JP2008227428A - Production process of longitudinal glass member and longitudinal glass molding - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a technique for producing a small-size longitudinal glass member to be used as a homogenizer of light condensing solar energy generation system with a shorter time and at a lower cost. <P>SOLUTION: A forming die comprises a drum plate 11 equipped with a plurality of longitudinal via holes 10 and a bottom plate 12 closely attached to its bottom. Melt glass 16 is supplied and pressed onto the top. The glass moldingf 20 where an interconnection part 18 on a top surface and a projection part 19 corresponding to the via hole 10 are combined is thus formed. After cooling, the glass molding 20 is removed by pushing up the interconnection part 18 with a push-up pin 15, the external surface of the projection part 19 is polished, followed by the separation of the interconnection part 18 to obtain a plurality of longitudinal glass members. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2008,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a technique for manufacturing a small vertically long glass member, and particularly relates to a technique for manufacturing a small vertically long glass member used as a homogenizer of a concentrating solar power generation device.

  A concentrating solar power generation device is a device that collects sunlight with a large Fresnel lens and irradiates the power generation chip with a small area to generate power. This concentrating solar power generation device can reduce the size of the power generation chip that occupies a large portion of the cost composition ratio, and the energy density of the sunlight concentrated on the surface of the power generation chip increases, It attracts attention because it has the advantage of increased energy conversion efficiency. Recently, it has become possible to achieve a power generation efficiency exceeding 30% by using a multi-layer power generation chip.

  In this concentrating solar power generation device, when the light collected by the Fresnel lens, which is the primary optical system, is directly irradiated to the power generation chip, the light intensity on the surface of the power generation chip becomes non-uniform and the power generation efficiency decreases. It has been pointed out. Therefore, the light intensity was made uniform by guiding the light collected by the Fresnel lens to the upper surface (light-receiving surface) of a vertically long prismatic glass called a homogenizer that is a secondary optical system, and repeating the reflection many times on the side surface. In addition, the lower surface (injection surface) is guided to the power generation chip.

  Such a homogenizer is described in Patent Documents 1 to 3, and is essential particularly in a concentrating solar power generation apparatus having a geometric condensing magnification of 300 times or more. As described in Patent Document 3, the material of the homogenizer is soda lime glass, borosilicate glass, aluminosilicate glass, soda calibarium glass, or the like. In addition, a prismatic shape having a taper extending upward is often used.

  The above-mentioned homogenizer is an important optical component. Conventionally, a reheat press that cuts a glass material of an appropriate shape from a glass plate or glass block that has been molded and annealed, heat-softens the glass material, puts it into a mold, and presses it. One by one was formed by the method called. After the molded body is taken out from the mold, it becomes a product through known glass processing steps such as slow cooling, rough processing, and polishing.

  However, in such a conventional method, it is necessary to melt glass, once form a plate material or block, slowly cool it, cut out a part of it, heat it again, and press-mold it. Further, even after being molded, many processes such as slow cooling, roughing and polishing are required. For this reason, there is a problem that a long processing time, a large amount of energy, and a lot of work time are required, resulting in an increase in cost. There is also a problem that special equipment is required for mass production.

In addition, in order to take advantage of the above-described concentrating solar power generation apparatus, recently, the geometric concentrating magnification is gradually increased from 300 times to 500 times or more, and accordingly, the power generation chip and the homogenizer are downsized. Progressing. As a result, the weight of a single homogenizer has recently been reduced to several grams, making it difficult to handle during molding and processing. Further, when the weight of one homogenizer is reduced, the heat capacity of the molten glass is also reduced, so that the press molding itself is very difficult.
JP 2003-258291 A JP 2004-214470 A JP 2006-275881 A

  Therefore, the object of the present invention is to make it possible to easily mass-produce a small vertically long glass member used as the above-mentioned homogenizer in a shorter time and at a lower cost than before, and to facilitate handling during the manufacturing process. It is providing the manufacturing method of a glass member. Here, the small size means that the weight per piece is about 2.5 g or less, and the vertically long means that the aspect ratio (full length / diameter) is 2 or more.

  In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, the invention of claim 1 is characterized in that molten glass is applied to the upper surface of a mold formed by a body plate having a plurality of vertically long through holes and a bottom plate closely contacting the bottom surface. After feeding and pressing, a glass molded body in which the connecting portion on the upper surface and the convex portion corresponding to the through hole are formed, and after pushing up the connecting portion, the glass molded body is taken out from the mold. The connecting portion is cut off to obtain a plurality of vertically long glass members.

  The invention of claim 2 is characterized in that, in the invention of claim 1, the glass molded body is taken out of the mold, the outer peripheral surface of the convex portion is polished, and then the connecting portion is cut off. The invention of claim 3 is characterized in that, in the invention of claim 2, the polished convex portion is held, the connecting portion is cut off, and the cut surface is polished. According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the first aspect of the present invention, the mold comprising the body plate and the bottom plate is formed of a porous body. Note that the vertically long glass member is, for example, a homogenizer of a concentrating solar power generation device, and in that case, it is preferably a tapered polygonal column shape or a truncated cone shape. The weight of one piece can be 2.5 g or less, and the aspect ratio (full length / minimum diameter) of the vertically long glass member is preferably 2 or more.

  Claim 9 relates to a glass molded body, which is an intermediate product in the process of producing a vertically long glass member by the method of Claim 1, and a body plate having a plurality of vertically long through holes, and a bottom plate closely contacting the bottom surface By supplying molten glass to the upper surface of the mold formed by pressing and pressing, a glass molded body in which the connecting portion on the upper surface and the convex portion corresponding to the through hole are integrated is formed, and this connecting portion It is characterized by being obtained by pushing up.

  According to the first aspect of the present invention, since a plurality of vertically long glass members can be formed at a time from molten glass, it is not necessary to perform a reheat press in which a material is cut out from a molded glass material and reheated as in the prior art. . For this reason, a small vertically long glass member can be easily mass-produced in a shorter time and at a lower cost than before. Moreover, since a molding die formed by a body plate having a plurality of vertically long through holes and a bottom plate that is in close contact with the bottom surface is used, the inner peripheral surface of the through holes can be easily polished smoothly, Maintenance is facilitated, and air can be easily removed from the joint between the body plate and the bottom plate during molding.

  According to the second aspect of the present invention, the glass molded body provided with the connecting portion is taken out from the mold, the outer peripheral surface of the convex portion is polished, and then the connecting portion is separated. Therefore, handling during the polishing operation is facilitated. According to the invention of claim 3, the work of the connecting portion can be easily performed, and the burden of the polishing work after the separation is reduced. Further, according to the invention of claim 4, since the molding die is made of a porous body, it becomes easier to vent the air at the time of molding, and it is possible to promote mold release by the pressure of air or gas.

Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described.
FIG. 1 is an explanatory diagram of a concentrating solar power generation apparatus, wherein 1 is a large Fresnel lens, and 2 is a homogenizer that guides sunlight condensed by the Fresnel lens 1 to a power generation chip 3. The geometrical focusing magnification of the Fresnel lens 1 is about 300 to 500 times, and the energy density is increased so that efficient power generation is performed with the power generation chip 3 having a small area. Moreover, the homogenizer 2 is a vertically long prismatic glass member with a taper as shown in FIG. In addition to a prismatic shape, a truncated cone shape may be used.

  The homogenizer 2 is a member that uniformizes the light intensity by repeatedly reflecting light incident from the upper light receiving surface many times on the side surface and guides it to the power generation chip 3 disposed on the lower surface. In order to exhibit this function, optical characteristics such as smooth polishing of each surface and the absence of bubbles inside are required.

  Further, downsizing of the power generation chip 3 is progressing to increase power generation efficiency and cost reduction, and accordingly, downsizing of the homogenizer 2 is also progressing. The homogenizer 2 manufactured in the present embodiment is a vertically long glass member having an aspect ratio (full length / minimum diameter) of 2 or more and a weight per piece of 2.5 g or less. The size of the upper end surface, which is a light receiving surface, is about 3.5 to 8.0 mm on one side, the lower end surface, which is an emission surface, is about 2.0 to 5.0 mm, and the height is about 7 to 13 mm. The production process according to the present invention will be described in detail below.

  As shown in FIG. 3, in the present invention, a molding die constituted by a body plate 11 having a plurality of vertically long through holes 10 and a bottom plate 12 in close contact with the bottom surface thereof is used. The vertically long through-hole 10 corresponds to the outer shape of the vertically long glass member. Here, the vertically long through hole 10 has a square cross section and a shape in which the upper portion is widened. However, it is needless to say that the cross section can be circular according to the shape of the homogenizer.

  The material of the body plate 11 and the bottom plate 12 can be various materials such as carbon, porous metal, metal, cemented carbide, ceramics, etc., but in this embodiment, the porous metal has a breathability. Is used. Although it is necessary to polish the inner peripheral surface of the vertically long through-hole 10 at the time of mold production and maintenance, in the present invention, since the barrel plate 11 and the bottom plate 12 are separable, the polishing operation can be easily performed. There are advantages. Moreover, the air venting effect from the joint part of the trunk | drum plate 11 and the bottom plate 12 at the time of shaping | molding can also be acquired.

  The body plate 11 and the bottom plate 12 are housed in a gas control mold 13 that also serves as a holder. This gas control type 13 is also made of a metal porous body. The gas control mold 13 is provided with an external connection port 14 at the bottom thereof, and air or an inert gas is blown into the mold housed inside, or air is sucked from the mold housed inside. Can be done.

  Further, a push-up pin 15 is disposed through the body plate 11, the bottom plate 12, and the gas control mold 13. A plurality of the push-up pins 15 are arranged at positions away from the through holes 10. In FIG. 3, although it has arrange | positioned at the both sides of a shaping | molding die, it is also possible to arrange | position also in a center part. It is also possible to use a plate instead of a pin. At the start of molding, the height is set so that the upper end of the push-up pin 15 is flush with the upper surface of the body plate 11.

  Molten glass 16 is supplied to the upper surface of the mold having such a structure. The molten glass 16 may be supplied as a gob from a glass feeder by a conventional method, and the material thereof is, for example, soda-lime glass. Although the weight of one vertically long glass member is only a few grams, the weight of the molten glass 16 can be several tens of grams, so that it can be supplied by a regular method.

  Subsequently, the molten glass 16 is pressed by an upper mold 17 having a flat bottom surface as shown in FIG. The molten glass is crushed flat by the upper mold 17 and a part thereof is pushed into the vertically long through-hole 10 of the body plate 11, so that the connecting portion 18 on the upper surface and a large number of convex portions 19 corresponding to the through-hole 10 are formed. The integrated glass molded body 20 is molded.

  In addition, since the air inside the through-hole 10 is discharged through the mating surface with the bottom plate 12 at the time of molding, bubbles do not remain on the convex portion 19 of the glass molded body 20. Further, if the molten glass is vacuum-sucked by sucking air from the external connection port 14 of the gas control mold 13 at the time of molding and is brought into close contact with the through-hole 10, air can be vented more reliably. In this way, the glass molded body 20 without bubbles is formed. Usually, when the aspect ratio is increased, air leakage defects are likely to occur. However, according to the present invention, the occurrence of the defects can be surely prevented by the above configuration.

  After the glass molded body 20 is solidified, the push-up pin 15 is raised to push up the connecting portion 18 of the glass molded body 20, and the glass molded body 20 is taken out as shown in FIG. Since the push-up pin 15 is disposed in a portion where the through hole 10 is not provided, the convex portion 19 of the glass molded body 20 is not damaged. Moreover, if an inert gas such as air or nitrogen is blown from the external connection port 14 of the gas control mold 13, the releasability of the glass molded body 20 from the mold can be improved. Thus, the glass molded body 20 described in claim 9 can be obtained. The glass molded body 20 is formed by integrally forming a large number of convex portions 19 corresponding to the through holes 10 on the lower surface of the connecting portion 18.

  Since the glass molded body 20 taken out has a large number of convex portions 19 integrally connected by the connecting portion 18, it is easy to handle, and the outer surface of the convex portion 19 is polished as it is as shown in FIG. Buffing or brush polishing is suitable for polishing, and the connecting portion 18 can be held by an appropriate means for polishing.

  Next, as shown in FIG. 7, the polished projection 19 is held and the connecting portion 18 is separated. For example, a vacuum chuck 21 as shown in FIG. However, the holding means is not limited to this, and a known adhesion fixing method such as a resin holder, a gelling material, and freeze adhesion can be employed.

  Further, as shown in FIG. 8, a processing jig 21 having a shape capable of exposing the bottom surface of the convex portion 19 is used, and the fixing plate 23 on which the thermoplastic temporary fixing adhesive coating film 22 is formed is attached to the lower surface of the processing jig 21. The glass molded body 20 can be fixed to the processing jig 21 by adhering to the bottom surface of the convex portion 19 and applying the method. After disconnecting the connecting portion 18, the temporary fixing adhesive coating film 22 is melted by heating and separated from the processing jig 21. For example, a vertical grinding machine can be used to separate the connecting portion 18.

  Thus, when the connection part 18 is cut | disconnected, each convex part 19 will become disjoint and will become a some vertically long glass member. And if the cut surface of each vertically long glass member is grind | polished, the vertically long glass member by which each surface was grind | polished can be obtained. This vertically long glass member can be used as it is as a homogenizer of a concentrating solar power generation device.

  According to the method of the present invention described above, small vertical glass members can be mass-produced at low cost without using the reheat press method which is costly and troublesome. In addition, the molded body can be easily handled, and the mold can be easily manufactured and maintained. As described above, the present invention is suitable for mass production of a small vertically long glass member used as a homogenizer in a shorter time and at a lower cost than conventional ones. Further, such a vertically long glass member is required to have dimensional accuracy, but according to the present invention, as shown in the following examples, a molded product with little dimensional variation can be obtained. In addition, the glass molded object of Claim 9 is sold as it is, and is separated and used in the manufacturer of a concentrating solar power generation device.

  A vertically long glass member used as a homogenizer having the shape shown in FIG. 9 was molded using the porous metal mold described in the embodiment. The standard values are 4.00 × 4.00 mm for the light receiving surface, 2.55 × 2.55 mm for the exit surface, and 7.55 mm in height. The four light receiving surface angles 1 and 2 are both 83.03 degrees, and the exit surface angle 1 and the exit surface angle 2 are both 96.97 degrees.

  Four vertically long glass members ABCD were simultaneously formed by the manufacturing method of the present invention, and dimensional data after each surface was polished were collected. According to the present invention, it can be seen that molding with little dimensional variation is possible.

It is explanatory drawing of a concentrating solar power generation device. It is a front view which shows the shape of a homogenizer. It is sectional drawing of the shaping | molding die with which the molten glass was supplied. It is sectional drawing of the shaping | molding die which shows a press state. It is sectional drawing which shows the taking-out state of a glass molded object. It is explanatory drawing of an outer surface grinding | polishing process. It is sectional drawing which shows a cutting-off process. It is sectional drawing which shows another processing jig. It is dimension explanatory drawing of each part in an Example.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Fresnel lens 2 Homogenizer 3 Power generation chip 10 Through-hole 11 Body plate 12 Bottom plate 13 Gas control mold 14 External connection port 15 Push-up pin 16 Molten glass 17 Upper mold 18 Connection part 19 Convex part 20 Glass molded body 21 Vacuum chuck 22 Temporary Fixing adhesive coating 23 Fixing plate

Claims (9)

  By supplying and pressing molten glass to the upper surface of a molding die formed by a cylinder plate having a plurality of vertically long through holes and a bottom plate that is in close contact with the bottom surface, the connecting portion on the upper surface and the through hole are pressed. A glass molded body formed by integrating corresponding convex portions is molded, and after the connecting portion is pushed up and the glass molded body is taken out of the mold, the connecting portion is separated to obtain a plurality of vertically long glass members. A method for producing a vertically long glass member.   The method for producing a vertically long glass member according to claim 1, wherein the glass molded body is taken out of the mold, the outer peripheral surface of the convex portion is polished, and then the connecting portion is cut off.   The method for producing a vertically long glass member according to claim 2, wherein the polished convex portion is held and the connecting portion is cut off, and the cut surface is polished.   The manufacturing method of the vertically long glass member according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein a forming die including a body plate and a bottom plate is formed of a porous body.   The method for producing a vertically long glass member according to claim 1, wherein the vertically long glass member is a homogenizer of a concentrating solar power generation device.   The method for producing a vertically long glass member according to claim 1, wherein the vertically long glass member has a tapered polygonal column shape or a truncated cone shape.   The method for producing a vertically long glass member according to any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein the weight of each vertically long glass member is 2.5 g or less.   The aspect ratio (full length / minimum diameter) of the vertically long glass member is 2 or more, The method for producing a vertically long glass member according to any one of claims 1 to 7.   By supplying and pressing molten glass to the upper surface of a molding die formed by a cylinder plate having a plurality of vertically long through holes and a bottom plate that is in close contact with the bottom surface, the connecting portion on the upper surface and the through hole are pressed. A glass molded body obtained by molding a glass molded body integrated with corresponding convex portions and pushing up the connecting portion.

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