Induction Heat Treatment Apparatus, Induction Heat Treatment Method, And Worked Product Produced By Method Thereof

Abstract

In order to provide a heat treatment apparatus and method for induction tempering through temperature control, the induction heat treatment apparatus of the present invention conducts tempering through high-frequency heating of a workpiece ( 1 ), and includes temperature control means for adjusting the temperature of the heating workpiece ( 1 ). The temperature control means includes heating means ( 2 ) for high-frequency heating a workpiece ( 1 ), temperature-control-dedicated temperature measuring means ( 3 ) for measuring the temperature of the workpiece ( 1 ) heated by the heating means ( 2 ), and temperature adjusting means connected to the temperature measuring means ( 3 ) for providing a temperature control signal to the heating means ( 2 ) based on temperature information from the temperature measuring means ( 3 ). Further, the induction heat treatment apparatus preferably includes tempering control means, including tempering-dedicated temperature measuring means ( 5 ) for measuring the tempering temperature of the workpiece ( 1 ) heated by the heating means ( 2 ), and tempering time adjusting means ( 6 ) connected to this temperature measuring means ( 5 ) for adjusting the tempering time based on temperature information from the temperature measuring means ( 5 ).

1 . An induction heat treatment apparatus for tempering through high-frequency heating of a workpiece, comprising temperature control means for adjusting a temperature of a heating workpiece.  
     
     
         2 . The induction heat treatment apparatus according to  claim 1 , wherein said temperature control means comprises heating means for high-frequency heating a workpiece, temperature-control-dedicated temperature measuring means for measuring a temperature of the workpiece heated by the heating means, and temperature adjusting means connected to said temperature measuring means for providing a temperature control signal to the heating means based on temperature information from said temperature measuring means, 
 further comprising tempering control means including tempering-dedicated temperature measuring means for measuring a tempering temperature of the workpiece heated by the heating means, and tempering time adjusting means connected to said temperature measuring means for adjusting a tempering time based on temperature information from said temperature measuring means.    
     
     
         3 . The induction heat treatment apparatus according to  claim 2 , wherein said tempering time adjusting means adjusts the tempering time based on an equation of:  
           t =[ln{( M   0   −M   f )/( M−M   f )}×{ A  exp(− Q/RT )} −N ] 1/N    (where t: tempering time, M 0 : hardness after quenching, M f : hardness of raw material, M: hardness after tempering, A: vibration factor term, Q: activation energy, R: gas constant, T: tempering temperature, N: time index).    
     
     
         4 . The induction heat treatment apparatus according to  claim 1 , wherein said workpiece includes steel.  
     
     
         5 . An induction heat treatment method for tempering through high-frequency heating of a workpiece, comprising a temperature control step of adjusting a temperature of a heating workpiece, and a tempering control step of measuring a tempering temperature to adjust a tempering time, 
 wherein said temperature control step includes a heating step of high-frequency heating a workpiece, a temperature-control-dedicated temperature measuring step of measuring a temperature of a heated workpiece, and a temperature adjusting step of providing a temperature control signal based on measured temperature information for control of heating of the workpiece,    wherein said tempering control step includes a tempering-dedicated temperature measuring step of measuring a tempering temperature of a heating workpiece, and a tempering time adjusting step of adjusting a tempering time based on measured temperature information.    
     
     
         6 . The induction heat treatment method according to  claim 5 , wherein said tempering time adjusting step adjusts the tempering time based on an equation of:  
           t =[ln{( M   0   −M   f )/( M−M   f )}×{ A  exp(− Q/RT )} −N ] 1/N    (where t: tempering time, M 0 : hardness after quenching, M f : hardness of raw material, M: hardness after tempering, A: vibration factor term, Q: activation energy, R: gas constant, T: tempering temperature, N: time index).    
     
     
         7 . A worked product produced by the induction heat treatment method defined in  claim 5.