Device for heat-treating metal workpieces

An apparatus for heat-treating metallic workpieces, comprising:

• first furnace means having a plurality of individual chambers, each chamber being provided with
• a gas-tight inlet door,
• a gas-tight outlet door, and
• means for controlling temperature, dwell time and atmosphere individually for each of said chambers and for each workpiece charge within one of said chambers;
• second furnace means arranged downstream said first furnace means, said second furnace means being provided with
• a gas-tight inlet door,
• a gas-tight outlet door, and
• means for controlling temperature, dwell time and atmosphere individually for each workpiece charge within said second furnace means;
• a feeding device for feeding said workpieces charge-by-charge to said first furnace means, said feeding device being provided with
• low gas loss loading means being designed as a first vacuum inlet lock, and
• first gas-tight conveyor means being designed as an inlet transfer lock and being arranged between said loading means and said gas-tight inlet doors of said individual chambers for allowing direct random access loading of workpiece charges to said individual chambers;
• second gas-tight conveyor means for transporting said workpiece charges after said individually set dwell time has lapsed from said first furnace means to said second furnace means, said second conveyor means being designed as intermediate transfer lock means having an input and an output, said input being connected to said gas-tight outlet doors of said individual chambers for allowing direct random access unloading of workpiece charges from said individual chambers, and said output being connected to said second furnace means.