Heating apparatus, heat treatment apparatus, and heating method

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9926616-B2
Application number	US-201615003375-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Jan 21, 2016
Priority date	Mar 15, 2011
Publication date	Mar 27, 2018
Grant date	Mar 27, 2018

Abstract

A heating apparatus, a heat treatment apparatus, and a heating method are provided. The heating apparatus includes a workpiece support on which a ring-shaped workpiece is placed, a rotary drive assembly, and a heater configured to heat the workpiece. The workpiece support includes a plurality of rotating rollers arranged in a circumferential direction. The rotary drive assembly is configured to rotate the plurality of rotating rollers to rotate the workpiece placed on the workpiece support along a ring shape of the workpiece. The heater includes a heating coil configured to induction-heat the workpiece on the workpiece support at a heating position, and an actuator configured to move the heating coil at the heating position relative to the workpiece to adjust a distance between the workpiece and the heating coil.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A heating method comprising:
placing a ring-shaped workpiece on a plurality of rotating rollers arranged in a circumferential direction;
setting the workpiece at a heating position to face a heating coil;
detecting a position of a surface of the workpiece at a location upstream of the heating position in a rotating direction of the workpiece;
moving the heating coil to adjust a position of the heating coil relative to the workpiece based on the detected position of the surface of the workpiece;
rotating the rotating rollers to rotate the workpiece along a ring shape of the workpiece; and
induction-heating the workpiece.

2. A heating method comprising:
placing a ring-shaped workpiece on a plurality of rotating rollers arranged in a circumferential direction, wherein the rotating rollers are connected to a central structure unit and arranged in the circumferential direction around the central structure unit, and the ring-shaped workpiece is placed on the rotating rollers such that the ring-shaped workpiece surrounds the central structure unit;
after the placing is carried out in a loading section, conveying the ring-shaped workpiece together with the rotating rollers from the loading section to a heating section, in which a heating coil is provided, such that the central structure unit is suspended;
setting the ring-shaped workpiece at a heating position to face the heating coil;
moving the heating coil to adjust a position of the heating coil relative to the ring-shaped workpiece;
rotating the rotating rollers to rotate the ring-shaped workpiece along a ring shape of the ring-shaped workpiece; and
induction-heating the ring-shaped workpiece.

Assignees

• Neturen Co Ltd
• Neturen Takuto Co Ltd

Inventors

• Nakatsu Hitoshi
• Watanabe Hisaaki

Classifications

• C21D1/10

  by electric induction · CPC title

• F27B9/36

  Arrangements of heating devices · CPC title

• F27B9/24

  being carried by a conveyor · CPC title

• C21D9/0018

  for charging, discharging or manipulation of charge · CPC title

• C21D9/673

  Details, accessories, or equipment peculiar to bell-type furnaces · CPC title