Handling device for flat workpieces in furnace

摘要

The handling device moves workpieces (16), shaped as flat plates, through a furnace. There are apertures (48), near the corners of the workpiece, which accommodate movable hooks (38). The ends (39) of the hooks engage on the underside of each workpiece to support it. Each hook is mounted on a carriage (28) which has four wheels (36) at right-angles to each other engaging the sides of a square-section rail (20). There are two rails and four carriages, one for each corner of the workpiece. The carriages are connected together on a frame and pulled along on a wire. The hooks are swung into and out of engagement with the workpieces by rotating the rails and thus rotating the carriages.