Heating apparatus and heating method
AssigneeFUJIFILM Corporation
InventorsMasayuki Nakagiri, Ryoichi Sugihara, Nobuyasu Akiyoshi
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A heating apparatus has first through fifth heating furnace arranged along the feeding direction in which glass substrates are fed by a feeding mechanism. The first heating furnace has a first heater for heating a glass substrate to at least a target temperature required for processing the workpiece. The second heating furnace has a heater for heating a glass substrate to a temperature equal to or below the target temperature. The second heating furnace generates an amount of heat smaller than that of the first heating furnace.
Claims14
1-13. (canceled)
An apparatus for heating a workpiece, comprising:
- a feed mechanism for feeding the workpiece in a feeding direction;
- and
- at least first and second heating furnaces disposed along said feeding direction;
- wherein said first heating furnace is disposed upstream of said second heating furnace with respect to said feeding direction and has a first heat source for heating said workpiece to at least a target temperature required for processing the workpiece;
- and
- said second heating furnace capable of generating a smaller amount of heat than that of said first heating furnace is disposed downstream of said first heating furnace with respect to said feeding direction and has a second heat source for heating said workpiece to a temperature lower than said target temperature.
A method of heating a workpiece while intermittently or continuously feeding the workpiece along a feed path, comprising the steps of:
- heating said workpiece to a temperature equal to or lower than a target temperature with a first heating furnace disposed in an upstream area with respect to said feeding direction and being capable of heating said workpiece to at least the target temperature required for processing the workpiece;
- and
- heating said workpiece to a temperature equal to or lower than said target temperature with a second heating furnace disposed in a downstream area with respect to said feeding direction and being capable of generating a smaller amount of heat than that of said first heating furnace.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.