Electric heating – Heating devices – Combined with container – enclosure – or support for material...
Reexamination Certificate
2000-12-07
2003-11-18
Pelham, Joseph (Department: 3742)
Electric heating
Heating devices
Combined with container, enclosure, or support for material...
C198S435000, C198S447000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06649878
ABSTRACT:
The invention relates to a heating device for heating merchandise, especially printed boards, comprising a feeding device provided in front of at least one heating line in the transport direction of the merchandise and a transportation device provided behind the heating line in the transport direction, wherein a number of heating zones/devices and/or cooling zones/devices or the like are associated with the heating line.
Such a heating device is known from DE 297 04 601. A heating line extending essentially transversely to the transport direction and leading the merchandise approximately around in a circular manner is thereby fed with merchandise in the form of printed boards by corresponding feeding devices, which merchandise is transported away from the heating line by corresponding transportation devices. The feeding and the transportation take place in horizontal planes in the direction of the transport direction, whereby said horizontal planes may be disposed so as to be offset to each other. A number of zones or devices for heating and cooling are positioned along the heating line. The corresponding heating zones or respectively devices serve, for example, the re-melting of solder paste, i.e. the so-called reflow soldering, the hardening of adhesives for fixing components on the printed boards, the drying of lacquer on the printed boards etc.
A corresponding heating zone may, for example, be formed of a region of the heating line, in which heated air is supplied. Also a direct heating by means of a heating device such as an infrared lamp or the like may take place. A cooling zone, may, for example, be disposed between two heating zones or heating devices, whereby the cooling may simply take place by the dissipation of heat to the environment in the cooling zone. Moreover, an active cooling device may be provided, which cools the merchandise to a certain temperature. Furthermore, a cooling gas may be correspondingly fed and discharged in the cooling zone analogously to the heating gas.
Due to the arrangement of the heating line the known heating device according to DE 297 04 601 is very compact and efficient in the exploitation of heating gas and cooling gas, which results from the vertically disposed heating line sections. The throughput of said known heating device is, however, not large enough to allow an operation without a delayed supply of printed boards or correspondingly laborious buffers.
The invention is, therefore, based on the object to improve a heating device of the aforementioned type by increasing the throughput of merchandise in a simple manner.
Said object is provided in connection with the features of the preamble of claim
1
by disposing at least two heating lines on top of each other, to which merchandise can be separately fed by the feeding device from a horizontal transport level, and by the transportation device separately discharging the merchandise from the heating lines back into a horizontal transport level. Both horizontal transport levels may be arranged so as to be offset to each other or may be arranged in one plane.
By disposing the at least two heating lines on top of each other, essentially double the number of printed boards or the like as merchandise can simultaneously be handled in the same period of time without requiring more space or additional feeding and transportation devices. Thus, the time required for processing such merchandise is reduced while the costs are decreased at the same time.
In order to be capable of taking the merchandise by the heating device according to the invention prior to the feeding thereof to the heating lines during a relatively fast feeding of the merchandise, and also to be able to buffer the same prior to the discharge, the feeding and for transportation devices may comprise a buffer for buffering a plurality of goods
The heating device according to the invention may also comprise more than two heating lines on top of each other, whereby, if, for instance, three, four or five heating lines are arranged on top of each other, the feed and the transportation of the merchandise by means of the corresponding feeding and transportation devices likewise take place separately.
Moreover, it is possible in accordance with the invention that at least two heating lines are disposed next to each other with each of said heating lines having a corresponding number of heating lines in levels on top thereof.
As the heating and/or cooling of the merchandise along the heating lines may take place in a protective gas atmosphere, corresponding lock devices may be arranged between the heating line and the feeding and transportation devices. Such a lock device is to prevent protective gas from escaping into the environment so as to guarantee a closed protective atmosphere.
In order to be able to carry off the protective gas from the lock device, each of said lock devices may comprise a suction implement.
When treating especially printed boards as merchandise it is generally an advantage if the heating takes place in a certain time and/or at a certain temperature gradient, a processing at a certain temperature level for a predetermined time, and if a cooling and, if required, an intermediate heating takes place in an analogous fashion. This may advantageously be effected by being able to adjust a predetermined especially preprogrammed temperature profile along the heating line, which is then realized by the corresponding heating zones/devices and/or cooling zones/devices and the selection thereof.
In order to be able to directly feed externally fed merchandise in the horizontal transport level of the heating device according to the invention to at least one heating line without lifting or lowering the merchandise, at least one of said heating lines can be arranged in the horizontal transport level. Thus, the transportation of the merchandise away from said heating line is facilitated, as the merchandise can be transferred directly to the horizontal transport level by the transportation device, from which it is transported further, without having to additionally lift or lower the merchandise
For the simplified connection to pretreatment or subsequent treatment devices for the merchandise, the feeding and/or transportation device may comprise a transporter provided in front or behind thereof in the direction of transport, via which the merchandise can be fed or removed to or from the heating device from outside. Said transporters transport the merchandise, for instance, to a subsequent treatment device provided behind the heating device in the direction of transport or, in an analogous fashion, from a pretreatment device in the direction towards the heating device.
The transporters and the other components of the heating device according to the invention may be arranged in a housing. In order to prevent protective gas from escaping from the transporters in said housing, said transporters may have lock devices especially with suction implements. Said lock device may be designed like the lock devices disposed between the heating line and the feeding and transportation device.
It is feasible to transport the merchandise along the corresponding heating line in a passive manner, i.e. the article of merchandise is pushed forward by the respectively following article of merchandise, for example, along slide rails or the like. In order to be able, however, to transport the articles of merchandise with a certain distance between each other and to change the transport speed, if required, an oven transporter may be disposed along each heating line. Such an oven transporter may be formed of driven rollers, driven belts, a driven merchandise carrier or the like.
In order to be able to directly and easily feed the merchandise from a transporter to the oven transporter by means of the feeding or transportation device, said feeding or transportation device may comprise a passthrough device connecting the transporter and the oven transporter in the horizontal transport level.
In order to be able to move the merchandise in such a passthrough
Pelham Joseph
Rehm Anlagenbau GmbH
Sheridan & Ross P.C.
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