Cooling furnace

Abstract

To provide a cooling furnace which can prevent the interference of conveyance rollers with the inner circumferential face of a through hole due to thermal expansion.SOLUTION: The size of a through hole 52 of a side wall 22a is set to the one through which end parts of six conveyance rollers 58 can be inserted. For this reason, the intervals between the outer circumferential face of each conveyance roller 58 and the inner circumferential face of the through hole 52 are made larger, thus the interference of the conveyance rollers 58 with the inner circumferential face of the through hole 52 due to thermal expansion can be prevented. Since the inside of the through hole 52 is provided with a roller seal member 54, and each end part of the six conveyance rollers 58 is rotatably inserted into a roller hole 56 of the roller seal member 54, the release of heat from the inside of a conveyance chamber 24 to the outside through the huge through hole 52 of the side wall 22a can be prevented.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 3

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a cooling furnace that cools a heat-treated object while transporting it in a transport chamber. [Background technology]

[0002] Some cooling furnaces have a configuration in which multiple transport rollers are installed within a transport chamber. These multiple transport rollers are arranged in a row at intervals from one another, and the ends of each transport roller protrude outside the transport chamber through through-holes. These through-holes are provided in the side walls of the transport chamber, and the ends of each transport roller are rotatably supported by bearings outside the transport chamber. These multiple transport rollers support the heat-treated transported objects, and the transported objects are transported in response to the rotation of the multiple transport rollers. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2009-30848 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] In recent years, there has been a trend toward heavier conveyed objects, and the diameter of each conveying roller has been increased to prevent the conveying rollers from being distorted by the weight of the conveyed objects. However, because the conveying rollers are subjected to heat from the heated conveyed objects, there is a risk that the thermal expansion of the large-diameter conveying rollers will cause interference with the inner circumferential surface of the through-hole in the side wall.

[0005] The present invention has been made against the background of the above circumstances, and its purpose is to provide a cooling furnace that can prevent the transport rollers from interfering with the inner surface of the through hole in the side wall due to thermal expansion. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] The gist of the cooling furnace of the first invention is that it comprises: (a) a transport chamber having a side wall into which heat-treated transported objects are supplied; (b) a cooling source for cooling the inside of the transport chamber; (c) a plurality of long transport rollers arranged within the transport chamber and perpendicular to the wall surface of the side wall for transporting the transported objects; (d) the plurality of transport rollers are arranged in a row with spaces between them; (e) the plurality of transport rollers are arranged in a row with spaces between them; (f) the side wall is provided with through holes of a size that allows partial ends of two or more of the plurality of transport rollers to be inserted; (g) an insulating seal member having a plurality of roller holes into which each end of the partial transport rollers is inserted is provided within the through hole; (h) the insulating seal member is provided within the through hole with the outer peripheral surface of the insulating seal member in contact with the inner peripheral surface of the through hole; and (i) each end of the partial transport rollers is inserted into the roller hole with the outer peripheral surface of the end in contact with the inner peripheral surface of the roller hole.

[0007] The gist of the cooling furnace of the second invention is that, in the first invention, (a) the insulating sealing member is divided into two divided insulating sealing members that face each other across the end of some of the conveying rollers.

[0008] The gist of the cooling furnace of the third invention is that, in the second invention, (a) each of the two divided insulating sealing members is divided into a plurality of insulating sealing plates that overlap each other in the thickness direction of the side wall.

[0009] The gist of the cooling furnace of the fourth invention is that, in the third invention, (a) the side wall is provided with a covering member that covers the portion of the end face of the through hole corresponding to the space between two adjacent roller holes. [Effects of the Invention]

[0010] According to the first aspect of the present invention, a through hole large enough to accommodate the insertion of a portion of two or more of the conveying rollers is provided in the side wall. This increases the distance between the outer circumferential surface of the conveying roller and the inner circumferential surface of the through hole, preventing the conveying roller from interfering with the inner circumferential surface of the through hole due to thermal expansion. A heat-insulating seal member is provided in the through hole, and the heat-insulating seal member has roller holes in a number corresponding to the portion of two or more of the conveying rollers. Each end of a conveying roller is inserted into each of these roller holes. The outer circumferential surface of the heat-insulating seal member contacts the inner circumferential surface of the through hole, and the inner circumferential surface of each roller hole contacts the outer circumferential surface of the end of the conveying roller, preventing heat from escaping from the interior of the conveying chamber to the outside through the long through hole in the side wall.

[0011] According to the second aspect of the present invention, the heat insulating seal member is divided into two divided heat insulating seal members that face each other across some of the ends of two or more of the conveying rollers, so that by dividing the heat insulating seal member into two divided heat insulating seal members, it becomes possible to remove the heat insulating seal member from some of the conveying rollers. This eliminates the need to pull out the heat insulating seal member from some of the conveying rollers, making it easier to remove the heat insulating seal member.

[0012] According to the third aspect of the present invention, since each of the two divided heat insulating seal members is divided into a plurality of heat insulating seal plates that overlap each other in the thickness direction of the side wall, it is possible to construct the heat insulating seal member in the through hole by inserting a unit number of the plurality of heat insulating seal plates into the through hole in the side wall. This eliminates the need to forcefully insert a thick heat insulating seal member in the thickness direction of the side wall into the through hole, making it easier to install the heat insulating seal member in the through hole.

[0013] According to the fourth aspect of the present invention, a cover member is provided on the side wall to cover a portion of the end face of the through hole that corresponds to the space between two adjacent roller holes, so that it is possible to insert a plurality of heat insulating seal plates into the through hole one by one while a portion of the end face of the through hole is covered by the cover member. In this case, the heat insulating seal plates are prevented from passing through the end face of the through hole and falling out of the through hole, making it easier to insert the heat insulating seal plates into the through hole. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0014] [Figure 1] 1 is a side view showing a cooling furnace according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 2] 2 is a cross-sectional view of the cooling furnace of FIG. 1 taken along line X2-X2 of FIG. 1. [Figure 3] 1. FIG. 3 is an enlarged view of the X3 portion of FIG. 2, which is a part of the cooling furnace of FIG. [Figure 4] 2 is a diagram showing a heat insulating sealing member for the cooling furnace of FIG. 1. FIG. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0015] An embodiment of the present invention will now be described with reference to the drawings. [Example]

[0016] The heating furnace 10 in Figure 1 is a roller hearth kiln type that is used for firing porcelain, ceramic electronic parts, carbon fiber, etc., and for firing glazes on enamelware and sanitary ware, etc., and is installed on the floor F of a factory or the like. This heating furnace 10 has a tunnel-shaped furnace chamber (not shown) that runs along the conveying direction (see arrow H1 in Figure 1) of the conveyed object C (see Figure 2). An entrance is provided at the end of this furnace chamber opposite the conveying direction, and an exit (neither of which is shown) is provided at the end of the furnace chamber facing the conveying direction.

[0017] A plurality of heaters (not shown) for heat-treating the transported object C are installed in the furnace chamber of the heating furnace 10. A plurality of transport rollers (not shown) are installed in this furnace chamber. Each of these rollers is rotatable about an axis parallel to the orthogonal direction, and the transported object C is supported by the plurality of rollers. This orthogonal direction refers to the direction into the plane of FIG. 1 relative to the transport direction (see arrow H2 in FIG. 2).

[0018] The multiple rollers of the heating furnace 10 are connected to a common motor via a chain mechanism (not shown), and the chain mechanism rotates each of the multiple rollers in response to being driven by the motor. These multiple rollers are rotated by the motor to transport the transported object C in the transport direction. This transported object C is heated by multiple heaters while being transported in the transport direction, and the multiple rollers carry the transported object C, heated to a high temperature, out of the outlet of the heating furnace 10.

[0019] As shown in FIG. 1, a cooling furnace 20 is installed on floor F, positioned in the conveying direction of the heating furnace 10. The cooling furnace 20 in FIG. 1 shows a portion of a cooling furnace of the present invention, with an inlet provided at the end of the cooling furnace 20 facing the heating furnace 10 and an outlet (neither of which is shown) provided at the end opposite the heating furnace 10. The inlet of the cooling furnace 20 is connected to the outlet of the heating furnace 10, and the transported object C heated in the heating furnace 10 is supplied into the cooling furnace 20 from the outlet of the heating furnace 10 through the inlet of the cooling furnace 20 by multiple rollers of the heating furnace 10. The cooling furnace 20 cools the transported object C from the heating furnace 10 while transporting it in the conveying direction. After being cooled in the cooling furnace 20, the transported object C is transported from the outlet of the cooling furnace 20 into a room-temperature, normal-pressure atmosphere. The cooling furnace 20 cools the high-temperature transported object C to a thermal buffer temperature between the high temperature and room temperature, and is configured as follows.

[0020] As shown in Fig. 2, the cooling furnace 20 of Fig. 1 has a rectangular furnace body 22 parallel to the conveying direction, and the furnace body 22 has two side walls 22a, a top wall 22b, and a bottom wall 22c. The two side walls 22a are vertical and face each other at an interval in the perpendicular direction, and the bottom wall 22c is horizontal and connects the lower ends of the two side walls 22a. The top wall 22b is horizontal and connects the upper ends of the two side walls 22a, and a tunnel-shaped cooling chamber 24 parallel to the conveying direction is formed between the two side walls 22a to the bottom wall 22c. This cooling chamber 24 corresponds to the conveying chamber of the present invention.

[0021] 2, the furnace body 22 has rectangular insulating bricks 26 that are parallel to the conveyance direction and a metal casing 28. The casing 28 encases the insulating bricks 26 and has a rectangular outer cylindrical portion 28a that covers the outer peripheral surface of the insulating bricks 26 and a rectangular inner cylindrical portion 28b that covers the inner peripheral surface of the insulating bricks 26.

[0022] As shown in FIG. 1, multiple cooling pipes 30 are installed on the ceiling of the cooling chamber 24. These multiple cooling pipes 30 are arranged at intervals in the conveyance direction. Each cooling pipe 30 is parallel to the orthogonal direction. As shown in FIG. 2, one end of each cooling pipe 30 is connected to an L-shaped refrigerant inlet pipe 30b, and the other end of each cooling pipe 30 is connected to an L-shaped refrigerant outlet pipe 30a. A low-temperature refrigerant is injected into each cooling pipe 30 from a common cooling device (not shown) through the refrigerant inlet pipe 30b (see arrow IN). Each cooling pipe 30 discharges the refrigerant through the refrigerant outlet pipe 30a (see arrow OUT). The interior of the cooling chamber 24 is cooled to a thermal buffer temperature through heat exchange with the refrigerant flowing through the multiple cooling pipes 30. Each cooling pipe 30 corresponds to a cooling source.

[0023] As shown in Fig. 2, a roller case 32 is installed on the outer surface of each side wall 22a. Each roller case 32 is elongated and extends in the conveying direction (see Fig. 1), and is arranged facing each other in the perpendicular direction with the furnace body 22 sandwiched between them. Each roller case 32 is open only on one side facing the furnace body 22, as shown in Fig. 3. Each roller case 32 is formed with a flange portion 32a that runs around the roller case 32, and a case seal member 34 that runs around the roller case 32 is interposed between each flange portion 32a and the side wall 22a of the furnace body 22.

[0024] 3, a plurality of bolts 36a are inserted into the flange portion 32a of each roller case 32 from the outside of the furnace body 22, and the tip of each bolt 36a penetrates the case seal member 34 and the outer cylindrical portion 28a of the casing 28 and protrudes into the insulating bricks 26. A nut 36b is threaded onto the tip of each of these bolts 36a, and each roller case 32 is detachably fixed to the outer surface of the side wall 22a by multiple sets of bolts 36a and nuts 36b.

[0025] As shown in Figure 2, a central bearing mechanism 70 is fixed to each of the two roller cases 32. These two central bearing mechanisms 70 face each other in the orthogonal direction, sandwiching the furnace body 22. These two central bearing mechanisms 70 have the same configuration, and the configuration of one central bearing mechanism 70 will be described below.

[0026] 3, the central bearing mechanism 70 has two bearing plates 40, an upper spacer plate 42 interposed between the upper ends of the two bearing plates 40, and a lower spacer plate 44 interposed between the lower ends of the two bearing plates 40. These two bearing plates 40 are vertically opposed to each other with a gap in between in the perpendicular direction, while the upper spacer plate 42 and the lower spacer plate 44 are horizontal. A plurality of bolts 46a are inserted into each of the upper spacer plate 42 and the lower spacer plate 44 from the outside of the central bearing mechanism 70, passing through one of the bearing plates 40.

[0027] 3, the tip of each bolt 46a protrudes into the roller case 32 through the other bearing plate 40 and the roller case 32. A nut 46b is threaded onto the tip of each of these bolts 46a, and the four elements - the two bearing plates 40, the upper spacer plate 42, and the lower spacer plate 44 - are connected to each other in a disassemblable manner by multiple sets of bolts 46a and nuts 46b.

[0028] As shown in FIG. 3 , six bearings 48 are supported on each bearing plate 40 (only one is shown). These six bearings 48 on each bearing plate 40 are arranged at equal intervals relative to one another in the conveying direction, and the central bearing mechanism 70 has a total of six pairs of bearings 48. A support shaft 50 is rotatably supported on each of these six pairs of bearings 48. These support shafts 50 are cylindrical and are arranged at equal intervals relative to one another in the conveying direction. One end of each support shaft 50 on the roller case 32 side protrudes into the roller case 32, and the other end of each support shaft 50 opposite the roller case 32 protrudes outside the central bearing mechanism 70.

[0029] As shown in Fig. 3, each support shaft 50 is formed with a small diameter portion 50a and a head portion 50b located within the roller case 32. Each small diameter portion 50a is cylindrical and has a smaller diameter than the support shaft 50, while each head portion 50b is cylindrical and has a larger diameter than the small diameter portion 50a. A spring pressure plate 60 is fixed to each support shaft 50. Each spring pressure plate 60 is annular and has a larger diameter than the support shaft 50, and a pressure spring 62 made of a compression coil spring is inserted into the outer circumferential surface of each support shaft 50, positioned closer to the cooling chamber 24 than the spring pressure plate 60. The central bearing mechanism 70 is configured as described above.

[0030] As shown in Fig. 3, the insulating bricks 26 have brick holes 26a formed in them corresponding to each central bearing mechanism 70. Each brick hole 26a penetrates a portion of the insulating brick 26 corresponding to the side wall 22a in the orthogonal direction, and has a rectangular shape whose horizontal length is greater than its vertical height when viewed in the orthogonal direction. The outer cylindrical portion 28a of the casing 28 has brick hole covers 28c corresponding to each central bearing mechanism 70. Each brick hole cover 28c has a square cylindrical shape that protrudes from the outer cylindrical portion 28a toward the cooling chamber 24, and the inner circumferential surface of each brick hole 26a is covered from the inside by the brick hole cover 28c.

[0031] As shown in Fig. 3, each side wall 22a of the furnace body 22 has a through hole 52 corresponding to the central bearing mechanism 70. Each of these through holes 52 refers to the internal space of the brick hole cover 28c and corresponds to the through hole of the present invention. The inner cylindrical portion 28b of the casing 28 has a window 28d formed therein corresponding to each of the through holes 52. When viewed from the orthogonal direction, each of these window portions 28d has a rectangular shape that overlaps with the through hole 52, and each of the through holes 52 communicates with the inside of the cooling chamber 24 via the window 28d.

[0032] As shown in Fig. 3, a ceramic fiber roller seal member 54 is provided inside each through hole 52. As shown in Figs. 4(a) and 4(b), each roller seal member 54 has an elongated rectangular parallelepiped shape extending in the conveyance direction, and both end faces of each roller seal member 54 facing the conveyance direction are in surface contact with the inner surface of the through hole 52. As shown in Fig. 3, the upper surface of each roller seal member 54 is in surface contact with the ceiling surface of the through hole 52, and the lower surface of each roller seal member 54 is in surface contact with the bottom surface of the through hole 52. Each roller seal member 54 corresponds to a heat insulating seal member of the present invention, and the outer peripheral surface of each roller seal member 54 is in contact with the inner peripheral surface of the through hole 52.

[0033] 4(a) and 4(b), six circular roller holes 56 are formed in each roller seal member 54. The six roller holes 56 of each roller seal member 54 are aligned in a row at equal intervals in the conveyance direction, and each roller hole 56 corresponds to a roller hole of the present invention.

[0034] 4(a) and 4(b), each roller seal member 54 is divided into two, an upper divided roller seal member 54a and a lower divided roller seal member 54b, by a horizontal line passing through the center points of the six roller holes 56. The upper divided roller seal member 54a and the lower divided roller seal member 54b of each set are in contact with each other inside the through hole 52. The upper divided roller seal member 54a and the lower divided roller seal member 54b correspond to the two divided heat insulating seal members of the present invention.

[0035] Each of the upper divided roller seal members 54a and each of the lower divided roller seal members 54b is composed of a plurality of heat insulating seal plates 54c made of ceramic fiber stacked on top of each other in an orthogonal direction. These heat insulating seal plates 54c are stacked inside the through holes 52 as they are inserted one by one into the through holes 52, and the inner circumferential surface of each through hole 52 contacts the outer circumferential surfaces of the heat insulating seal plates 54c. Each of these heat insulating seal plates 54c corresponds to a heat insulating seal plate of the present invention.

[0036] As shown in FIG. 1, six conveying rollers 58 are housed in the cooling chamber 24, corresponding to the central bearing mechanism 70. As shown in FIG. 2, each of these conveying rollers 58 is made of cylindrical ceramic material parallel to the orthogonal direction. Each of these conveying rollers 58 is elongated and perpendicular to the wall surface of the side wall 22a. As shown in FIG. 3, each end of each of these six conveying rollers 58 is removably inserted into the roller holes 56 of the roller seal member 54 through the window portions 28d of the casing 28. That is, the through holes 52 in each side wall 22a of the furnace body 22 have the ends of the six conveying rollers 58 inserted therethrough.

[0037] 3, the outer peripheral surfaces of the transport rollers 58 contact the inner peripheral surface of each roller hole 56 at their ends, and the pressure at which the ends of each transport roller 58 contact the inner peripheral surface of the roller hole 56 is set to a value that allows the transport rollers 58 to be rotated by a transport motor 66 (described later). That is, each heat insulating seal member 54 is divided into two, an upper divided heat insulating seal member 54a and a lower divided heat insulating seal member 54b, which face each other with the six transport rollers 58 sandwiched between them from above and below.

[0038] As shown in FIG. 3, two metal inner retaining plates 72 are fixed to each side wall 22a, corresponding to the through holes 52. As shown in FIG. 4, each inner retaining plate 72 covers a portion of the end face of the through hole 52 that corresponds to the space between two adjacent roller holes 56. Each inner retaining plate 72 is detachably fixed to the side wall 22a with multiple sets of bolts 72a and nuts 72b before the heat insulating seal plate 54c is inserted into the through hole 52. In other words, the insertion of the heat insulating seal plate 54c into the through hole 52 is performed with the multiple inner retaining plates 72 fixed in place. Each inner retaining plate 72 prevents the heat insulating seal plate 54c from passing through the end face of the through hole 52 and falling off from the end face of the through hole 52 during insertion. Each inner retaining plate 72 corresponds to a covering member in the present invention.

[0039] As shown in Fig. 3, two metal outer retaining plates 74 are fixed to each side wall 22a, corresponding to the through holes 52. Each outer retaining plate 74 faces the inner retaining plate 72 in the orthogonal direction, and like the inner retaining plate 72, each outer retaining plate 74 covers a portion of the end face of the through hole 52 that corresponds to the space between two adjacent roller holes 56. Each outer retaining plate 74 is removably fixed to the side wall 22a with multiple sets of bolts 74a and nuts 74b after all of the multiple heat insulating seal plates 54c have been inserted into the through holes 52. Together with the inner retaining plate 72, each outer retaining plate 74 prevents the heat insulating seal plates 54c from falling off the end face of the through hole 52 after the insertion of the heat insulating seal plates 54c is complete.

[0040] 1, each roller case 32 of the furnace body 22 is provided with a side bearing mechanism 80 located on the conveying direction side and the opposite side of the central bearing mechanism 70. Each of these four side bearing mechanisms 80 rotatably supports five conveying rollers 58, which is fewer than the number of conveying rollers 58 in the central bearing mechanism 70, with the same configuration as the central bearing mechanism 70.

[0041] 4(c) shows roller seal members 82 for each side bearing mechanism 80, each roller seal member 82 having five roller holes 56. Each roller seal member 82 is divided into two members, an upper divided roller seal member 82a and a lower divided roller seal member 82b, which face each other above and below with the five conveying rollers 58 in between. Each of these upper divided roller seal members 82a and lower divided roller seal members 82b is divided into multiple heat insulating seal plates (not shown) which overlap each other in the thickness direction of the side wall 22a.

[0042] 1, each roller case 32 of the furnace body 22 is provided with an end bearing mechanism 90 located at the entrance end and the exit end of the furnace body 22. Each of these four end bearing mechanisms 90 rotatably supports four conveying rollers 58, which is fewer than the side bearing mechanism 80, with the same configuration as the center bearing mechanism 70.

[0043] 4(d) shows roller seal members 92 for each end bearing mechanism 90, each having four roller holes 56. Each roller seal member 92 is divided into two members, an upper divided roller seal member 92a and a lower divided roller seal member 92b, which face each other above and below with the four conveying rollers 58 in between. Each of these upper divided roller seal members 92a and lower divided roller seal members 92b is divided into multiple heat insulating seal plates (not shown) which overlap each other in the thickness direction of the side wall 22a.

[0044] As shown in FIG. 2, the cooling furnace 20 has a conveying motor 66. This conveying motor 66 is located in a portion of the furnace body 22 that is offset to one side relative to the center in the orthogonal direction, and a chain mechanism (not shown) is connected to the drive shaft of the conveying motor 66. As shown in FIG. 3, sprockets 64 are fixed to 24 of the 48 support shafts 50 of the furnace body 22 that are located on the conveying motor 66 side, and each of the 24 sprockets 64 is connected to a chain mechanism. When the conveying motor 66 is operated, the chain mechanism rotates each of the 24 conveying rollers 58 via the support shafts 50 in the same direction and at the same speed. These 24 conveying rollers 58 are rotated by the chain mechanism to convey the conveyed object C in the conveying direction.

[0045] According to the above embodiment, the through-hole 52 in the sidewall 22a of the furnace body 22 is sized to accommodate the insertion of six ends of at least two of the 24 transport rollers 58. This increases the distance between the outer circumferential surface of the transport roller 58 and the inner circumferential surface of the through-hole 52, preventing the transport rollers 58 from interfering with the inner circumferential surface of the through-hole 52 due to thermal expansion. A roller seal member 54 having six roller holes 56 is provided within the through-hole 52, and each end of the six transport rollers 58 is rotatably inserted into the roller holes 56. The outer circumferential surface of the roller seal member 54 contacts the inner circumferential surface of the through-hole 52, and the inner circumferential surface of each roller hole 56 contacts the outer circumferential surface of the transport roller 58 at its end. This prevents heat from escaping from the interior of the transport chamber 24 to the outside through the long through-hole 52 in the sidewall 22a. This effect is similar for the roller seal member 82 of the side bearing mechanism 80 and the roller seal member 92 of the end bearing mechanism 90.

[0046] According to the above embodiment, the roller seal member 54 of the central bearing mechanism 70 is divided into two parts, the upper divided roller seal member 54a and the lower divided roller seal member 54b, which face each other across the ends of the six transport rollers 58. Therefore, by dividing the roller seal member 54 into the two parts, the upper divided roller seal member 54a and the lower divided roller seal member 54b, it becomes possible to remove the roller seal member 54 from the transport rollers 58. This eliminates the need to pull the roller seal member 54 out of the six transport rollers 58, making it easier to remove the roller seal member 54. This effect is also true for the roller seal member 82 of the side bearing mechanism 80 and the roller seal member 92 of the end bearing mechanism 90.

[0047] According to the above embodiment, each of the upper and lower divided roller seal members 54a and 54b of the central bearing mechanism 70 is divided into a plurality of heat insulating seal plates 54c that overlap each other in the thickness direction of the side wall 22a. This makes it possible to configure the roller seal member 54 within the through hole 52 by inserting each of the heat insulating seal plates 54c into the through hole 52 of the side wall 22a. This eliminates the need to insert the thick roller seal member 54 into the through hole 52 in the thickness direction of the side wall 22a, making it easier to install the roller seal member 54 within the through hole 52. This effect is similar for the roller seal member 82 of the side bearing mechanism 80 and the roller seal member 92 of the end bearing mechanism 90.

[0048] According to the above embodiment, the side wall 22a is provided with the inner retaining plate 72, which covers the portion of the end face of the through hole 52 that corresponds to the space between two adjacent roller holes 56. This makes it possible to insert the multiple heat insulating seal plates 54c into the through hole 52 one by one, with part of the end face of the through hole 52 covered by the inner retaining plate 72. In this case, the heat insulating seal plates 54c are prevented from passing through the end face of the through hole 52 and falling off the end face of the through hole 52, making it easier to insert the heat insulating seal plates 54c into the through hole 52. This effect is similar for the roller seal member 82 of the side bearing mechanism 80 and the roller seal member 92 of the end bearing mechanism 90.

[0049] In the above embodiment, roller seal member 54 is divided into two parts, upper divided roller seal member 54a and lower divided roller seal member 54b, but it may also be composed of a single member. The same applies to roller seal member 82 and roller seal member 92.

[0050] In the above embodiment, the upper divided roller seal member 54a and the lower divided roller seal member 54b of the roller seal member 54 of the central bearing mechanism 70 may each be configured from a single member. The same applies to the upper divided roller seal member 82a and the lower divided roller seal member 82b of the roller seal member 82 of the side bearing mechanism 80. The same applies to the upper divided roller seal member 92a and the lower divided roller seal member 92b of the roller seal member 92 of the end bearing mechanism 90.

[0051] In the above embodiment, the present invention is applied to six, five, or four of the total 24 transport rollers 58 in the cooling furnace 20, but this is not limited to this, and it is sufficient to apply it to a portion of two or more of the 24 transport rollers 58.

[0052] In the above embodiment, the central bearing mechanism 70, the side bearing mechanism 80, and the end bearing mechanism 90 are arranged in the conveying direction in the order of "end bearing mechanism 90, side bearing mechanism 80, central bearing mechanism 70, side bearing mechanism 80, end bearing mechanism 90," but the order, number, and combination of the arrangement of the three are not limited to this.

[0053] In the above embodiment, the through-hole 52 in the side wall 22a of the furnace body 22 is set to a rectangular shape in which the length in the transport direction is greater than the height, but this is not limited to this and may be set to, for example, a square shape in which the distance between the two dimensions is the same. There is no restriction on the height of the through-hole 52, so long as the length of the through-hole 52 is set to a size that allows parts of two or more of the 24 transport rollers 58 to be inserted therein.

[0054] The above-described embodiments of the present invention are merely examples, and the present invention can be embodied in various forms with various modifications and improvements based on the knowledge of those skilled in the art without departing from the spirit of the present invention. [Explanation of symbols]

[0055] 20: cooling furnace, 22a: side wall, 24: furnace chamber (transport chamber), 30: cooling pipe (cooling source), 52: through hole, 54: roller seal member (heat insulating seal member), 54a: upper divided roller seal member (divided heat insulating seal member), 54b: lower divided roller seal member (lower divided heat insulating seal member), 54c: heat insulating seal plate, 56: roller hole, 58: transport roller, 72: inner pressure plate (covering member), 82: roller seal member (heat insulating seal member), 82a: upper divided roller seal member (divided heat insulating seal member), 82b: lower divided roller seal member (lower divided heat insulating seal member), 92: roller seal member (heat insulating seal member), 92a: upper divided roller seal member (divided heat insulating seal member), 92b: lower divided roller seal member (lower divided heat insulating seal member), C: transported object

Claims

1. a transfer chamber having a side wall into which a heat-treated object is supplied; a cooling source for cooling the inside of the transfer chamber; a plurality of conveying rollers provided in the conveying chamber, the conveying rollers being elongated and perpendicular to the wall surfaces of the side walls, for conveying the conveyed object; The plurality of conveying rollers are arranged in a row at intervals from one another, the side wall is provided with a through hole having a size that allows insertion of a portion of an end portion of two or more of the plurality of conveyance rollers; a heat insulating seal member having a plurality of roller holes into which the respective ends of the some of the conveying rollers are inserted is provided in the through hole; the heat insulating seal member is provided in the through hole with an outer peripheral surface of the heat insulating seal member in contact with an inner peripheral surface of the through hole, A cooling furnace characterized in that each end of some of the conveying rollers is inserted into the roller hole with the outer surface of the end in contact with the inner surface of the roller hole.

2. 2. The cooling furnace according to claim 1, wherein the heat insulating seal member is divided into two divided heat insulating seal members facing each other with the end of one of the transport rollers in between.

3. 3. The cooling furnace according to claim 2, wherein each of the two divided heat insulating seal members is divided into a plurality of heat insulating seal plates overlapping each other in the thickness direction of the side wall.

4. 4. The cooling furnace according to claim 3, wherein the side wall is provided with a cover member that covers a portion of the end surface of the through hole that corresponds to a portion between two adjacent roller holes.

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