Patent ID: 7361015

Claim:
A clamping device for clamping an elongated-shaped article to be heat-treated in a fixed position, the elongated article being made of a sheet material having a three-dimensional shape in which a raised portion raised in a direction orthogonal to the longitudinal direction and the width direction of the article, as well as extending in the longitudinal direction, and comprising two flange portions extending outwardly in the width direction from a raised portion base ends on both sides across the width of the article in the raised portion, in which at least one portion of said raised portion is said heat-treated region, at least one heat-treated region of the article to be heat-treated by quenching after heating and at least one non heat-treated region of the article not to be heat-treated both extend in the longitudinal direction of the article, the heat-treated region and the non heat-treated region being provided side-by-side in a width direction of the article orthogonal to the longitudinal direction, the article being clamped at a non heat-treated region during heat treatment, the clamping device comprising: a plurality of clamping means arranged along the longitudinal direction of the article at each of the two flange portions, which are non heat-treated regions, at least one of the plurality of clamping means including a loose clamping means provided nearest to an end of the article in the longitudinal direction among said plurality of clamping means, said plurality of clamping means applying a load for allowing said article to be heat treated to be convex on one side in the direction orthogonal to the longitudinal direction and the width direction to said non heat-treated region, said plurality of clamping means comprising a first clamping means and a second clamping means arranged in the longitudinal direction of said article to be heat treated, wherein the number of said first clamping means is one for the longitudinal direction of said article to be heat treated, and said first clamping means is a tight clamping means holding fixedly a non heat-treated region, whereas the number of said second clamping means arranged apart from said first clamping means along the longitudinal direction is plural in the longitudinal direction of said article to be heat treated, and said clamping means are loose clamping means and automatic clamping means controlled by a control device, wherein an order for clamping said article to be heat treated by these second clamping means is controlled by said control device, and the order of clamping is in an order from near said first clamping means, and wherein said quenching for said heat treatment operation is performed from the other side in the direction orthogonal to the longitudinal direction and the width direction.