TREATMENT DEVICE

• US 20130112141A1
• Filed: 07/11/2011
• Published: 05/09/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 07/13/2010
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Proterial Ltd.
• Original Assignee: Hitachi Metals (Thailand) Ltd.
• Inventors: Kuniyoshi, Futoshi, Nakayama, Shohji
• Granted Patent: US 9,324,494 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 118/724
• CPC Class Codes: B22F 3/24 After-treatment of workpieces or articles B22F3/1146 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: C21D 2281/00 Making use of special physico-chemical means
• CPC Class Codes: C21D 9/0018 for charging, discharging or manipulation of charge
• CPC Class Codes: C21D 9/0031 Rotary furnaces with horizontal or slightly inclined axis
• CPC Class Codes: C21D 9/0056 Furnaces through which the charge is moved in a horizontal straight path C21D9/0043 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: C21D 9/0068 for particular articles not mentioned below
• CPC Class Codes: C22C 1/02 by melting C22C1/1036 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: C22C 33/0278 with at least one alloying element having a minimum content above 5%
• CPC Class Codes: C22C 38/00 Ferrous alloys, e.g. steel alloys cast-iron alloys C22C37/00
• CPC Class Codes: C23C 10/28 using solids, e.g. powders, pastes
• CPC Class Codes: F27B 7/02 of multiple-chamber or multiple-drum type
• CPC Class Codes: F27B 7/16 the means being fixed relatively to the drum, e.g. composite meansF27B7/04 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: F27B 7/22 Rotary drums; Supports therefor
• CPC Class Codes: F27B 7/33 Arrangement of devices for discharging
• CPC Class Codes: H01F 1/0577 sintered
• CPC Class Codes: H01F 41/0293 diffusion of rare earth elements, e.g. Tb, Dy or Ho, into permanent magnets

Abstract

A processing system according to the present invention includes: a diffusion processing section 10 which heats a sintered R-T-B based magnet body 1 and an RH diffusion source 2 made of either a metal or alloy of a heavy rare-earth element RH (which is at least one of Dy and Tb) while rotating; a sorting section 20 which selectively sorts the RH diffusion source 2 from the sintered R-T-B based magnet body 1 when the diffusion source and the magnet body come from the diffusion processing section 10; and a heat treatment processing section 30 which conducts a heat treatment process on the sintered R-T-B based magnet body 1, in which the heavy rare-earth element RH has been diffused and from which the RH diffusion source 2 has been removed.

Claims

1. :

A processing system comprising;

a diffusion processing section which heats an RH diffusion source made of either a metal or alloy of a heavy rare-earth element RH (which is at least one of Dy and Tb) and a sintered R-T-B based magnet body while rotating;

a sorting section which is adjacent to the diffusion processing section and which selectively sorts the RH diffusion source from the sintered R-T-B based magnet body when the diffusion source and the magnet body come from the diffusion processing section; and

a tilting mechanism which tilts the diffusion processing section and the sorting section.

2. :

The processing system of claim 1, wherein the sorting section has a plurality of holes to eject the RH diffusion source out of itself, each said hole having a smaller size than the sintered R-T-B based magnet body.

3. :

The processing system of claim 1, wherein the sorting section sends the sintered R-T-B based magnet body back to the diffusion processing section while being rotated, and

wherein the diffusion processing section does a heat treatment on the sintered R-T-B based magnet body that has come back from the sorting section.

4. :

The processing system of claim 1, wherein the diffusion processing section has a first outer wall portion that surrounds a first inner wall portion, and

wherein the sorting section has a second outer wall portion that surrounds a second inner wall portion, and

wherein at least the first inner wall portion has a cylindrical shape and is made of either a metal or alloy including at least one of Mo, W, Nb and Ta.

5. :

The processing system of claim 4, wherein a sheet-like padding member is arranged either between the first inner wall portion and the first outer wall portion or between the second inner wall portion and the second outer wall portion.

6. :

The processing system of claim 1, wherein a spiral baffle is arranged on the inner wall portion of the diffusion processing section, and

wherein the baffle of the diffusion processing section passes the RH diffusion source and the sintered R-T-B based magnet body from the diffusion processing section to the sorting section when rotating in a first direction but keeps the RH diffusion source and the sintered R-T-B based magnet body in the diffusion processing section when rotating in a second direction that is opposite to the first direction.

7. :

A processing system comprising;

a diffusion processing section which heats an RH diffusion source made of either a metal or alloy of a heavy rare-earth element RH (which is at least one of Dy and Tb) and a sintered R-T-B based magnet body while rotating;

a sorting section which is adjacent to the diffusion processing section and which selectively sorts the RH diffusion source from the sintered R-T-B based magnet body when the diffusion source and the magnet body come from the diffusion processing section;

a heat treatment processing section which is adjacent to the sorting section and which conducts a heat treatment process on the sintered R-T-B based magnet body, in which the heavy rare-earth element RH has been diffused by the diffusion processing section and from which the RH diffusion source has been removed, while rotating, and

a tilting mechanism which tilts at least the diffusion processing section, the sorting section and the heat treatment processing section.

8. :

The processing system of claim 7, wherein the sorting section has a plurality of holes to eject the RH diffusion source out of itself while moving the RH diffusion source and the sintered R-T-B based magnet body that have come from the diffusion processing section toward the heat treatment processing section.

9. :

The processing system of claim 7, wherein the diffusion processing section has a first cylindrical inner wall portion which houses the RH diffusion source and the sintered R-T-B based magnet body, and passes the RH diffusion source and the sintered R-T-B based magnet body to the sorting section while being rotated, and

wherein the sorting section has a second cylindrical inner wall portion which houses the RH diffusion source and the sintered R-T-B based magnet body and which has holes, ejects the RH diffusion source through the holes out of itself and passes the sintered R-T-B based magnet body to the heat treatment processing section while being rotated, and

wherein the heat treatment processing section has a third cylindrical inner wall portion which houses the sintered R-T-B based magnet body, and ejects the sintered R-T-B based magnet body though an outlet port while being rotated by a driving section.

10. :

The processing system of claim 7, wherein a spiral baffle is arranged on the inner wall portion of each of the diffusion processing section and the heat treatment processing section, and

wherein the baffle of the diffusion processing section is arranged so that its spiral direction is reverse to that of the baffle of the heat treatment processing section.

11. :

The processing system of claim 7, wherein the diffusion processing section has a first outer wall portion that surrounds the first inner wall portion, and

wherein the sorting section has a second outer wall portion that surrounds the second inner wall portion, and

wherein the heat treatment processing section has a third outer wall portion that surrounds the third inner wall portion, and

wherein at least the first and third inner wall portions have a cylindrical shape and are made of either a metal or alloy including at least one of Mo, W, Nb and Ta.

12. :

The processing system of claim 7, wherein a sheet-like padding member is arranged between each said pair of inner and outer wall portions.