US 11,796,252 B2
Continuous heating furnace and operating method thereof
Satoshi Taniguchi, Nagoya (JP); and Takeshi Tokunaga, Nagoya (JP)
Assigned to NGK INSULATORS, LTD., Nagoya (JP)
Filed by NGK INSULATORS, LTD., Nagoya (JP)
Filed on Aug. 14, 2019, as Appl. No. 16/540,295.
Claims priority of application No. 2018-155532 (JP), filed on Aug. 22, 2018.
Prior Publication US 2020/0064069 A1, Feb. 27, 2020
Int. Cl. F27D 9/00 (2006.01); F27B 9/12 (2006.01); F27D 3/00 (2006.01); F27B 9/36 (2006.01); F27D 21/00 (2006.01); F27D 19/00 (2006.01)
CPC F27B 9/12 (2013.01) [F27D 3/0021 (2013.01); F27B 2009/122 (2013.01); F27B 2009/124 (2013.01); F27B 2009/3638 (2013.01); F27D 21/0014 (2013.01); F27D 2003/0063 (2013.01); F27D 2009/0072 (2013.01); F27D 2019/0003 (2013.01)] 13 Claims
OG exemplary drawing
 
1. A continuous heating furnace comprising an inlet, a heating zone, a cooling zone and an outlet in this order, for carrying out a heat treatment while conveying at least one workpiece from the inlet to the outlet,
wherein the cooling zone is configured such that an ambient gas for direct cooling of the workpiece can flow into the cooling zone from the outlet;
the cooling zone comprises a plurality of indirect coolers arranged in parallel in the conveying direction of the workpiece, each of the indirect coolers having at least one regulator for independently adjusting a cooling power; and
the cooling zone comprises one or more residual heat outlets for discharging a residual heat gas in the cooling zone.