chart in one embodiment of the present invention. 2... Workpiece transfer device, 3... Workpiece heating device (first station), 4... Workpiece cooling device, 5... Workpiece heating device (third station), 6... Vertical wall (partition wall), 6b ₁ to 6b ₄ ... Workpiece passage Mouth, 61A, 6
1B, 61C... Inert gas supply device, 62... (For fluid curtain) Inert gas supply device, 63A, 6
3B, 63C...Door plate, A~E...Station, W
…work.

Claims (1)

[Scope of Claims] 1. A workpiece transfer device that sequentially intermittently feeds a workpiece to each station at intervals between equally spaced stations, and a workpiece transfer device that is provided at each of the stations and places the workpiece that is intermittently fed thereon. A positioning tool that has a heating table that can be raised and lowered and that positions the workpiece placed on the heating table from above by pressing it against the heating table from above and also holds the workpiece between the heating table and the heating table. A heating device having a heating means for heating a workpiece; and a lower cooler, which is located at the station and fixed to a base, and is configured to receive intermittently fed workpieces with a liftable plug. A cooling device having an upper cooler which is movable up and down above the cooler and which forms a closed cooling chamber between the upper cooler and the lower cooler. 2. In claim 1, the heating means of the heating device is a high frequency or low frequency heating device. 3. A workpiece transfer device that intermittently feeds the workpiece to each station in sequence at intervals between the stations provided at equal intervals, and a heating table that is provided at each station and is movable up and down on which the workpiece that is intermittently fed is placed. A positioning device which is located at the lower part and is movable up and down to position the work by pressing the work placed on the heating table from above and to sandwich the work with the heating table, and a heating means to heat the work on the heating table. and a lower cooler which is located at the station and fixed to the base, and which receives intermittently fed workpieces with a plug that can be raised and lowered, and which can be raised and lowered above the lower cooler. a cooling device having an upper cooler forming a closed cooling chamber with a lower cooler; and an inert gas for supplying an inert gas to a workpiece heated by the heating means of the heating device. Workpiece heat treatment equipment equipped with a gas supply device. 4. In claim 3, the heating means of the heating device is a high frequency or low frequency heating device. 5 In claims 3 and 4,
Inert gas is _N2 gas. 6. A work transfer device that sequentially intermittently feeds the work to each station at intervals between the stations provided at equal intervals, and a heating table that is provided at each of the stations and is movable up and down on which the work that is intermittently fed is placed. A positioning device which is located at the lower part and is movable up and down to position the work by pressing the work placed on the heating table from above and to sandwich the work with the heating table, and a heating means to heat the work on the heating table. and a lower cooler which is located at the station and fixed to the base, and which receives intermittently fed workpieces with a plug that can be raised and lowered, and which can be raised and lowered above the lower cooler. a cooling device having an upper cooler forming a closed cooling chamber with a lower cooler; and an inert gas for supplying an inert gas to a workpiece heated by the heating means of the heating device. a gas supply device, the heating device and the cooling device have a heating chamber and a cooling chamber defined by a vertical wall, a passage opening for the workpiece is opened in the vertical wall, and the passage opening for the workpiece is provided in the passage opening. A heat treatment apparatus for a workpiece, which is provided with a shutter means that allows 7. According to claim 6, the shutter means is a fluid curtain made of the inert gas. 8. Claim 6, wherein the shutter means is a door plate rotatably attached to the partition wall. 9. Claim 7, wherein the inert gas is _N2 gas. 10. The heating device according to claim 6, in which the heating means is a high frequency or low frequency heating device.