The invention relates to an apparatus and to a method for the press hardening of components (2), having at least one furnace (3), having a press (8), which is arranged downstream of the at least one furnace (3), and having a transporting apparatus (4). In order to provide for cycle times which are as short as possible, means (5) for transporting the components (2) are mounted in a moveable manner in the transporting apparatus (4), wherein the means (5) with the components (2) can be moved, along the transporting apparatus (4), through the furnace (3) and into the press (8), wherein the transporting apparatus (4) is continuous between the furnace (3) and the press (8), and wherein the components (2) can be transported from the furnace (3) to the press (8) without being manipulated.

A system for controlling transport of a liquid tank by an overhead crane and a method for transporting the liquid tank by the overhead crane, which can suppress sloshing of liquid in the tank, are provided. In the control of the overhead crane cart, the swing of a liquid tank and a suspender (16) that suspends the liquid tank from an overhead crane cart (14), and the sloshing of liquid in the liquid tank are modeled into a coupled system model, and the system is designed based on a mixed H.sub.2/H.sub. control. method in which feedback control is executed using a swing angle () of the suspender, a traveling command value of the overhead crane cart and an external force acting on the liquid tank are external inputs, and a difference (z) between a position of the overhead crane cart and a position of the liquid tank is the control amount, wherein an integrator or a low pass filter is used as a frequency weight function (W.sub.2) of H.sub.2 control, and wherein a frequency weight function (W.sub.28 ) of H.sub. control is designed to cover a multiplicative error between the coupled system model, and a nominal model in which the sloshing of the liquid in the liquid tank is not taken into consideration.