Method of operating a controlled atmosphere furnace

Claim 1

In a method of operating a rotary furnace having a furnace chamber in which parts can be heat treated in a controlled atmosphere; said furnace chamber being provided with a furnace door through which said parts can be fed into and removed from said furnace chamber; said furnace also having a vestibule immediately in front of said furnace door, said vestibule having an entry remote from said furnace door; and also having a feeding and removal device therewith for effecting said feeding and removal of said ports through said entry via said vestibule through said furnace door into and out of said furnace chamber as well as having a sealing element arranged directly as a component of and carried by said feeding and removal device itself; said method having improvement in combination therewith comprising the steps of: closing said furnace door; sealing said entry of said vestibule gas tight with said sealing element carried by said feeding and removal device itself while moving the latter in said vestibule in the direction toward said closed furnace door subject to oxygen-containing ambient air being trapped in said vestibule; then removing from said vestibule the foregoing oxygen-containing ambient air trapped in said vestibule during the preceding step; thereafter opening said furnace door; and thereupon finally introducing said feeding and removal device into said furnace chamber, through said opened door, while maintaining said gas tight sealing of said entry of said vestibule via said sealing element arranged directly as a component of said feeding and removal device itself during introduction of said parts being fed thereto respectively during removal of parts therefrom so that manipulating and handling of the parts in the furnace is possible while securely maintaining said gas tight sealing of said entry of said vestibule as well as thereby at the same time maintaining the controlled atmosphere so that parts can be heat treated in the furnace chamber.