Continuous heating device

Abstract

To provide a continuous heating device that can suppress temperature unevenness when heat-treating an object to be heated. [Solution] The continuous heating device comprises a transport tray on which the object to be heated is placed, a transport mechanism for transporting the transport tray, an injection mechanism for injecting hot air from the left and right sides in the transport direction of the transport tray, and a pair of rectifier plates provided at both ends of the transport tray in the transport direction.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present disclosure relates to a continuous heating device.

Background Art

[0002] Patent Document 1 discloses a heating furnace that performs heat treatment on a heated object (e.g., a brazed part) by injecting hot air in one direction.

Prior Art Documents

Patent Documents

[0003]

Patent Document 1

Summary of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0004] In the brazing process, uniformity is required within a temperature range of several degrees Celsius. Especially for large parts such as coolers in electric vehicle batteries, since the volume of the heating furnace for heat treatment also becomes large, unevenness occurs in the flow rate and temperature of the hot air applied to the parts. Further, when using a continuous furnace instead of a batch furnace, the problem of unevenness in the flow rate and temperature of the hot air becomes more prominent.

[0005] The present disclosure has been made in view of the above, and an object thereof is to provide a continuous heating device capable of suppressing temperature unevenness when heat - treating a heated object.

Means for Solving the Problems

[0006] The continuous heating device according to the present disclosure includes a transport tray on which a heated object is placed, a transport mechanism that transports the transport tray, an injection mechanism that injects hot air from the left and right in the transport direction of the transport tray, and a pair of rectifying plates provided at both ends in the transport direction of the transport tray.

Effects of the Invention

[0007] According to this disclosure, by arranging rectifier plates at both ends of the transport tray, the inhalation of hot air into adjacent suction ports can be suppressed, thereby reducing temperature unevenness. [Brief explanation of the drawing]

[0008] [Figure 1] Figure 1 is a perspective view showing a schematic configuration of a continuous heating apparatus according to an embodiment. [Figure 2] Figure 2 is a plan view illustrating the flow of hot air in a continuous heating device according to an embodiment. [Figure 3] Figure 3 is a plan view illustrating the flow of hot air in a typical continuous heating device. [Figure 4] Figure 4 is a perspective view showing the configuration of a transport tray equipped with front and rear rectifier plates in a continuous heating device according to an embodiment. [Figure 5] Figure 5 is a side view showing the configuration of a transport tray equipped with front and rear rectifier plates in a continuous heating device according to an embodiment. [Figure 6] Figure 6 is an enlarged view of section C in Figure 5. [Figure 7] Figure 7 is a perspective view showing the configuration of a transport tray equipped with front and rear rectifier plates and a central rectifier plate in a continuous heating device according to an embodiment. [Figure 8] Figure 8 is a side view showing the configuration of a transport tray equipped with front and rear rectifier plates and a central rectifier plate in a continuous heating device according to an embodiment. [Figure 9] Figure 9 is an enlarged view of section D in Figure 8. [Modes for carrying out the invention]

[0009] A continuous heating apparatus according to the embodiments of this disclosure will be described with reference to the drawings. Note that the components in the following embodiments include those that are easily substituted or substantially identical to those that are easily substituted by those skilled in the art.

[0010] The configuration of the continuous heating apparatus according to this embodiment will be described with reference to Figures 1 to 3. The continuous heating apparatus according to this embodiment is a device for heat-treating an object to be heated. Examples of objects to be heated include brazed parts such as coolers used in electric vehicle batteries.

[0011] As shown in Figure 1, the continuous heating device 1 includes a transport mechanism 11, a plurality of injection mechanisms 12, and a transport tray 13.

[0012] The conveying mechanism 11 conveys the conveying tray 13 while heating it. As shown in Figures 1 and 2, the conveying mechanism 11 includes a conveying roll 111 and a heating chamber 112.

[0013] The conveyor roll 111 conveys the conveyor tray 13 in a predetermined conveying direction. The "conveying direction" shown in Figure 2 corresponds to the X direction in Figure 1. The heating chamber 112 is the space in which the conveyor tray 13 is conveyed by the conveyor roll 111. Hot air is supplied to the heating chamber 112 from the nozzle 121 of the injection mechanism 12. In the heating chamber 112, the object to be heated W placed on the conveyor tray 13 is heated by the hot air while being conveyed.

[0014] The injection mechanism 12 injects hot air from the left and right sides in the direction of transport of the transport tray 13. As shown in Figure 1, multiple injection mechanisms 12 are arranged along the transport direction of the transport tray 13. The injection mechanism 12 also includes an injection port 121 for injecting hot air into the heating chamber 112 and a suction port 122 for drawing in the hot air from the heating chamber 112.

[0015] As shown in Figure 2, each injection mechanism 12 is arranged such that its injection port 121 and suction port 122 are alternately adjacent to each other in the transport direction of the transport tray 13. In other words, multiple injection mechanisms 12 are arranged so that their injection ports 121 are not adjacent to each other, or their suction ports 122 are not adjacent to each other, in the transport direction. As a result, each injection mechanism 12 injects hot air onto the transport tray 13 while it is being transported from different directions. The arrows in Figure 2 indicate the direction of the hot air.

[0016] Although not shown in FIG. 1, a heating mechanism (such as a heater) for heating air is provided between each injection mechanism 12. Further, a push fan for supplying the hot air heated by the heating mechanism into the heating chamber 112 is provided at the injection port 121. Further, a pull fan for recovering the hot air in the heating chamber 112 is provided at the suction port 122.

[0017] Here, the cooler for the battery of an electric vehicle assumed as the object to be heated W in this embodiment is very large in size, and when heat treatment is performed with a general batch-type heating device, there is a possibility that temperature unevenness will increase. Although it is also conceivable to lengthen the heating time of the object to be heated W in order to suppress temperature unevenness, this is not preferable from the viewpoint of mass productivity. Therefore, when performing heat treatment on an object to be heated W of such a large size, in order to achieve both suppression of temperature unevenness and mass productivity, as shown in FIG. 1, it is preferable to use the continuous heating device 1 that sequentially injects hot air from different directions against the object to be heated W during conveyance.

[0018] However, in a general continuous heating device, when hot air is injected against the object to be heated W from different directions, for example, as shown in FIG. 2, the hot air does not flow in an ideal manner such that it travels straight from the injection port 121 to the suction port 122 and crosses the conveyance tray 113. That is, since the resistance (air resistance) when the hot air crosses the conveyance tray 113 is large, a flow of hot air that avoids the conveyance tray 113 occurs, for example, as indicated by the arrow A in FIG. 3.

[0019] Furthermore, due to the large resistance when the hot air crosses the conveyance tray 113, a phenomenon also occurs in which the hot air injected from the injection port 121 is sucked into the adjacent suction port 122, as indicated by the arrow B in FIG. 3. Thus, in conventional continuous heating devices, it has been difficult to efficiently heat the object to be heated W because the hot air does not directly hit the object to be heated W.

[0020] Therefore, the continuous heating device 1 solves the above problem by making improvements to the transport tray 13 that transports the object to be heated W. The specific configuration of the transport tray 13 will be explained below with reference to Figures 4 to 9.

[0021] As shown in Figure 4, the objects to be heated W are placed on the transport tray 13. The transport tray 13 is used in a stacked configuration (four in this case) in the vertical direction (Y direction in Figure 1). By transporting the transport trays 13 stacked in this manner by the transport mechanism 11, multiple objects to be heated W are heated simultaneously. Note that the number of layers of the transport tray 13 is not limited to that shown in Figure 4; it may be three layers or less, or five layers or more.

[0022] A pair of front and rear rectifier plates 14 are provided at both ends of the transport tray 13 in the transport direction. The front and rear rectifier plates 14 are for rectifying the hot air supplied from the heating chamber 112. The front and rear rectifier plates 14 are positioned perpendicular to the transport direction of the transport tray 13.

[0023] As described above, by providing front and rear rectifier plates 14 at both ends of the transport tray 13, the flow of hot air as shown by arrow A in Figure 3 is restricted, so that the hot air travels in a straight line from the injection port 121 to the suction port 122 and flows across the transport tray 13, as shown in Figure 2. As a result, compared to using a transport tray 13 without front and rear rectifier plates 14 (see Figure 3), the hot air can be applied appropriately to the object to be heated W and the entire object can be heated, thus suppressing temperature unevenness.

[0024] In this embodiment, the front and rear rectifier plates 14 also function as members that support the upper and lower transport trays 13. Therefore, as shown in Figure 6, the height H1 of the front and rear rectifier plates 14 in this embodiment is the same as the gap G between the upper and lower transport trays 13.

[0025] However, the relationship between the height H1 of the front and rear rectifier plates 14 and the gap G is not limited to that shown in Figure 6. For example, if the gap G is "90 mm", the height H1 of the front and rear rectifier plates 14 is "60 mm" or more, that is, if the gap G is "9", the height H1 of the front and rear rectifier plates 14 is "6" or more, thereby achieving a hot air rectification effect and suppressing temperature unevenness. Note that if the height H1 of the front and rear rectifier plates 14 is shorter than the gap G, the front and rear rectifier plates 14 cannot support the upper and lower transport trays 13, so it is preferable to support the upper and lower transport trays 13 using a separate jig or the like to secure the predetermined gap G.

[0026] Furthermore, as shown in Figures 7 to 9, for example, a central rectifier plate 15 may be provided on the transport tray 13 in addition to the front and rear rectifier plates 14. The central rectifier plate 15, like the front and rear rectifier plates 14, is for rectifying the hot air supplied in the heating chamber 112. This central rectifier plate 15 is located in the center of the transport tray 13 in the transport direction and is provided between the front and rear rectifier plates 14. The central rectifier plate 15 is also positioned perpendicular to the transport direction of the transport tray 13. In addition, as shown in Figure 9, the central rectifier plate 15 is attached to the bottom surface of the transport tray 13.

[0027] As described above, by providing a central rectifier plate 15 in the center of the transport tray 13, the flow of hot air ejected from the nozzle 121 is restricted so that it is sucked into the adjacent suction port 122, as indicated by arrow B in Figure 3. The hot air ejected from the nozzle 121 is then sucked into the opposing suction ports 122 on either side of the transport tray 13. As a result, compared to using a transport tray 113 without a central rectifier plate 15, the hot air can be applied appropriately to the object to be heated W, heating the entire object, thus suppressing temperature unevenness.

[0028] Note that the central rectifier plate 15 does not necessarily have to be placed in the center of the transport tray 13. Also, as shown in Figure 7, multiple central rectifier plates 15 may be placed on the transport tray 13 instead of just one. When heating an object W using the transport tray 13, simulations have shown that the central part of the transport tray 13 heats up more slowly than other parts.

[0029] Therefore, by arranging multiple central rectifier plates 15 diagonally with respect to the direction of the hot air, for example, the central part of the central rectifier plate 15 can be heated more quickly and the entire plate can be heated uniformly. Also, since the object to be heated W is continuously conveyed, the time during which the central rectifier plate 15 is in its ideal state (a state in which the flow of hot air is restricted by the central rectifier plate 15) is limited. Therefore, by arranging multiple central rectifier plates 15 on the conveying tray 13, the time during which the flow of hot air is restricted by the central rectifier plate 15 can be extended, thereby effectively suppressing temperature unevenness.

[0030] Here, the relationship between the height H2 of the central rectifier plate 15 and the gap G is not limited to that shown in Figure 9. For example, if the gap G is "90 mm", the height H2 of the central rectifier plate 15 is "40 mm" or more. In other words, if the gap G is "9", setting the height H2 of the central rectifier plate 15 to "4" or more will allow the hot air to be rectified and temperature unevenness to be suppressed.

[0031] In Figures 7 to 9, an example was shown in which both front and rear rectifier plates 14 and a central rectifier plate 15 are provided on the transport tray 13. However, the transport tray 13 may also be provided with only the central rectifier plate 15. In this case, since the front and rear rectifier plates 14 cannot support the upper and lower transport trays 13, it is preferable to support the upper and lower transport trays 13 using a separate jig or the like to secure a predetermined gap G.

[0032] According to the continuous heating device of the embodiment described above, by arranging front and rear rectifier plates 14 at both ends of the transport tray 13, the suction of hot air into adjacent suction ports 122 can be suppressed, thereby suppressing temperature unevenness.

[0033] Furthermore, according to the continuous heating device of the embodiment, by arranging the central rectifier plate 15 in the center of the transport tray 13, the direction of the hot air can be controlled during continuous transport, thereby enabling more effective use of the hot air and improving productivity.

[0034] Further effects and modifications can be readily derived by those skilled in the art. Therefore, broader aspects of the present invention are not limited to the specific details and representative embodiments expressed and described above. Accordingly, various modifications are possible without departing from the spirit or scope of the overall concept of the invention as defined by the appended claims and their equivalents. [Explanation of Symbols]

[0035] 1. Continuous heating device 11. Conveying mechanism 111 Conveyor Roll 112 Heating chamber 12 Injection mechanism 121 Nozzle 122 Suction port 13,113 transport trays 14 Front and rear rectifier plates 15 Central rectifier plate W Heated object

Claims

1. A transport tray on which the object to be heated is placed, A transport mechanism for transporting the transport tray, A spray mechanism that sprays hot air from the left and right sides in the conveying direction of the conveying tray, A pair of front and rear rectifier plates are provided at both ends of the transport tray in the transport direction, A continuous heating device equipped with the following features.

2. The continuous heating device according to claim 1, wherein a central rectifier plate is provided at the center of the transport tray in the transport direction, between the front and rear rectifier plates.

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