U.S. patent application number 15/285026 was filed with the patent office on 2017-01-26 for cooling device and multi-chamber heat treatment device.
This patent application is currently assigned to IHI Corporation. The applicant listed for this patent is IHI Corporation, IHI Machinery and Furnace Co., Ltd.. Invention is credited to Kaoru ISOMOTO, Kazuhiko KATSUMATA, Takahiro NAGATA, Akira NAKAYAMA, Gen NISHITANI, Yuusuke SHIMIZU.
Application Number | 20170022579 15/285026 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 55162953 |
Filed Date | 2017-01-26 |
United States Patent
Application |
20170022579 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
KATSUMATA; Kazuhiko ; et
al. |
January 26, 2017 |
COOLING DEVICE AND MULTI-CHAMBER HEAT TREATMENT DEVICE
Abstract
A cooling device configured to cool an article to be treated by
immersing the article to be treated in coolant includes a cooling
chamber configured to accommodate the article to be treated and
store the coolant therein, a supply nozzle configured to supply the
coolant into the cooling chamber from below the article to be
treated, a recovery pipeline configured to collect the coolant
stored in the cooling chamber from above the article to be treated,
and a pump configured to pump the coolant collected by the recovery
pipeline to the supply nozzle.
Inventors: |
KATSUMATA; Kazuhiko;
(Inuyama-shi, JP) ; ISOMOTO; Kaoru; (Tokyo,
JP) ; NAGATA; Takahiro; (Kamo-gun, JP) ;
NAKAYAMA; Akira; (Hikari-shi, JP) ; SHIMIZU;
Yuusuke; (Gifu-shi, JP) ; NISHITANI; Gen;
(Kakamigahara-shi, JP) |
|
Applicant: |
Name |
City |
State |
Country |
Type |
IHI Corporation
IHI Machinery and Furnace Co., Ltd. |
Tokyo
Tokyo |
|
JP
JP |
|
|
Assignee: |
IHI Corporation
Tokyo
JP
IHI Machinery and Furnace Co., Ltd.
Tokyo
JP
|
Family ID: |
55162953 |
Appl. No.: |
15/285026 |
Filed: |
October 4, 2016 |
Related U.S. Patent Documents
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Application
Number |
Filing Date |
Patent Number |
|
|
PCT/JP2015/069889 |
Jul 10, 2015 |
|
|
|
15285026 |
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Current U.S.
Class: |
1/1 |
Current CPC
Class: |
C21D 1/18 20130101; F27D
9/00 20130101; C21D 1/64 20130101; C21D 1/667 20130101 |
International
Class: |
C21D 1/667 20060101
C21D001/667 |
Foreign Application Data
Date |
Code |
Application Number |
Jul 25, 2014 |
JP |
2014-152048 |
Claims
1. A cooling device configured to cool an article to be treated by
immersing the article to be treated in coolant, the cooling device
comprising: a cooling chamber configured to accommodate the article
to be treated and store the coolant therein; a supply nozzle
configured to supply the coolant into the cooling chamber from
below the article to be treated; a recovery pipeline configured to
collect the coolant stored in the cooling chamber from above the
article to be treated; and a pump configured to pump the coolant
collected by the recovery pipeline to the supply nozzle, wherein
the supply nozzle is constituted by a tubular body having an upper
end serving as an opening end through which the coolant is ejected
and through-holes passing through both sides thereof.
2. The cooling device according to claim 1, comprising a heat
exchanger configured to cool the coolant collected by the recovery
pipeline.
3. A multi-chamber heat treatment device comprising: a heating
device configured to heat an article to be treated; and a cooling
device according to claim 1.
4. A multi-chamber heat treatment device comprising: a heating
device configured to heat an article to be treated; and a cooling
device according to claim 2.
Description
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
[0001] The present application is a continuation application of
International Application No. PCT/JP2015/069889, filed Jul. 10,
2015, which claims priority to Japanese Patent Application No.
2014-152048, filed Jul. 25, 2014. The contents of these
applications are incorporated herein by reference in their
entirety.
TECHNICAL FIELD
[0002] The present disclosure relates to a cooling device and a
multi-chamber heat treatment device.
BACKGROUND
[0003] For example, Patent Document 1 discloses a multi-chamber
heat treatment device including three heating devices and a single
cooling device. In the multi-chamber heat treatment device, the
heating devices and the cooling device are connected via
intermediate conveyance chambers, and for example, an article to be
treated heated by the heating devices is conveyed to the cooling
device and cooled therein. In such a cooling device, for example,
cooling of the article to be treated is performed by storing a
coolant in the cooling chamber and immersing the article to be
treated in the coolant in the cooling chamber. In addition,
background art is also disclosed in the following Patent Documents
2 and 3.
DOCUMENTS OF THE RELATED ART
Patent Documents
[Patent Document 1]
[0004] Japanese Unexamined Patent Application, First Publication
No. 2014-051695
[Patent Document 2]
[0005] Japanese Unexamined Patent Application, First Publication
No. 2005-076101
[Patent Document 3] Japanese Unexamined Patent Application, First
Publication No. H07-208400
SUMMARY
[0006] Incidentally, in order to improve a cooling speed of the
article to be treated, circulating the coolant stored in the
cooling chamber and forming a flow of the coolant in the cooling
chamber during cooling of the article to be treated may be
considered. In this case, in Patent Document 1, forming a flow of a
coolant by supplying the coolant into the cooling chamber from a
nozzle disposed beside the article to be treated while extracting
the coolant from the cooling chamber through a drainage pipeline
installed under the cooling chamber is considered.
[0007] However, the coolant heated by cooling the article to be
treated flows toward an upper side of the cooling chamber. For this
reason, in the above-mentioned method, a flow of the coolant
supplied into the cooling chamber from the nozzle and a flow of the
coolant that is heated to flow upward interfere with each other,
the flow of the coolant in the cooling chamber becomes turbulent,
and thus it is difficult to uniformly cool the article to be
treated. In addition, since the coolant supplied from the nozzle is
heated before arrival at the article to be treated, it is difficult
to efficiently cool the article to be treated.
[0008] In consideration of the above-mentioned problems, the
present disclosure is directed to provide a cooling device and
multi-chamber heat treatment device that are configured to immerse
an article to be treated in a coolant and cool the article to be
treated in a cooling chamber, and capable of forming a flow of the
coolant that can efficiently and uniformly cool the article to be
treated in the cooling chamber.
[0009] In order to achieve the aforementioned objects, the
following configurations are employed.
[0010] A the present disclosure is a cooling device configured to
cool an article to be treated by immersing the article to be
treated in coolant, the cooling device including: a cooling chamber
configured to accommodate the article to be treated and store the
coolant therein; a supply nozzle configured to supply the coolant
into the cooling chamber from below the article to be treated; a
recovery pipeline configured to collect the coolant stored in the
cooling chamber from above the article to be treated; and a pump
configured to pump the coolant collected by the recovery pipeline
to the supply nozzle.
[0011] According to the present disclosure, in the cooling chamber,
the coolant is supplied from below the article to be treated by the
supply nozzle, the supplied coolant is collected from above the
article to be treated by the recovery pipeline, and the collected
coolant is pumped to the supply nozzle by the pump. For this
reason, according to the present disclosure, a flow from below to
above is formed in the cooling chamber by the supply nozzle, the
recovery pipeline and the pump. Since such a flow is directed in
the same direction as the coolant heated by cooling the article to
be treated, generation of turbulence in the flow of the coolant in
the cooling chamber can be suppressed. Accordingly, according to
the present disclosure, the article to be treated can be uniformly
cooled. In addition, the coolant supplied from the supply nozzle
can be prevented from being heated before arrival at the article to
be treated, and the article to be treated can be efficiently
cooled. That is, according to the present disclosure, in the
cooling device and the multi-chamber heat treatment device
configured to immerse and cool the article to be treated in the
coolant in the cooling chamber, a flow of the coolant capable of
efficiently and uniformly cooling the article to be treated can be
formed in the cooling chamber.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0012] FIG. 1 is a first longitudinal cross-sectional view showing
the entire configuration of a cooling device and a multi-chamber
heat treatment device according to an embodiment of the present
disclosure.
[0013] FIG. 2 is a longitudinal cross-sectional view showing the
entire configuration of the cooling device according to the
embodiment of the present disclosure.
[0014] FIG. 3A is a view taken along line A-A of FIG. 2.
[0015] FIG. 3B is a perspective view of a supply nozzle included in
the cooling device according to the embodiment of the present
disclosure.
[0016] FIG. 4A is a view showing an aspect of immersion
cooling.
[0017] FIG. 4B is a view showing an aspect of mist cooling.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
[0018] Hereinafter, an embodiment of an embodiment of a cooling
device and a multi-chamber heat treatment device according to the
present disclosure will be described with reference to the
accompanying drawings. Further, in the following drawings, in order
to increase members to recognizable sizes, scales of the members
may be appropriately exaggerated.
[0019] As shown in FIG. 1, a multi-chamber heat treatment device
including a cooling device of the embodiment is a device in which a
cooling device R, an intermediate conveyance device H, and two
heating devices (a heating device K1 and a heating device K2) are
integrated. Further, the number of heating devices may be
three.
[0020] The cooling device R is a device configured to cool an
article to be treated X, and as shown in FIG. 1, includes a cooling
chamber 1, a plurality of cooling nozzles 2, a plurality of mist
headers 3, a cooling pump 4 (a pump), a cooling drain pipe 5, a
cooling water tank 6, a cooling circulation pipe 7 (a recovery
pipeline), a plurality of supply nozzles 8, a drain valve 9, and so
on.
[0021] The cooling chamber 1 is a longitudinal cylindrical
container (a container having a central axis in a vertical
direction) configured to accommodate the article to be treated X,
and an internal space is a cooling region RS. An upper portion of
the cooling chamber 1 is connected to the intermediate conveyance
device H, and an opening configured to bring the cooling region RS
in communication with an internal space (a conveyance region HS) of
the intermediate conveyance device H is formed in the cooling
chamber 1. The article to be treated X is conveyed into the cooling
region RS or unloaded from the cooling region RS via the opening.
The cooling chamber 1 can store a coolant.
[0022] As shown in FIGS. 1 to 3B, the plurality of cooling nozzles
2 are disposed to be distributed around the article to be treated X
accommodated in the cooling region RS. More specifically, the
plurality of cooling nozzles 2 are disposed to be distributed
around the article to be treated X such that the article to be
treated X is enclosed as a whole and distances to the article to be
treated X become preferably equal distances in a state in which a
plurality of stages (specifically, five stages) are formed in a
vertical direction and the stages are disposed at equal intervals
in a circumferential direction of the cooling chamber 1 (the
cooling region RS).
[0023] In addition, the plurality of cooling nozzles 2 are divided
into a predetermined number of groups. That is, the plurality of
cooling nozzles 2 are grouped at each stage in a vertical direction
of the cooling region RS, and also grouped into a plurality of
groups in a circumferential direction of the cooling chamber 1 (the
cooling region RS). As shown in FIG. 2, the mist headers 3 are
individually installed at the plurality of groups (nozzle
groups).
[0024] Here, the coolant ejected from the cooling nozzles 2 is a
liquid having a viscosity lower than that of cooling oil that is
generally used for cooling of heat treatment, for example, water. A
shape of injection holes of the cooling nozzles 2 is set such that
the coolant such as water or the like becomes droplets having a
uniform and constant particle diameter at a predetermined spray
angle. In addition, as shown in FIGS. 1 to 5, spray angles of the
cooling nozzles 2 and an interval of the neighboring cooling
nozzles 2 are set such that droplets disposed at an outer
circumferential side in the droplets ejected from the cooling
nozzles 2 cross or collide with droplets disposed at the outer
circumferential side and ejected from the neighboring cooling
nozzles 2.
[0025] That is, the plurality of cooling nozzles 2 spray the
coolant toward the article to be treated X such that the article to
be treated X is entirely surrounded by an aggregate of droplets of
the coolant, i.e., mist of the coolant (coolant mist).
[0026] The cooling device R of the embodiment can perform mist
cooling of cooling the article to be treated X using such coolant
mist, and cooling of immersing the article to be treated X in the
coolant (immersion cooling). In the immersion cooling, the article
to be treated X in the cooling chamber 1 is cooled in the immersion
state by the coolant supplied from the plurality of supply nozzles
8. Further, cooling conditions such as a cooling temperature, a
cooling time, or the like, in the cooling device R are
appropriately set according to a purpose of heat treatment in the
article to be treated X, a material of the article to be treated X,
or the like.
[0027] The cooling pump 4 pumps the coolant remaining in the
cooling water tank 6 to the mist headers 3 or the supply nozzles 8.
Here, an opening/closing valve 31 is installed upstream from the
mist headers 3, and an opening/closing valve 32 is installed
upstream from the supply nozzles 8. When the mist cooling is
performed, the opening/closing valve 32 is closed while the
opening/closing valve 31 is opened, and the coolant is supplied
from the cooling pump 4 to the cooling nozzles 2 installed at the
mist headers 3. Meanwhile, when the immersion cooling is performed,
the opening/closing valve 32 is opened while the opening/closing
valve 31 is closed, and the coolant is supplied from the cooling
pump 4 to the supply nozzles 8. Further, in the cooling pump 4, an
ejection pressure of the coolant having small time fluctuation is
preferably selected. In addition, a heat exchanger 30 is installed
downstream from the cooling pump 4. The heat exchanger 30 cools the
coolant ejected from the cooling pump 4 through heat exchange with
a cooling medium. As the coolant is cooled by the heat exchanger
30, after the coolant collected from the cooling chamber 1 is
cooled, the coolant is supplied into the cooling chamber 1 from the
cooling nozzles 2 or the supply nozzles 8 again.
[0028] The cooling drain pipe 5 is a pipeline configured to bring a
lower portion of the cooling chamber 1 and the cooling water tank 6
in communication with each other, and the drain valve 9 is
installed in the middle of the pipeline. The cooling water tank 6
is a liquid container configured to store coolant drained from the
cooling chamber 1 via the cooling drain pipe 5 or the cooling
circulation pipe 7. As shown in FIG. 2, the cooling circulation
pipe 7 is a pipeline configured to bring an upper portion of the
cooling chamber 1 and an upper portion of the cooling water tank 6
in communication with each other. The cooling circulation pipe 7 is
configured to return the coolant that overflows from the cooling
chamber 1 upon the above-mentioned immersion cooling into the
cooling water tank 6. That is, the cooling circulation pipe 7
collects the coolant stored in the cooling chamber 1 from above the
article to be treated X accommodated in the cooling chamber 1.
[0029] FIG. 3A is a view taken along line A-A of FIG. 2. As shown
in FIG. 3A, the plurality of supply nozzles 8 are disposed to be
distributed at a lower portion of the cooling chamber 1, and the
coolant is supplied into the cooling chamber 1 by injecting the
coolant upward upon the immersion cooling. The plurality of supply
nozzles 8 supply the coolant upward into the cooling chamber 1 from
below the article to be treated X accommodated in the cooling
chamber 1.
[0030] FIG. 3B is a perspective view of the supply nozzle 8. As
shown in FIG. 3B, the supply nozzle 8 is constituted by a tubular
body having through-holes 8b through which an upper end becomes an
opening end 8a from which coolant is ejected and passing both sides
thereof. The supply nozzle 8 introduces the surrounding coolant
from the through-hole 8b and ejects the coolant from the opening
end 8a at a flow rate of several times that of the coolant supplied
from the lower end when the coolant supplied from the lower end is
ejected from the opening end 8a of the upper end.
[0031] Returning to FIG. 1, the intermediate conveyance device H
includes a conveyance chamber 10, a conveyance chamber placing
table 11, a cooling chamber elevation table 12, a cooling chamber
elevation cylinder 13, a pair of conveyance rails 14, a pair of
pusher cylinders (a pusher cylinder 15 and a pusher cylinder 16), a
heating chamber elevation table 17, a heating chamber elevation
cylinder 18, and so on. The conveyance chamber 10 is a container
installed between the cooling device R, the heating device K1 and
the heating device K2, and the internal space of the conveyance
chamber 10 is the conveyance region HS. The article to be treated X
is loaded by an external conveyance device or loaded into the
conveyance chamber 10 from a conveyance port (not shown) while
accommodated in the container, which may be a basket or the
like.
[0032] The conveyance chamber placing table 11 is a support frame
configured to close a delivery port between the cooling chamber 1
and the conveyance chamber 10 when the article to be treated X is
cooled by the cooling device R, and another article to be treated X
can be placed thereon. The cooling chamber elevation table 12 is a
support frame on which the article to be treated X is placed when
the article to be treated X is cooled by the cooling device R, and
supports the article to be treated X such that a bottom section of
the article to be treated X is preferably widely exposed. The
cooling chamber elevation table 12 has a plurality of through-holes
12a (see FIG. 3A) opened to match the supply nozzles 8, and is
fixed to a distal end of a movable rod of the cooling chamber
elevation cylinder 13.
[0033] The cooling chamber elevation cylinder 13 is an actuator
configured to vertically move (elevate) the cooling chamber
elevation table 12. That is, the cooling chamber elevation cylinder
13 and the cooling chamber elevation table 12 are an exclusive
conveyance device of the cooling device R, and the article to be
treated X placed on the cooling chamber elevation table 12 is
conveyed from the cooling region RS to the conveyance region HS
while being conveyed from the conveyance region HS to the cooling
region RS.
[0034] The pair of conveyance rails 14 are installed at a floor
section in the conveyance chamber 10 to extend in a horizontal
direction. The conveyance rails 14 are guide members used when the
article to be treated X is conveyed between the cooling device R
and the heating device K1. The pusher cylinder 15 is an actuator
configured to press the article to be treated X when the article to
be treated X in the conveyance chamber 10 is conveyed toward the
heating device K1. The pusher cylinder 16 is an actuator configured
to press the article to be treated X when the article to be treated
X is conveyed from the heating device K1 to the cooling device
R.
[0035] That is, the pair of conveyance rails 14, the pusher
cylinder 15 and the pusher cylinder 16 are an exclusive conveyance
device configured to convey the article to be treated X between the
heating device K1 and the cooling device R. Further, while the pair
of conveyance rails 14, the pusher cylinder 15 and the pusher
cylinder 16 are shown in FIG. 1, the intermediate conveyance device
H in reality includes the total of two conveyance rails 14, the
pusher cylinder 15 and the pusher cylinder 16. That is, the
conveyance rails 14, the pusher cylinder 15 and the pusher cylinder
16 are also provided for not only the heating device K1 but the
heating device K2. Further, when a third heating device is
installed, a total of two pairs of conveyance rails 14, the pusher
cylinder 15 and the pusher cylinder 16 are provided.
[0036] The heating chamber elevation table 17 is a support frame on
which the article to be treated X is placed when the article to be
treated X is conveyed from the intermediate conveyance device H to
the heating device K1. That is, the article to be treated X is
conveyed directly over the heating chamber elevation table 17 as
the article to be treated X is pressed by the pusher cylinder 15 in
a rightward direction of FIG. 1. The heating chamber elevation
cylinder 18 is an actuator configured to vertically move (elevate)
the article to be treated X on the heating chamber elevation table
17. That is, the heating chamber elevation table 17 and the heating
chamber elevation cylinder 18 are an exclusive conveyance device
for the heating device K1, and the article to be treated X placed
on the heating chamber elevation table 17 is conveyed from the
conveyance region HS into the inside (a heating region KS) of the
heating device K1 and simultaneously conveyed from the heating
region KS to the conveyance region HS.
[0037] Since the heating device K1 and the heating device K2 have
basically the same configuration, hereinafter, a configuration of
the heating device K1 will be described representatively. The
heating device K1 includes a heating chamber 20, an insulation
container 21, a plurality of heating heaters 22, a vacuum exhaust
pipe 23, a vacuum pump 24, an agitating blade 25, an agitating
motor 26, and so on.
[0038] The heating chamber 20 is a container installed on the
conveyance chamber 10, and an internal space of the heating chamber
20 is the heating region KS. While the heating chamber 20 is a
longitudinal cylindrical container (a container having a central
axis is in a vertical direction) like the above-mentioned cooling
chamber 1, the heating chamber 20 has a size smaller than that of
the cooling chamber 1. The insulation container 21 is a
longitudinal cylindrical container installed in the heating chamber
20, and formed of an insulating material having predetermined
insulation performance.
[0039] The plurality of heating heaters 22, each of which is a
rod-shaped heat generating body, are installed inside the
insulation container 21 in a vertical posture and at predetermined
intervals in a circumferential direction. The plurality of heating
heaters 22 are configured to heat the article to be treated X
accommodated in the heating region KS to a predetermined
temperature (heating temperature). Further, a heating condition
such as a heating temperature, a heating time, or the like, is
appropriately set according to a purpose of heat treatment related
to the article to be treated X, a material of the article to be
treated X, or the like.
[0040] Here, the heating condition includes a vacuum level (a
pressure) in the heating region KS (the heating chamber 20). The
vacuum exhaust pipe 23 is a pipeline in communication with the
heating region KS, and has one end connected to an upper portion of
the insulation container 21 and the other end connected to the
vacuum pump 24. The vacuum pump 24 is an exhaust pump configured to
suction air in the heating region KS via the vacuum exhaust pipe
23. A vacuum level in the heating region KS is determined by an
exhaust amount of the air from the vacuum pump 24.
[0041] The agitating blade 25 is a rotary blade installed at an
upper portion in the insulation container 21 in a posture in which
a direction of the rotary shaft is in a vertical direction (an
upward/downward direction). The agitating blade 25 agitates the air
in the heating region KS as the agitating blade 25 is driven by the
agitating motor 26. The agitating motor 26 is a rotary driving
source installed on the heating chamber 20 such that an output
shaft is in a vertical direction (an upward/downward direction).
The output shaft of the agitating motor 26 disposed on the heating
chamber 20 is axially coupled to the rotary shaft of the agitating
blade 25 disposed in the heating chamber 20 such that air-tightness
(sealability) of the heating chamber 20 is not damaged.
[0042] Further, the multi-chamber heat treatment device according
to the embodiment includes a control panel (a control device) that
is not shown. The control panel includes a manipulation unit on
which a user sets and inputs various conditions of heat treatment,
and a control unit configured to perform heat treatment according
to information related to the various conditions that are set and
input as described above with respect to the article to be treated
X by controlling drive units such as the cooling pump 4, the
heating heaters 22, various cylinders, the vacuum pump 24, and so
on, based on a control program that is previously stored
therein.
[0043] Next, an operation of the multi-chamber heat treatment
device configured as described above, in particular, an operation
of the cooling device R, will be described in detail. An operation
of the multi-chamber heat treatment device is autonomously
performed by the control panel based on setting information.
Further, as is well known, heat treatment includes various kinds of
treatments according to purposes. Hereinafter, as an example of the
heat treatment, an operation in the case in which the article to be
treated X is treated through quenching will be described.
[0044] The quenching is completed by, for example, heating the
article to be treated X to a temperature T1, rapidly cooling the
article to be treated X to a temperature T2, maintaining the
article to be treated X at the temperature T2 for a constant time,
and then slowly cooling the article to be treated X. The article to
be treated X loaded by the external conveyance device or
accommodated in the intermediate conveyance device H from the
conveyance port is conveyed onto the heating chamber elevation
table 17 by, for example, operating the pusher cylinder 15, and is
accommodated in the heating region KS by further operating the
heating chamber elevation cylinder 18.
[0045] Then, when the article to be treated X is heated to the
temperature T1 by applying electricity to the heating heaters 22
for a constant time, the article to be treated X is conveyed onto
the cooling chamber elevation table 12 by operating the heating
chamber elevation cylinder 18 and the pusher cylinder 16, and
conveyed to the cooling region RS by further operating the cooling
chamber elevation cylinder 13.
[0046] Here, when the immersion cooling is performed, as shown in
FIG. 4A, the opening/closing valve 31 of the mist headers 3 is
closed while the opening/closing valve 32 disposed upstream from
the supply nozzles 8 is opened, and further, the drain valve 9 is
also closed. Then, as the cooling pump 4 is previously operated to
supply the coolant from the plurality of supply nozzles 8, the
inside of the cooling region RS is filled with a coolant W. Even in
a state in which the article to be treated X is immersed, the
coolant W is continuously supplied into the cooling chamber 1 from
the supply nozzles 8. Then, the coolant W continuously supplied
from the supply nozzles 8 cools the article to be treated X and
rises in the cooling chamber 1, and the coolant W that overflows is
collected by the cooling circulation pipe 7 to be stored in the
cooling water tank 6. In addition, the coolant W stored in the
cooling water tank 6 is supplied into the cooling chamber 1 from
the supply nozzles 8 by the cooling pump 4 again. Here, the coolant
W is cooled by the heat exchanger 30.
[0047] Meanwhile, when the mist cooling is performed, as shown in
FIG. 4B, the opening/closing valve 31 of the mist headers 3 is
opened while the opening/closing valve 32 disposed upstream from
the supply nozzles 8 is closed, and the drain valve 9 is opened.
Then, the coolant W is sprayed from the cooling nozzles 2 toward
the article to be treated X through the mist headers 3.
Accordingly, the article to be treated X is treated through the
mist cooling by droplets of the coolant W injected from the cooling
nozzles 2. In addition, the coolant W that drops onto the bottom
section of the cooling chamber 1 is stored in the cooling water
tank 6 through the cooling drain pipe 5. In addition, the coolant W
stored in the cooling water tank 6 is sprayed into the cooling
chamber 1 from the cooling nozzles 2 of the mist headers 3 by the
cooling pump 4 again. Here, the coolant W is cooled by the heat
exchanger 30.
[0048] According to the multi-chamber heat treatment device
including the cooling device R of the above-mentioned embodiment,
in the cooling chamber 1, the coolant W is supplied from below the
article to be treated X by the supply nozzles 8, the supplied
coolant W is collected from above the article to be treated X by
the cooling circulation pipe 7, and the collected coolant W is
pumped to the supply nozzles 8 by the cooling pump 4. For this
reason, according to the multi-chamber heat treatment device
including the cooling device R of the embodiment, a flow from below
to above is formed in the cooling chamber 1 by the supply nozzles
8, the cooling circulation pipe 7 and the cooling pump 4. Since
such a flow is directed in the same direction as the coolant W
heated by cooling the article to be treated X, generation of
turbulence of the flow of the coolant W in the cooling chamber 1
can be suppressed. Accordingly, according to the multi-chamber heat
treatment device including the cooling device R of the embodiment,
the article to be treated X can be uniformly cooled. In addition,
the coolant W supplied from the supply nozzles 8 can be prevented
from being heated before arrival at the article to be treated X,
and the article to be treated X can be efficiently cooled.
Accordingly, according to the multi-chamber heat treatment device
including the cooling device R of the embodiment, a flow of the
coolant W capable of efficiently and uniformly cooling the article
to be treated X can be formed in the cooling chamber 1.
[0049] In addition, in the multi-chamber heat treatment device
including the cooling device R of the embodiment, each of the
supply nozzles 8 is a tubular body having the opening end 8a
configured to eject the coolant W at an upper end thereof, and the
through-holes 8b passing through both sides thereof. For this
reason, the supply nozzles 8 can introduce the surrounding coolant
from the through-holes 8b, and eject the coolant W from the opening
end 8a at a flow rate of several times that of the coolant W
supplied from the lower end. Accordingly, more efficient cooling
can be performed by increasing a flow velocity of the coolant W in
the cooling chamber 1.
[0050] In addition, in the multi-chamber heat treatment device
including the cooling device R of the embodiment, the heat
exchanger 30 configured to cool the coolant W collected by the
cooling circulation pipe 7 is provided. For this reason, in
comparison with the case in which the coolant W is simply
circulated, the article to be treated X can be cooled in a shorter
time.
[0051] While an appropriate embodiment has been described above
with reference to the accompanying drawings, the present disclosure
is not limited to the embodiment. All shapes, combinations, and so
on, of the components shown in the above-mentioned embodiment are
exemplified, and various modifications based on design requirements
and so on may be made without departing from the scope of the
present disclosure.
[0052] For example, in the embodiment, while the multi-chamber heat
treatment device including the cooling device R, the intermediate
conveyance device H and the two heating devices has been described,
the present disclosure is not limited thereto. The present
disclosure can also be applied to a multi-chamber heat treatment
device having, for example, a type in which the cooling device R
and a single heating chamber are adjacent to each other with a
swing door therebetween.
[0053] In addition, while the article to be treated X is
accommodated in the cooling region RS from above in the cooling
device R of the embodiment, the present disclosure is not limited
thereto. The present disclosure can be applied to a case in which
the article to be treated X is accommodated in the cooling region
RS from a side portion (in a horizontal direction) or a lower
side.
[0054] In addition, the cooling device R of the embodiment has been
described as enabling the mist cooling. However, the present
disclosure is not limited thereto but may be applied to a cooling
device that does not perform the mist cooling.
INDUSTRIAL APPLICABILITY
[0055] According to the present disclosure, in the cooling device
and multi-chamber heat treatment device configured to immerse and
cool the article to be treated in the coolant in the cooling
chamber, a flow of the coolant capable of efficiently and uniformly
cooling the article to be treated can be formed in the cooling
chamber.
* * * * *