JP2002195762A - Heat treatment apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a heat treatment apparatus wherein an opening adjustment with adjusting means is facilitated. SOLUTION: A mounting plate (mounting means) 7, insertable into a heating chamber 5, is provided, on which there are mounted a plurality of adjusting plates (adjusting means) 9 which adjust the volume of hot air flowing in the heating chamber 5, by performing at least one opening adjustment of an inlet hole 5a1 and an exhaust hole 5b1 for uniformizing the temperature distribution in the heating chamber 5.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a heat treatment apparatus for heating a plate-like body such as a glass substrate used for a liquid crystal panel.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art As is well known, a glass substrate used for a flat display such as a liquid crystal panel or a plasma display panel needs to be subjected to heat treatment such as annealing in a clean atmosphere. In such a heat treatment, for example, a heat treatment apparatus shown in FIG. 4 is used. In FIG. 4, this conventional heat treatment apparatus has an outer container 51.
Inside, a heater 52 and a sirocco fan 53 for circulating the hot air heated by the heater 52 are provided, and the hot air is circulated in a direction indicated by an arrow in the figure.
Further, the clean filter 54 and the heating chamber 55 are sequentially arranged on the circulation path of the hot air, so that the hot air purified by the clean filter 54 flows inside the heating chamber 55 sequentially.

Specifically, as shown in FIG. 5A, a clean filter 54 is provided on one side of a heating chamber 55.
There is provided an inlet 55a for introducing hot air from the outside. In addition, a discharge port (not shown) for discharging hot air from the inside of the heating chamber 55 is provided on a side surface facing the introduction port 55a, and adjusts the amount of hot air flowing in the heating chamber 55. As the plurality of adjusting means, for example, four adjusting plates 56 are fixed to the heating chamber 55 so as to close the discharge port. With these adjustment plates 56, the air volume balance in each area in the heating chamber 55 is adjusted, and unevenness in the temperature distribution in the heating chamber 55 can be prevented. FIG.
In (b), each adjusting plate 56 is provided with an opening 56a1 and, for example, a fixing plate 56a fixed to the heating chamber 55 at four corners, and an adjusting bolt 5 on the back side of the fixing plate 56a.
6c, the movable plate 56b attached to the fixed plate 56a so as to be vertically movable. The adjustment plate 56 is opened by moving the movable plate 56b up and down with the adjustment bolt 56c loosened.
The opening of a1 is adjusted, that is, the opening of the outlet is adjusted to adjust the amount of hot air flowing through the heating chamber 55.

[0004] A rack 57 for holding a plurality of glass substrates 60 is mounted inside the heating chamber 55. The rack portion 57 includes a support member 57a attached to the floor plate 55c (FIG. 5A) of the heating chamber 55 by an attachment member such as a bolt (not shown), and a support member 5a.
7a fixed to the holding member 57b,
As shown in FIG. 4, a pair of holding members 57b facing each other
The glass substrate 60 is placed and held thereon. With the above-described configuration, in this conventional heat treatment apparatus, the glass substrate 60 is subjected to a predetermined heat treatment using hot air cleaned by the clean filter 54, thereby preventing the glass substrate 60 from being contaminated, and The glass substrate 60 is processed with a desired temperature profile by adjusting the opening degree of 56 and adjusting the amount of hot air flowing inside the heating chamber 55.

[0005]

However, in the above-described conventional heat treatment apparatus, the rack 57 needs to be removed from the heating chamber 55 in order to adjust the opening of the adjusting plate (adjusting means) 56. This is because the work may be hindered by the rack portion 57 when the work of fixing the movable plate 56b up and down at a desired position by loosening the adjusting bolt 56c is performed. Therefore, in this conventional heat treatment apparatus, there is a problem that it takes time and labor to adjust the opening of the adjusting plate 56, and the opening cannot be easily adjusted.

In view of the above-mentioned conventional problems, an object of the present invention is to provide a heat treatment apparatus that can easily adjust the degree of opening of an adjusting means.

[0007]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention comprises a heating means,
A heating chamber having an inlet and an outlet for introducing and discharging the hot air heated by the heating means, respectively, and a heating chamber provided with a door, and a processing target mounted inside the heating chamber and heated by the hot air. Holding means for holding an object;
A heat treatment apparatus comprising: a plurality of adjusting means for adjusting the flow rate of hot air flowing in the heating chamber by adjusting the opening degree of at least one of the inlet port and the discharge port to make the temperature distribution in the heating chamber uniform. In addition, the plurality of adjusting means are mounted respectively, and an attaching means which can be inserted into and removed from the heating chamber is provided (claim 1).

[0008] In the heat treatment apparatus configured as described above,
A plurality of adjusting means are mounted, respectively, and an attaching means which can be inserted into and removed from the heating chamber is provided, so that the adjusting means can be taken out of the heating chamber without removing the holding means, and the opening degree of the adjusting means Adjustment can be easily performed.

In the above heat treatment apparatus (claim 1), the door is a door different from the one for carrying in and out the object to be processed, and the mounting means is inserted into and removed from the heating chamber through the door. Preferably, it is possible (claim 2). In this case, even when a transfer device or the like for transferring the object to be processed is installed on the side of the loading / unloading door, it is possible to easily insert and remove the mounting unit having the plurality of adjusting units with respect to the heating chamber. Can be.

[0010]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Hereinafter, a preferred embodiment of a heat treatment apparatus according to the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.
FIG. 1 is an explanatory view showing a main part configuration of a heat treatment apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 2 is an explanatory view showing a main part configuration of a heating chamber shown in FIG. In the figure, in the heat treatment apparatus of the present embodiment, a heater 2 and a sirocco fan 3 are arranged in an outer container 1 that can be sealed, and the sirocco fan 3 is rotated by a drive motor 3a to be heated by the heater 2. The heated hot air is circulated in the direction indicated by the arrow in FIG. The sirocco fan 3 is provided inside the outer container 1.
And a heating chamber 5 having an inlet 5a1 (FIG. 2) and an outlet 5b1 (FIG. 2) for introducing and discharging hot air, respectively. By introducing the hot air purified by the clean filter 4 into the heating chamber 5 through the inlet 5a1, the glass substrate 30 in the heating chamber 5 can be subjected to a heating process such as an annealing process in a clean atmosphere. It is configured. Further, the outer container 1 has a front door 1a for taking the glass substrate 30 into and out of the heating chamber 5.
And an inspection door 1b used at the time of internal inspection of the heating chamber 5 and the like.

The heating chamber 5 constitutes a rectangular parallelepiped furnace body. The inlet 5a1 and the outlet 5b1 have a side surface 5a arranged on the clean filter 4 side and a side surface 5b opposed to the side surface 5a. Are provided respectively. The front side of the heating chamber 5 is the front door 1a.
, And an inner door 5d that can be opened and closed is provided on the rear side. Further, inside the heating chamber 5, a rack unit 6 as a holding unit for holding the glass substrate (object to be processed) 30 is attached. The rack portion 6 has four support members 6a erected on the floor plate 5c of the heating chamber 5 by attachment members such as bolts (not shown), and holding members 6b having both ends fixed to the two support members 6a. As shown in FIG. 2, the glass substrate 30 is placed and held on a pair of holding members 6b facing each other. In the rack section 6, the pair of holding members 6b are provided in a plurality of stages, and the plurality of glass substrates 30 can be batch-processed. The hot air introduced from the inlet 5a1 is rectified by, for example, a wind direction plate (not shown) provided in the clean filter 4 so as to be uniformly blown to each of the plurality of workpieces 30. I have.

The heating chamber 5 is provided with a mounting plate 7 as mounting means, for example, on the discharge port 5b1 side. The mounting plate 7 is provided with the inner door 5d and the inspection door 1b.
Are inserted into and removed from the heating chamber 5 and the outer container 1 through the respective components, and are mounted in the heating chamber 5 via the rail members 8. Specifically, as shown in FIG. 2, rail members 8 are attached to the upper and lower ends of the side surface 5 b, for example, inside the heating chamber 5, and the mounting plate 7 is slidable between these rail members 8. Attached to. The mounting plate 7 is slid along the rail member 8 with the inner door 5d and the inspection door 1b opened, and is put in and out. The mounting plate 7 is provided with a plurality of adjusting plates 9 as adjusting means. As shown in FIG. 2, for example, 16 adjusting plates 9 are mounted in a (4 × 4) matrix. I have.

As shown in FIGS. 3 (a) to 3 (c), each adjusting plate 9 is arranged on a fixing plate 9a and on the back side of the fixing plate 9a, and is attached to the fixing plate 9a via an adjusting bolt 9c. And a movable plate 9b connected thereto. The fixing plate 9a is provided with, for example, a rectangular opening 9a1 and an elongated hole 9a2 through which the adjustment bolt 9c is inserted. The fixing plate 9a has an opening 9a1 having an exhaust port 5b1 (FIG. 2).
Is attached to the mounting plate 7 (FIG. 2) so that the inside and outside of the heating chamber 5 can communicate with each other. In addition, the movable plate 9b has
For example, a rectangular opening 9b1 is provided.
It is configured to be vertically movable with respect to a. Each adjusting plate 9 is moved from the fully opened state shown in FIG. 3A to the fully closed state shown in FIG. Opening 9
The opening degree adjustment of a1 can be performed. Thereby, the opening degree of the discharge port 5b1 is adjusted, and the amount of hot air flowing in the heating chamber 5 can be adjusted. As a result, the heating room 5
The air volume balance can be adjusted for each of multiple areas within
It is possible to prevent the temperature distribution in the heating chamber 5 from becoming uneven.

In the heat treatment apparatus of the present embodiment configured as described above, a plurality of adjusting plates 9 are mounted, respectively, and a mounting plate that can be inserted into and removed from the heating chamber 5 through the inner door 5d and the inspection door 1b. 7, the rack 6
The adjusting plate 9 can be taken out of the heating chamber 5 without removing the adjusting plate 9, and the degree of opening of the adjusting plate 9 can be easily adjusted in this state. As a result, in the heat treatment apparatus of the present embodiment, the flow rate of the hot air flowing in the heating chamber 5 can be easily adjusted, and the temperature distribution in the heating chamber 5 can be made uniform to easily realize a desired temperature profile. be able to. Further, a cleanup operation when dirt or the like adheres to the mounting plate 7 or the adjusting plate 9 can be easily performed.

Further, since the mounting plate 7 can be inserted and removed through the inner door 5d and the inspection door 1b provided on the maintenance side of the apparatus, the glass substrate 30 is transferred to the front door 1a. Even when a device or the like is installed, the mounting plate 7 on which the plurality of adjustment plates 9 are mounted can be easily inserted into and removed from the heating chamber 5.

In the above description, the mounting plate 7 is provided on the discharge port 5b1 side, and the opening degree of the discharge port 5b1 is adjusted by the adjusting plate (adjustment means) 9 mounted on the mounting plate 7. Although described, the present invention is not limited to this, and the inlet 5a1 and the outlet 5b
There is no particular limitation as long as at least one of the openings 1 can be adjusted to adjust the amount of hot air in the heating chamber 5.
In the above description, the inner door 5 on the maintenance side is used.
Although the configuration in which the mounting plate 7 is inserted and removed through the door d and the inspection door 1b has been described, the configuration is not limited to this depending on the installation environment of the apparatus. That is, the mounting plate 7 may be inserted and removed from the front door 1a provided on the transport side of the apparatus, or a door dedicated to the mounting plate 7 may be provided in the heating chamber 5 and the outer container 1 and inserted and removed. .

[0017]

The present invention configured as described above has the following effects. According to the heat treatment apparatus of the first aspect, since the plurality of adjusting means are respectively mounted and the attaching means which can be inserted into and removed from the heating chamber are provided, the adjusting means can be removed from the heating chamber without removing the holding means. And the opening degree of the adjusting means can be easily adjusted. Therefore, the amount of hot air flowing in the heating chamber can be easily adjusted, and a desired temperature profile can be easily achieved by making the temperature distribution in the heating chamber uniform.

Further, according to the heat treatment apparatus of the present invention, the door is a door different from that for carrying in and out the object to be processed, and the mounting means can be inserted into and removed from the heating chamber through the door. Therefore, even when a transfer device or the like for transferring the object to be processed is installed on the side of the loading / unloading door, the mounting means provided with a plurality of adjusting means can be easily inserted into and removed from the heating chamber. can do.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is an explanatory diagram illustrating a main configuration of a heat treatment apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram illustrating a main configuration of a heating chamber illustrated in FIG. 1;

FIGS. 3A and 3B are explanatory diagrams illustrating an operation example of the adjustment plate illustrated in FIG. 2; FIGS.
It is explanatory drawing which shows the same adjustment plate at the time of an intermediate opening degree, and at the time of full closure.

FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram showing a main configuration of a conventional heat treatment apparatus.

5A is an explanatory view showing a configuration of a heating chamber shown in FIG. 4, and FIG. 5B is an explanatory view showing an adjustment plate shown in FIG.

[Explanation of symbols]

 2 Heater (heating means) 5 Heating chamber 5a1 Inlet 5b1 Discharge port 6 Rack part (holding means) 7 Mounting plate (mounting means) 9 Adjusting plate (adjusting means)

Claims (2)

[Claims] 1. A heating chamber having a heating means, an inlet and an outlet for introducing and discharging hot air heated by the heating means, respectively, and a heating chamber provided with a door, and being mounted inside the heating chamber. Holding means for holding the object to be heated by the hot air, and adjusting the opening degree of at least one of the inlet and the outlet to adjust the amount of hot air flowing through the heating chamber for heating. A heat treatment apparatus comprising: a plurality of adjusting means for uniforming a temperature distribution in a room, wherein each of the plurality of adjusting means is mounted, and mounting means capable of being inserted into and removed from the heating chamber is provided. A heat treatment apparatus characterized by the above-mentioned. 2. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said door is a door different from a door for loading and unloading an object to be processed, and said mounting means can be inserted into and removed from said heating chamber through said door. Heat treatment equipment.