Device for the heat treatment of sheet-metal blanks
A device is described for the heat treatment of sheet-metal blanks (11), having a continuous furnace (1), which is heatable via a burner (8), and having a conveyor device for the sheet-metal blanks (11). In order to achieve a short furnace length, it is proposed that the continuous furnace (1) be divided in height into a lower heating chamber (3), which is provided with a burner (8), and a preheating chamber (4), which is separated from this heating chamber (3) by an intermediate ceiling (2) having flue gas passages (16), the conveyor device comprise a conveyor (5), which penetrates the preheating chamber (4), and two conveyors (6, 7) situated one over the other, which penetrate the heating chamber (3), which have a conveyor direction opposite to the conveyor (5) of the preheating chamber (4), having a conveying speed corresponding to half of the conveying speed of the conveyor (5) in the preheating chamber (4), and a distributor device (10) for the sheet-metal blanks (11) be provided between the outlet of the conveyor (5) of the preheating chamber (4) and the intakes of the two conveyors (6, 7) of the heating chamber (3).