Claims
- 1. Apparatus for quenching annular, ring-shaped metallic workpieces (15) having inner and outer circumferential surfaces with a quenching intensity lying in an intensity range of 0.2 to 4 for oil or water quenching, by bringing a gaseous quenching medium into contact with to-be-cooled inner and outer surfaces of the workpiece, comprising:
- a ring-shaped chamber structure having an outer cylindrical wall (12), an inner cylindrical wall (13) spaced from the outer wall, a bottom wall (11) connecting the inner and outer cylindrical walls, and defining a ring-shaped quenching chamber (14) therebetween, dimensioned to receive the workpiece (15) therein;
- an array of gas transmission nozzles (25) forming a nozzle field and located in each of said inner and outer walls, projecting a gaseous quenching medium from the inner wall (13) on the inner surfaces of the workpiece (15) and from the outer wall on the outer surfaces of the workpiece (15);
- workpiece support means (34, 43) for supporting an end surface of the ring-shaped workpiece (15) within said chamber in a fixed relationship with respect to said nozzle field;
- said nozzle field being arranged spaced by a small distance from the inner and outer surfaces, respectively, of the workpiece (15) and located so as to at least approximately match the shape of said to-be-cooled surfaces of said workpiece (15) and to project on the inner and outer surfaces of the workpiece (15) discrete cooling gas jets from said nozzles (25) and thereby to produce a quenching intensity on said surfaces which is in the intensity range of 0.2 to 4 for oil or water quenching; and
- pressure means for controllably propelling said gaseous quenching medium through said nozzles (25) of said nozzle field and controllably projecting discrete jets of said quenching medium onto the workpiece (15) in said quenching chamber (14) and thereby controllably chilling and quenching said surfaces thereof, said pressure means including means for adjusting gas velocity through said nozzles and gas pressure upstream of said nozzles and also means for limiting propelling power of said pressure means to a value of power up to about 1,000 kW per square meter of nozzle field.
- 2. Apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said quenching chamber (14) is a chamber capable of operating as a pressure chamber at pressures above atmospheric pressure and is equipped with pressure resistant loading and unloading closure locks.
- 3. Apparatus according to claim 1, wherein at least a few nozzles (25) of said nozzle field are equipped with selectively actuatable valve means (70) for reducing flow therethrough.
- 4. Apparatus according to claim 1, wherein at least a portion of said nozzle field is an interchangeable unit inserted in a casing (2).
- 5. Apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said workpieces are bearing rings, and wherein said quenching chamber (14) includes driving means coupled to said support means for providing relative rotary movement of said workpiece and at least a part of said nozzle field about an axis of symmetry (33) of said workpiece.
- 6. Apparatus according to claim 5, wherein said means for producing relative driving movement includes a turbine unit (42) disposed for being rotated by said cooling gas for energizing said driving means.
- 7. Apparatus according to claim 1, wherein measuring devices (63, 64) are provided in said chamber (14) to provide indication of workpiece temperature during quenching.
- 8. Apparatus according to claim 2, wherein measuring devices (63, 64) are provided in said chamber (14) for indication of workpiece temperature during quenching.
- 9. Apparatus according to claim 3, wherein measuring devices (63, 64) are provided in said chamber (14) for indication of workpiece temperature during quenching.
- 10. Apparatus according to claim 5, wherein measuring devices (63, 64) are provided in said chamber (14) for indication of workpiece temperature during quenching.
- 11. Apparatus according to claim 1, including means for adjusting gas velocity and gas pressure of said gaseous quenching medium and for controllably projecting discrete jets of said quenching medium, through said nozzles including a process computer (62), for controlling the time course of quenching said workpiece, to which there are supplied as input signals process data including at least one of flow quantity, pressure, temperature and composition of cooling gas, and workpiece-specific data, including at least one of geometric shape and dimensions and material composition and optionally characteristic data of said nozzle field, and from which output signals calculated in accordance with a program of said process computer are provided as output signals for affecting the cooling gas jet output of said nozzle field, the cooling gas throughput cross-section of at least a few nozzles (25) of said nozzle field or a relative movement between said workpiece (15) and said nozzle field either individually or by two or more of said output signals simultaneously.
- 12. Apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said means for controllably ejecting discrete gas jets and controllably quenching said surfaces of said workpiece as well as for adjusting gas velocity through said nozzles and gas pressures upstream of said nozzles include programmed control means (62) for affecting the quenching effect of said gas jets on said to-be-cooled workpiece surfaces, are controllable for imitating the quenching effect of an oil or warm-salt-bed hardening by controlling at least one of: quenching gas velocity, pressure behind gas jets and diameter or cross-section of said nozzles.
- 13. Apparatus according to claim 11, wherein said apparatus is located directly at an output of a furnace chamber (4a) of a continuous pass-through furnace containing a protective gas atmosphere.
- 14. Apparatus according to claim 13, wherein said apparatus contains a loading and unloading chamber (21) connected to said furnace chamber (4a) and closeable to the exterior of said furnace and said apparatus by a selectively actuatable door (23).
- 15. Apparatus according to claim 2, wherein said pressure resistant loading and unloading closure locks close a loading and unloading quenching chamber (21) which is connected to said chamber (14) through selectively actuatable closure means (16).
- 16. Apparatus according to claim 1, wherein a plurality of said quenching chambers (14), the entire chamber space of which is at least partly surrounded by an array of nozzles in a nozzle field are provided and located next to one another and optionally operated in parallel for simultaneous quenching of workpieces, respectively, in respective quenching chambers (14).
- 17. Apparatus according to claim 1, comprising a plurality of quenching chambers (14) of which the interior space is at least partly surrounded by an array of nozzles (25) in a nozzle field for exposing said workpiece to the gaseous quenching medium, disposed one behind the other with respect to conveyor means for said workpiece, said respective chambers and their respective nozzle fields being adapted for providing different quenching conditions.
- 18. Apparatus according to claim 17, wherein there is interposed between two of said plurality of chambers (14) a treatment station for said workpiece which is not a quenching treatment station.
- 19. Apparatus according to claim 12, wherein measuring devices (63, 64) are provided in said quenching chamber (14) for indication of workpiece temperature during quenching.
- 20. Apparatus according to claim 1 wherein the chamber structure comprises first and second essentially concentric, hollow cylindrical elements (12, 13) forming said inner and outer cylindrical walls, the first element (13) being located within the second element (12) , and defining said quenching chamber (14) therebetween;
- wherein the nozzles (25) project through said elements toward said chamber (14); and
- wherein the hollow interior of the first element (13) forms a supply duct for the quenching medium to the nozzles (25) with the first element.
- 21. Apparatus according to claim 1, in combination with said workpiece (15),
- wherein said workpiece comprises a bearing ring.
- 22. Apparatus according to claim 1, in combination with said workpiece (15),
- wherein said workpiece comprises a roller bearing ring.
Priority Claims (1)
Number |
Date |
Country |
Kind |
42 08 485.7 |
Mar 1992 |
DEX |
|
Parent Case Info
This application is a continuation of application Ser. 08/029,113, filed Mar. 30, 1993, now abandoned.
US Referenced Citations (8)
Foreign Referenced Citations (5)
Number |
Date |
Country |
0129701A1 |
Jan 1985 |
EPX |
0120233A3 |
Jul 1985 |
EPX |
0313888A1 |
May 1989 |
EPX |
2601658 |
Jul 1977 |
DEX |
WO8912111 |
Dec 1989 |
WOX |
Non-Patent Literature Citations (2)
Entry |
"Der Konvektive Warmeubergang unter Desenfeldern--. . . ", Oftentechnik, H. Klammer et al, Feb. 24, 1986, pp. 155-160. |
"Untersuchungen Zum Konvektiven . . . ", Udo Spiecker, Sep. 27, 1990 pp. 38-39 and Bild 23. |
Continuations (1)
|
Number |
Date |
Country |
Parent |
29113 |
Mar 1993 |
|