JP2012096942A - In-flight melting burner, melting method of glass raw material, method of producing molten glass, method of producing glass bead, method of manufacturing glass product, in-flight melting device and device for manufacturing glass product - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an in-flight melting burner capable of suppressing adhesion of glass raw material particles.SOLUTION: The in-flight melting burner for use in a gas-phase melting method for forming molten glass particles by melting glass raw material particles in a gas-phase atmosphere comprises a burner body unit of a multi-tube structure in which at least three or more nozzle tubes are concentrically arranged. At least one of a flow passage of a central nozzle tube and a plurality of flow passages formed by a plurality of inside and outside nozzle tubes disposed outside the central nozzle pipe is used as any one of a glass raw material particle supply passage, a combustion gas supply passage and a fuel gas supply passage, and the rear ends of one or more nozzle tubes constituting the glass raw material particle supply passage of the plurality of nozzle tubes are protruded backward from the rear ends of the other nozzle tubes. A vibration giving means is installed at a protruded portion at the rear ends of the nozzle tubes, so that the tip side of the burner body forms an injection port.

Description

  The present invention relates to an air melting burner, a glass raw material melting method, a molten glass manufacturing method, a glass bead manufacturing method, a glass product manufacturing method, an air melting apparatus, and a glass product manufacturing apparatus.

  At present, most glass on a mass production scale, including plate glass, bottle glass, and fiberglass, is used for melting glass materials in a melting furnace. Produced based on the Siemens kiln developed by Siemens. In the melting method using a Siemens kiln, a mixture of powdery glass raw materials is put on the surface of the glass melt previously melted in the Siemens kiln, and the mixture becomes a lump (also called a batch pile or a batch pile). It is heated by, for example, and the melting proceeds from the surface of the lump and gradually becomes a glass melt. At this time, since the batch on the melt melts sequentially from the material that is easily reacted or melted, the silica or sand containing a large amount of the melting point or viscosity is left behind, and they are bonded to each other. A hardly fusible substance is easily formed in the raw material layer. Furthermore, for the same reason, in the initial state of melt formation, a glass melt having a composition different from that of the batch is generated locally, and the melt is likely to be non-uniform. Furthermore, since a glass melting furnace using a Siemens kiln requires a large amount of energy, it is desired to reduce the energy consumption of the glass melting furnace from the viewpoint of industrial energy consumption structural reform. Recently, the demand for high-quality, high-value-added glass as a glass plate for display devices is increasing, and energy consumption is also increasing, so the development of energy-saving technology for glass production is an important and urgent issue. It is said that.

  From such a background, as an example of energy-saving glass manufacturing technology, fine particles (granulated body) made of a mixture of glass raw materials are heated and melted in a high-temperature gas phase atmosphere to form molten glass particles, and then the molten glass particles are There has been proposed a method for manufacturing a glass product called an in-air melting method that accumulates to form a liquid phase (glass melt) (see, for example, Patent Documents 1 and 2).

  FIG. 10 is a schematic cross-sectional view showing the glass melting furnace described in Patent Document 1. A glass melting furnace 100 described in Patent Document 1 includes a plurality of arc electrodes 102 and / or oxyfuel combustion nozzles 103 as heating means for forming a high-temperature gas phase atmosphere 101. A high-temperature gas phase atmosphere 101 of about 1600 ° C. or higher is formed in the furnace body 106 by the thermal plasma arc formed by the plurality of arc electrodes 102 and / or the oxyfuel flame (frame) 105 formed by the oxyfuel combustion nozzle 103. . By introducing the glass raw material particles 104 into the high temperature gas phase atmosphere 101, the glass raw material particles 104 are changed into liquid glass particles 107 in the high temperature gas phase atmosphere 101. The liquid glass particles 107 fall and accumulate on the furnace bottom portion 106A of the furnace body 106 to become a glass melt G100.

  The glass melting furnace described in Patent Document 2 includes an oxygen burner attached downward to the ceiling wall of the glass melting furnace as a heating means. A gas supply system and a fuel supply system are connected to the oxygen burner so that a supporting gas having an oxygen concentration of 90% by volume or more and a glass material are supplied. According to this glass melting furnace, an oxygen burner is burned to form a downward flame, and glass raw material particles are supplied downward from the oxygen burner into the flame to produce liquid glass particles in the flame. Glass particles are accumulated on the bottom of the furnace directly below the flame to form a glass melt.

The glass melting furnace described above is an apparatus for forming molten glass by melting glass raw material particles in a high-temperature gas phase atmosphere to form molten glass particles, and accumulating the molten glass particles on the bottom of the glass melting furnace. According to this in-air melting method, it is said that the energy consumption of the glass melting step can be reduced to about 1/3 compared to the conventional Siemens kiln melting method, which enables melting in a short time, It is attracting attention as a technology that can reduce the size of the melting furnace, omit the heat storage chamber, improve the quality, reduce CO ₂ , and shorten the time for changing the glass type.

By the way, as a glass melting furnace using a conventional Siemens kiln, for example, as shown in FIG. 11, an oxygen burner 202 is installed horizontally on the side wall 201 of the glass melting furnace 200 so that the flame ejection direction is the horizontal direction. The thing is known (for example, refer patent document 3). In the glass melting furnace 200 of this example, the batch B200 deposited on the upper surface of the glass melt G200 in the furnace 200 is melted by the radiant heat of the combustion flame 202A ejected from the oxygen burner 202.
As another example of a glass melting furnace using a Siemens kiln, for example, as shown in FIG. 12, an oxygen burner 302 is directed vertically downward on the ceiling wall 301 of the glass melting furnace 300 so that the flame ejection direction is downward. What is installed in the direction is known (for example, refer to Patent Document 4). In the glass melting furnace 300 of this example, the batch B300 deposited on the upper surface of the glass melt G300 is melted by spraying the combustion flame 302A from the oxygen burner 302 onto the surface of the glass melt G300 in the furnace 300. .

FIG. 13 shows an example structure of an oxygen burner used in a conventional glass melting furnace (see Patent Document 3). An oxygen burner 400 shown in FIG. 13 includes a triple tube in which a central tube 401, an inner tube 402 disposed outside the central tube 401, and an outer tube 403 disposed outside the inner tube 402 are concentrically stacked. It is a tube structure burner. The inside of the center tube 401 is a primary oxygen channel 406, the fuel gas channel 407 is between the center tube 401 and the inner tube 402, and the secondary oxygen channel 408 is between the inner tube 402 and the outer tube 403. . The fuel gas passage 407 and the secondary oxygen passage 408 are provided with perforated plates 404 and 405 having a large number of small holes, respectively.
In the air melting method described in Patent Documents 1 and 2 described above, when an oxygen burner is used as a heating means, glass raw material particles are introduced into a combustion flame of the oxygen burner to form liquid glass particles in the flame. ing. Therefore, an oxygen burner having a raw material supply path for supplying glass raw material particles and a gas supply path for supplying combustion gas and fuel gas, respectively, is used.

FIG. 14 shows a cross-sectional view of a burner described in Patent Document 5 as an example structure of an oxygen burner used in the air melting method.
A burner 500 shown in FIG. 14 has a five-pipe structure including a nozzle pipe 501, a nozzle pipe 502, a nozzle pipe 503, a nozzle pipe 504, and a nozzle pipe 505 arranged in this order from the center side. A raw material powder supply path 501A for supplying gas, a fuel gas supply path 502A disposed on the outer periphery of the raw material powder supply path 501A, an oxygen supply path 503A disposed on the outer periphery of the fuel gas supply path 502A, It has a concentric five-pipe structure having cooling water passages 504A and 505A provided on the outer periphery of the oxygen supply passage 503A. A combustion chamber 506 connected to the raw material powder supply path 501A, the fuel gas supply path 502A, and the oxygen supply path 503A via jet ports 501a, 502a, and 503a is provided at the tip of the burner 500, respectively.

JP 2007-297239 A JP 2008-290921 A Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 9-243028 JP 2002-356331 A JP 7-48118 A

However, in the process in which the present inventors are conducting research on the glass melting method in the air, when the above-described conventional structure burner is applied to the air melting method, the quality of the produced glass may become uneven. It became clear that there was.
When these conventional burners are applied to the air melting method, fine glass raw material particles having a diameter of several tens to several hundreds of μm are partially formed near the tip of the burner due to the influence of the vortex generated near the tip of the raw material jet outlet. May adhere. And when the glass raw material adhering to a burner front-end | tip part enlarges gradually and may become a big lump, this lump may fall to the glass melt below a burner. As a result, due to the compositional difference between the dropped lump and the glass melt, the manufactured molten glass and glass become inhomogeneous, and the quality of the glass may be deteriorated.
In addition, as in the burner described in Patent Document 5, when the outlet of the raw material supply path is located on the burner inner side, the residence time of the raw material in the flame can be increased, but on the other hand, the tip of the burner Since the raw material stays in the part, there is a problem that the glass tends to adhere to the nozzle tip part.

In a conventional glass melting furnace using a Siemens kiln, the burner is installed sideways or downward, but only the combustion flame is injected from the burner, so that the glass material stays and adheres to the tip of the burner as described above. Is not happening. Such a problem was newly found in the process of studying the air melting method by the present inventors.
In general, since the air melting method is performed in a continuous operation for a long time, an air melting burner is also used continuously for a long time. For this reason, if the glass raw material particles appear to adhere to the burner and become enlarged, it is necessary to stop the burner and perform cleaning. Therefore, in terms of productivity, reduction of the deposit on the burner is desired.

In view of the above background, an object of the present invention is to provide an air melting burner that can suppress adhesion of glass raw material particles, and a method of melting a glass raw material using the burner.
Moreover, this invention aims at provision of the manufacturing method of the molten glass which uses the melting method of the above-mentioned glass raw material, the manufacturing method of glass beads, and the manufacturing method of glass products.
Furthermore, an object of the present invention is to provide an air melting apparatus using the above-described air melting burner and a glass product manufacturing apparatus.

  The air melting burner of the present invention is a burner used in an air melting method in which glass raw material particles are melted in a gas phase atmosphere to form molten glass particles, and has a multiple tube structure in which a plurality of nozzle tubes are arranged. Of the plurality of nozzle tubes and the plurality of channels formed between the nozzle tubes by the plurality of nozzle tubes, one is the glass raw material particle supply passage and one is the combustion gas In the supply path, one is a fuel gas supply path, and among the plurality of nozzle pipes, one or more nozzle pipes constituting the glass raw material particle supply path are rear end parts of other nozzle pipes Further, a vibration applying means is provided at a protruding portion of the rear end portion of the nozzle tube, and a tip end side of the burner main body portion is an injection port.

In the air-melting burner of the present invention, a configuration in which the burner main body is formed to a length that is resonated by the vibration applying means can be employed.
In the air-melting burner of the present invention, a configuration in which a support portion provided in the burner main body portion is formed at a position of a vibration node of the burner main body portion can be adopted.
In the air melting burner of the present invention, a glass raw material inlet, a fuel gas inlet, and a combustion gas inlet are provided in any of the plurality of nozzle tubes, and these inlets are used for vibration of the burner body. A configuration formed at the position of a node can be adopted.
In the air melting burner of the present invention, among a plurality of flow paths formed by the plurality of nozzle pipes, a pair of adjacent flow paths is used as a refrigerant flow path, and an inlet / outlet of the refrigerant flow path formed in the nozzle pipe However, it is possible to adopt a structure formed at the position of the vibration node of the burner body.

The air-melting burner of the present invention is formed such that the burner body is resonated by the vibration applying means, and the fuel gas inlet and the glass material are placed at the position of the vibration node in the burner body. At least one of a particle inlet, a combustion gas inlet, and a support portion of the burner body is provided.
In the air melting burner of the present invention, among a plurality of channels formed by the plurality of nozzle tubes, a pair of adjacent channels is a refrigerant channel, and an inlet / outlet of the refrigerant channel is an outlet of the burner main body. It is formed at the position of the vibration node.

In the air melting burner of the present invention, an end face wall that closes the rear ends of the nozzle tubes is formed at the rear ends of the nozzle tubes, and the other nozzle tubes protrude rearward from the rear ends of the nozzle tubes. At least one of the rear ends of the plurality of nozzle tubes that penetrate the end face wall and protrude rearward through the end face wall and protrude rearward through the end face wall. The nozzle tube is configured to be freely extracted from other nozzle tubes.
The air melting burner according to the present invention has a sealing mechanism in which the nozzle tube configured to be detachable is loosely inserted into a through hole formed in an end face wall of the other nozzle tube, and the loosely inserted portion is hermetically sealed. The other nozzle pipes are formed by integrating the nozzle pipes in the penetrating portion of the end wall.
In the air melting burner of the present invention, a spacer is provided on the front end side of the nozzle tube configured to be detachable so as to maintain a distance between the nozzle tube and the outer nozzle tube. It is formed at the position of the belly.

The glass raw material melting method according to the present invention is such that a heated gas phase atmosphere is formed by the air-melting burner according to any one of the preceding items, and the glass raw material particles are fed into the heated gas phase atmosphere. The glass raw material particles are used as molten glass particles.
The manufacturing method of the molten glass of this invention is related with the method of storing the said molten glass particle | grains described previously.

The method for producing glass beads of the present invention relates to a method for producing glass beads by cooling the molten glass particles described above.
The method for producing a glass product of the present invention includes a glass melting step in which the glass raw material particles are heated to form molten glass particles using the glass raw material melting method described above, and a molten glass comprising the molten glass particles is formed. And a step of gradually cooling the glass after forming.
The manufacturing method of the glass product of this invention is related with the method in which the process which uses the glass raw material particle | grains described above as a molten glass particle includes the process of storing the said molten glass particle and making it a glass melt.

The air melting apparatus of the present invention is an air melting apparatus that heats and melts glass raw material particles in a gas phase atmosphere to form molten glass particles, and forms a heated gas phase atmosphere that heats and melts the glass raw material particles. The air melting burner according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the air melting burner including a raw material heating unit and a raw material supply unit for supplying the glass raw material particles to the heated vapor phase atmosphere.
In the in-flight melting apparatus of the present invention, a storage unit for molten glass particles is provided so as to communicate with the raw material heating unit.
In the air melting apparatus of the present invention, a cooling unit and a glass bead storage unit are provided so as to communicate with the raw material heating unit.
An apparatus for producing a glass product of the present invention includes an air melting apparatus described above, a molding means for molding the molten glass produced by the air melting apparatus, and a slow cooling means for gradually cooling the glass after molding. Is provided.

  The air melting burner of the present invention adopts a multi-tube structure composed of a plurality of nozzle tubes, and at least one or more nozzle tubes constituting the glass raw material particle supply path are connected to the rear end portions of the other nozzle tubes. Since the vibration applying means is provided at the rear end of the nozzle, powerful ultrasonic vibration is applied to the tip of the nozzle for ejecting the glass material particles, and the glass material is supplied from the tip of the nozzle tube constituting the supply path. When forming molten glass particles according to the air melting method by ejecting the particles, even if the glass raw material particles adhere to the tip side of the nozzle tube, it is difficult to dissipate and form a lump of melt, and the lump becomes large Before, it can be ejected from the tip of the nozzle tube to a heated gas phase atmosphere. Therefore, the target glass raw material particles can be supplied to the heated gas phase atmosphere, and the mass causing the composition deviation can be melted in the air together with the other glass raw material particles by being put out into the heated gas phase atmosphere in a small amount. It is possible to produce molten glass particles having a uniform composition that does not cause oxidization.

The burner main body is configured to resonate by the vibration applying means, and at least one of the fuel gas inlet, the glass raw material particle inlet, the combustion gas inlet, and the burner main body support is located at the resonance node. By providing, the ultrasonic vibration by the vibration applying means is efficiently propagated to the nozzle tip, while suppressing the vibration of these parts and improving the safety of the connection part when piping to each inlet, etc. In addition, stable support can be achieved when the burner main body is supported. Further, if the inlet / outlet port of the refrigerant flow path is provided at the position of the vibration node, vibration applied to a connection portion such as a pipe constituting the refrigerant flow path can be suppressed.
Of the plurality of nozzle tubes, if the nozzle tube for supplying the glass raw material particles is configured to be removable from the other nozzle tubes, maintenance such as replacement, repair, and cleaning of the nozzle tubes is possible.

The glass raw material melting method of the present invention can produce homogeneous molten glass particles by melting the glass raw material particles using the above-described air-melting burner.
Moreover, the manufacturing method of the molten glass of the present invention, the manufacturing method of the glass beads, and the manufacturing method of the glass product are obtained by using the above-described melting method of the glass raw material to obtain a homogeneous and high-quality molten glass, glass beads and glass product. Can be provided.
By providing the above-described air melting burner, the air melting apparatus and glass product manufacturing apparatus of the present invention can manufacture homogeneous and high-quality molten glass particles, molten glass, glass beads, and glass products.

FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view schematically showing one embodiment of an air melting burner according to the present invention. FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing an example of vibration applying means provided in the burner shown in FIG. FIG. 3 is a schematic view showing a modification of the in-air melting burner shown in FIG. FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view schematically showing an example structure of a manufacturing apparatus used for carrying out the glass raw material melting method, molten glass manufacturing method, and glass product manufacturing method according to the present invention. FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing an example of a method for producing a glass product using the glass raw material melting method according to the present invention. FIG. 6 is a block diagram showing another example of an apparatus for producing molten glass and glass products using the glass raw material melting method according to the present invention. FIG. 7 is a block diagram showing an embodiment of an apparatus for producing glass beads by carrying out the glass raw material melting method according to the present invention. FIG. 8 is a block diagram showing another example of the glass bead manufacturing apparatus according to the present invention. Fig.9 (a) is a cross-sectional perspective view which shows the modification of the air fusion burner which concerns on this invention, FIG.9 (b) is sectional drawing of the same burner. FIG. 10 is a schematic cross-sectional view showing the glass melting furnace described in Patent Document 1. FIG. 11 is a partial cross-sectional schematic diagram showing an example of a glass melting furnace using a conventional Siemens kiln. FIG. 12 is a schematic cross-sectional view showing another example of a glass melting furnace using a Siemens kiln. FIG. 13 is a schematic sectional view showing an example of the structure of an oxygen burner used in a glass melting furnace using a Siemens kiln. FIG. 14 is a schematic cross-sectional view of a burner described in Patent Document 5.

Hereinafter, an embodiment of an air melting burner, a glass raw material melting method, a molten glass manufacturing method, a glass bead manufacturing method, a glass product manufacturing method, an air melting apparatus and a glass product manufacturing apparatus according to the present invention will be described. Although described, the present invention is not limited to the following embodiments.
FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional perspective view schematically showing an embodiment of an air melting burner according to the present invention.

The air melting burner 10 shown in FIG. 1 includes a first nozzle tube 11, a second nozzle tube 12, a third nozzle tube 13, a fourth nozzle tube 14, a fifth nozzle tube 15, and a sixth nozzle tube 16 in order from the inside. Is a six-pipe structure arranged concentrically at intervals.
A fuel gas supply path A for allowing fuel gas to pass therethrough is formed inside the first nozzle tube 11, and glass material particles for allowing glass material particles to pass between the first nozzle tube 11 and the second nozzle tube 12. The supply path B is formed. A primary combustion gas supply path C for allowing combustion gas to pass therethrough is formed between the second nozzle tube 12 and the third nozzle tube 13, and the combustion gas is interposed between the third nozzle tube 13 and the fourth nozzle tube 14. A secondary combustion gas supply path D is formed for passing the gas. Further, a first refrigerant flow path E is formed between the fourth nozzle pipe 14 and the fifth nozzle pipe 15 for circulating a coolant such as cooling water, and the fifth nozzle pipe 15 and the sixth nozzle pipe 16 are connected to each other. A second refrigerant flow path F for circulating a refrigerant such as cooling water is formed therebetween. Note that the distal end portion of the fifth nozzle tube 15 and the distal end portion of the sixth nozzle tube 16 are closed by the closing members 17 and 18, and a flow hole 15 a is formed in a portion near the distal end portion of the fifth nozzle tube 15. Thus, the first refrigerant flow path E and the second refrigerant flow path F formed by the fourth nozzle pipe 14, the fifth nozzle pipe 15, and the sixth nozzle pipe 16 are communicated so that a refrigerant circulation flow path can be formed. .

In the air melting burner 10 of the present embodiment, the fuel gas supply path A, the glass raw material particle supply path B, the primary combustion gas supply path C, the secondary combustion gas supply path D, from the burner center to the outside. The first refrigerant flow path E and the second refrigerant flow path F are formed concentrically in this order. In the following description, the air melting burner 10 may be abbreviated as the burner 10.
In the burner 10, the first nozzle tube 11 is the longest, and then the first nozzle tube 12, the third nozzle tube 13, the fourth nozzle tube 14, the fifth nozzle tube 15, and the sixth nozzle tube 16 are sequentially arranged. The nozzle tube is formed so as to be slightly shorter, and is assembled such that the nozzle tube located on the center side sequentially penetrates the rear end portion of the other nozzle tube located on the outer side and projects rearward.

  That is, the end face wall 16A is provided so as to close the rear end portion of the sixth nozzle pipe 16 having the shortest and largest diameter, and the fifth nozzle so as to protrude through the end face wall 16A to the rear side. A rear end 15b of the tube 15 is provided, and the rear end of the rear end 15b is closed by an end face wall 15A. A rear end portion 14b of the fourth nozzle tube 14 is provided so as to penetrate the end surface wall 15A and protrude rearward, and the rear end of the rear end portion 14b is closed by the end surface wall 14A. A rear end portion 13b of the third nozzle tube 13 is provided so as to penetrate the end surface wall 14A and protrude rearward, and the rear end of the rear end portion 13b is closed by the end surface wall 13A. A rear end portion 12b of the second nozzle tube 12 is provided so as to penetrate the end surface wall 13A and protrude rearward, and a flange-type end surface wall 12A is provided at the rear end of the rear end portion 12b. . A through hole 12c is formed in the center of the end face wall 12A, and a rear end portion 11b of the first nozzle tube 11 and a flange plate 11A are provided so as to protrude through the through hole 12c. The rear end portion 11 b of the one nozzle tube 11 is closed by a cap-type closing member 20.

  An inlet 11d connected to the fuel gas supply path A is formed on the side of the closing member 20 that closes the rear end portion 11b of the first nozzle pipe 11, and the first pipe 22 connected to the inlet 11d is connected to the inlet 11d. A fuel supply device 21 is connected through the fuel supply device 21, and fuel to be described later can be sent from the fuel supply device 21 to the first nozzle tube 11. Further, a glass raw material particle supply device 24 is connected to the inlet 12d formed at the rear end portion 12b of the second nozzle tube 12 via the second pipe 23, and formed at the rear end portion 13b of the third nozzle tube 13. The primary combustion gas supply source 26 is connected to the inlet 13d that is formed via the third pipe 25, and the secondary combustion is performed via the fourth pipe 27 to the inlet 14d that is formed at the rear end portion 14b of the fourth nozzle pipe 14. A gas supply source 28 is connected. The refrigerant supply device 30 is connected to the connection port 15d formed in the rear end portion 15b of the fifth nozzle tube 15 via the fifth pipe 29, and the connection port 16d formed on the side surface of the sixth nozzle tube 16 is connected to the connection port 16d. A refrigerant supply device 30 is connected via six pipes 31.

  With the above configuration, the fuel gas is supplied to the fuel gas supply path A, the glass raw material particles are supplied to the glass raw material particle supply path B, the combustion gas is supplied to the combustion gas supply paths C and D, the refrigerant flow path E, The refrigerant can be circulated through F. The refrigerant flow paths E and F are extended to the vicinity of the tip portions of the nozzle tubes 15 and 16 so that the nozzle tubes 15 and 16 can be sufficiently cooled. Thereby, it can prevent that the nozzle tubes 15 and 16 and the nozzle tubes 11-14 inside them are overheated.

In the burner 10, a flange plate 11A is attached along the end surface wall 12A to a portion where the first nozzle tube 11 penetrates the end surface wall 12A of the second nozzle tube 12, and between the flange plate 11A and the end surface wall 12A. An annular sealing member 32 is interposed between the first nozzle pipe 11 and the through-hole 12c of the end face wall 12A.
A vibration applying means 35 such as a piezoelectric vibrator for applying vibration to the burner 10 is attached to the outer peripheral portion of the end face wall 12A. A vibration applying means 36 such as a piezoelectric vibrator for applying vibration to the burner 10 is also mounted on the closing member 20 that closes the rear end of the first nozzle tube 11, and the rear end portion of the third nozzle tube 13. The vibration applying means 34 is also attached to the end face wall 13A of 13b.

As an example, the vibration applying means 35 includes piezoelectric vibration elements 35A and 35B such as annular piezo elements and horn members 35C and 35D disposed so as to sandwich them, as shown in FIG. The bolt member 38 is integrated. The vibration applying means 35 is fixed to the flat portion of the end face wall 12A by integrally fixing the horn member 35C to the end face wall 12A by fixing means such as adhesion or bolt connection. The vibration applying means 35 applies an alternating voltage to the piezoelectric vibrating elements 35A and 35B, and transmits the vibration generated by the piezoelectric vibrators 35A and 35B to the end wall 12A by applying this voltage to the second wall 12A. This is a device that applies vibration to the nozzle tube 12. Further, the vibration applying means 36 has a structure equivalent to that of the vibration applying means 35, and is a device that generates vibration by applying voltage and applies this vibration to the first nozzle tube 11. The vibration applying means 34 is provided on the end wall 13A. Except for being fixed to the outer peripheral surface, the configuration is the same, and the third nozzle tube 13 is vibrated.
The Langevin type vibration element using the piezo element applied in this embodiment is an example of a vibration applying unit, and any other known vibration device may be used as the vibration applying unit. Further, the position where the vibration applying means is provided is not limited to the configuration shown in FIG. 1, and the necessary number of vibration applying means for applying the necessary vibration to the burner 10 can be provided.
Further, a portion slightly rearward from the tip of the first nozzle tube 11 and a portion slightly rearward from the tip of the second nozzle tube 12 are provided between the peripheral surface of the first nozzle tube 11 and the inner surface of the second nozzle tube 12. A spacer member 37 is interposed for restricting the interval between them.

  In the burner 10 of the present embodiment, a fuel gas such as propane, butane, methane, LPG (liquefied petroleum gas), hydrogen, heavy oil, light oil, kerosene is introduced into the fuel gas supply path A, and glass raw material particles, which will be described later, are glass raw materials. Combustion gas such as oxygen and oxygen-enriched gas is introduced into the combustion gas supply channels C and D, and an oxygen combustion flame is injected from the tip of the burner 10 to create a heated gas phase atmosphere. While forming, the glass raw material particles can be blown out from the front end of the supply path B into the heated gas phase atmosphere. The temperature of the central portion of the heated gas phase atmosphere formed by the oxyfuel flame injected by the burner 10 of the present embodiment is about 2000 to 3000 ° C. when the combustion flame is a hydrogen oxyfuel flame, for example.

The material of the burner 10 according to the present embodiment is a ferritic stainless steel such as SUS430, a heat resistant austenitic stainless steel such as SUS308, SUS309, SUS309S, SUS309Cb, SUS310, SUS310S, SUS310Cb, SUS310Mo, or a Fe-based heat-resistant alloy, Co A super heat-resistant alloy such as a base heat-resistant alloy or a Ni-base heat-resistant alloy, quartz glass, or an alloy of Cr, Nb, Mo or W and a refractory metal is preferable.
As the fuel gas, propane, butane, methane, LPG (liquefied petroleum gas), hydrogen, heavy oil, light oil, and kerosene can be used. As the combustion gas, any gas can be used as long as it contains oxygen, such as oxygen or oxygen-enriched gas. The glass raw material particles will be described later.

  In the burner 10 of the present embodiment, a combustion gas supply path such as oxygen is constituted by a primary combustion gas supply path C and a secondary combustion gas supply path D, and the amount of oxygen supplied from each combustion gas supply path C, D is set. By controlling individually, the oxyfuel flame optimal for melting the glass raw material particles can be obtained. For example, when the ratio of primary oxygen supplied from the primary combustion gas supply path C is increased, the reaction between the fuel gas and oxygen gas is accelerated, so that the diameter of the oxyfuel flame becomes narrower and the temperature is not limited to the vicinity of the burner but the entire temperature. A high flame is obtained, but the flame length is shortened. Conversely, if the ratio of oxygen from the primary combustion gas supply channel C is lowered, the reaction between the fuel gas and the oxygen gas becomes slow, so that the diameter of the oxyfuel flame becomes thick but a long flame can be obtained. The secondary combustion gas supply path D may be omitted.

  In the burner 10 of the present embodiment, the glass raw material particles are supplied from a glass raw material particle supply device 24 including a quantitative supply device such as a feeder, and supply of glass raw material particles with oxygen or oxygen-enriched air together with a carrier gas. It spouts from the spout at the tip of path B. At this time, the flow rate of the carrier gas and the supply ratio of the glass raw material particles vary depending on the bulk specific gravity of the raw material powder, the particle size distribution, etc., but generally the glass raw material particles flow without staying in the supply channel. In addition, the flow rate of the carrier gas may be adjusted to such an extent that unnecessary vibration does not occur at the time of ejection from the burner 10.

In the burner 10 of the present embodiment, fuel gas is injected from the front end of the fuel gas supply path A, combustion gas such as oxygen gas is injected from the front ends of the primary combustion gas supply path C and the secondary combustion gas supply path D, An oxygen combustion flame is generated to generate a heated gas phase atmosphere, and when glass raw material particles are ejected from the tip of the supply path B together with a carrier gas, voltage is applied to the vibration applying means 34, 35, and 36 to operate them. It is preferable to vibrate the first nozzle tube 11 and the second nozzle tube 12 forming the supply path B.
By applying this vibration, the glass raw material particles can be reliably supplied into the heated gas phase atmosphere while preventing the retention of the glass raw material particles passing through the supply path B between the first nozzle tube 11 and the second nozzle tube 12.
In addition, the glass lump which adheres easily to the front-end | tip part of the supply path B formed between the 1st nozzle pipe | tube 11 and the 2nd nozzle pipe | tube 12 of the burner 10 is coarsened by the vibration provision by the vibration provision means 34,35,36. It can be dropped and supplied into a heated gas phase atmosphere.

  In the burner 10 of the present embodiment, glass raw material particles are supplied into a heated gas phase atmosphere to form molten glass particles, but some of the glass raw material particles melt when passing through the tip of the burner 10. Since only a part of the glass raw material particles that are easily melted becomes liquid and adheres as a lump at the tip of the supply channel 10, this lump grows and falls into the heated gas phase atmosphere. Then, there exists a possibility that the molten glass particle different from the target composition may be produced | generated. In this respect, the vibration imparting means 35 and 36 can drop the glass lump toward the heated gas phase atmosphere before it grows large, so that large molten glass particles different from the target composition are not generated, It is possible to prevent harmful effects caused by generation. Therefore, possibility that the molten glass particle of the target composition can be produced | generated becomes high, and the molten glass particle of the target composition which can be produced | generated originally by an air melting method can be produced | generated.

In addition, in the burner 10 of this embodiment, since the structure which gives a vibration to the burner 10 by the vibration provision means 34, 35, 36 is employ | adopted, the structure demonstrated below is employ | adopted as a structure of the burner 10. Is preferred.
First, the first nozzle pipe 11 to the sixth nozzle pipe 16 are joined with their tip portions aligned, and the burner 10 extending from the tip position to the rear end of the closing member 20 on the rear end side of the first nozzle tube 11. When the vibration applying means 34, 35, 36 applies vibration to the whole, the first nozzle tube 11 and the second nozzle tube 12 constituting the inner and outer walls of at least the glass material particle supply path B of the burner 10 vibrate. It is preferable to have a structure that resonates. Therefore, for example, if the wavelength of vibration applied to the burner 10 by the vibration applying means 34, 35, 36 is λ, the total length of the burner 10 is preferably mλ / 2 (m is an integer).

In the burner 10, when the support part 16E of the burner 10 is provided in the part from the front-end | tip part of the 6th nozzle pipe | tube 16, and the load of the whole burner 10 is supported by this support part 16E, the installation position of this support part 16E is a burner. The position is preferably (2k + 1) λ / 4 from 10 tip positions.
Further, in the burner 10, it is preferable that the attachment position of the spacer 37 is a position of nλ / 2 from the tip position of the burner 10 (n is an integer). As a result, the spacer 37 is placed at the position of the vibration antinode of the burner 10, and as a result, the amplitude of vibration becomes larger than the other portions. As a result, the glass material particles stay in the spacer 37 portion and the surrounding portions. Can be eliminated.

Next, in the burner 10, the second pipe 23 is connected to the second nozzle pipe 12 along the length direction of the burner body 10 from the rear end position of the end face wall 12 </ b> A to which the vibration applying means 35 is attached. The position up to the inlet 12d (center of the inlet 12d) is preferably an odd multiple of λ / 4. Similarly, the position up to the inlet 13d (the center of the inlet 13d) where the third pipe 25 is connected to the third nozzle pipe 13 is an odd multiple of λ / 4, and the fourth nozzle pipe 14 is located. The position to the inlet 14d (the center of the inlet 14d) to which the fourth pipe 27 is connected is preferably an odd multiple of λ / 4. Furthermore, it is preferable that the distance from the outer surface (rear end face) of the closing member 20 to which the vibration applying means 36 is attached to the rear end position of the end face wall 12A is a position of nλ / 2 (n is an integer).
As an example, as shown in FIG. 1, the length from the rear end position of the end face wall 12A to the position where the second pipe 23 is connected to the second nozzle pipe 12 (center of the inlet 12d) is λ / 4. The length from the rear end position of the end face wall 12A to the position where the third pipe 25 is connected to the third nozzle pipe 13 (the center of the inlet 13d) can be 3λ / 4. Further, the length from the rear end position of the end face wall 12A to the position where the fourth pipe 27 is connected to the fourth nozzle pipe 14 (center of the inlet 14d) can be set to 5λ / 4.
By connecting the second pipe 23, the third pipe 25, and the fourth pipe 27 to these positions, these pipes are attached to the positions of the vibration nodes of the burner 10. The vibration is efficiently propagated to the nozzle tip, and the load acting on these connecting portions is reduced. Similarly, the position where the fifth pipe 29 is attached to the side surface of the fifth nozzle pipe 15 (center of the connection port 15d), and the position where the sixth pipe 31 is attached to the side surface of the sixth nozzle pipe 16 (center of the connection port 16d). Is preferably set to the vibration node of the burner 10. That is, it is preferable that these attachment positions are also set to odd multiples of λ / 4 from the rear end position of the end face wall 12A. Thus, by providing each connection port 12d, 13d, 14d at the position of the node of vibration, the possibility of applying unnecessary vibration to the connection portion of the pipe connected to these can be reduced as much as possible.

FIG. 3 shows a modification of the air-melting burner according to the present invention, and the burner 2 of this example constitutes the outer wall of the primary combustion gas supply path C in the burner 10 of the first embodiment. The third nozzle pipe and the fourth nozzle pipe constituting the outer wall of the secondary combustion gas supply path D are omitted. Instead, the nozzle pipe 5 and the secondary combustion gas supply path C for the primary combustion gas supply path C are omitted. A structure in which the nozzle pipe 6 serving as the supply path D is a small-diameter pipe and is arranged concentrically between the second nozzle pipe 12 and the fourth nozzle pipe 14 on the inner side of the burner 10 is employed. The end face between the second nozzle pipe and the fourth nozzle pipe is closed with a metal member except for the opening of the small diameter pipe.
In the burner 2 of the second embodiment shown in FIG. 3, the plurality of small-diameter pipes 5 and 6 constituting the combustion gas supply path are substituted in this way, and the primary combustion gas and the secondary combustion gas are individually supplied from these. The object can be achieved as a structure capable of spraying to the tip side of the nozzle 2.
Also in the burner 2 having the multiple tube structure shown in FIG. 3, the vibration applying means 36 is attached to the first nozzle tube 11 and the vibration applying means 35 is attached to the second nozzle tube 12 as in the first embodiment. The structure is the same, and vibration is applied to the nozzle body by these vibration applying means 35 and 36 so that the same effect as the burner 10 of the first embodiment can be obtained.

FIG. 4 schematically shows an example of the structure of a manufacturing apparatus used for carrying out the glass raw material melting method, molten glass manufacturing method and glass product manufacturing method according to the present invention performed using the burner 10 described above. FIG.
The air melting apparatus 40 of the present embodiment is disposed downward through the ceiling 41A of the furnace body 41 in order to eject the hollow furnace body 41 and the glass raw material particles GM2 and form the oxyfuel flame H. The above-described in-air melting burner 10 (raw material heating part) and a storage part 41B of molten glass G formed at the bottom of the furnace body 41b are provided, and the front end side (downward in FIG. 4) of the burner 10 The heating gas phase atmosphere K can be formed on the side).
In the air melting apparatus 40 of the present embodiment, the heating means for forming the heated gas phase atmosphere K is composed of the air melting burner according to the present invention. The heated gas phase atmosphere K is composed of an oxyfuel flame H injected from the burner 10 and a high-temperature portion near the oxyfuel flame H. In FIG. 4, the burner 10 shown in FIG. 1 is used as the air melting burner. However, the burner is not limited to this, and the burner 2 shown in FIG. 3 or the air melting burner according to the present invention is used. Any structure can be applied.

  Connected to the burner 10 is a glass raw material supply device (raw material supply device) 48 composed of a hopper containing glass raw material particles GM2 through a supply pipe 49, and the supply pipe 49 transfers the glass raw material particles GM 2 to the glass of the burner 10. A carrier gas supply source (not shown) for supplying a carrier gas for transporting the raw material particles to the supply path B is connected. The raw material supply device 48, the supply pipe 49, and the glass raw material particle supply path B of the burner 10 constitute a raw material supply section. The burner 10 is connected to a gas supply source 46 through supply pipes 47a, 47b, and 47c, and fuel gas is introduced into the fuel gas supply path A through the supply pipe 47a, and through the supply pipe 47b. Combustion gas is introduced into the primary combustion gas supply path C, and combustion gas is introduced into the secondary combustion gas supply path D through the supply pipe 47c.

  The bottom side of the furnace body 41 is a storage part 41B for the molten glass G so that the molten glass G can be discharged from the furnace body 41 through the discharge port 44 formed on the bottom side of the side wall of the furnace body 41. It is configured. Note that the glass product manufacturing apparatus including the in-air melting apparatus 40 according to the present embodiment is formed by connecting, for example, a molding apparatus 45 or the like on the downstream side in the direction of discharging the molten glass G from the furnace body 41. A glass product can be obtained by forming the molten glass G into a desired shape by the forming device 45. Depending on the foam quality, a vacuum degassing apparatus may be provided before the molding apparatus.

  The furnace body 41 is made of a refractory material such as a refractory brick, and is configured to store high-temperature molten glass G. Although not shown in the drawing, the heater 41 is installed in the storage unit 41B of the furnace body 41, and the molten glass G stored in the storage unit 41B is held in a molten state at a target temperature (for example, about 1400 ° C.) as necessary. It is configured to be able to. An exhaust gas treatment device 43 is connected to the side wall portion of the storage portion 41B via an exhaust port 42 and an exhaust pipe 42a.

In the air melting apparatus 40 of the present embodiment, the glass raw material particles GM2 supplied from the raw material supplier 48 via the supply pipe 49 are heated gas phase atmosphere K formed by the oxyfuel flame H injected from the burner 10. It passes through the inside, is heated, forms molten glass particles U, and falls onto the molten glass G staying in the reservoir 41B.
The temperature of the central portion of the heated gas phase atmosphere K used in the present embodiment is about 2000 to 3000 ° C. when the oxyfuel flame H is a hydrogen combustion flame, for example.

  The molten glass G manufactured using the air melting apparatus 40 of the present embodiment is not limited in terms of composition as long as it is glass manufactured by the air melting method. Therefore, any of soda lime glass, mixed alkali glass, borosilicate glass, or non-alkali glass may be used. Moreover, the use of the manufactured glass product is not limited to architectural use or vehicle use, and examples include flat panel display use and other various uses.

In the case of soda lime glass used for building or vehicle plate glass, it is expressed in terms of mass percentage on the basis of oxide, SiO ₂ : 65 to 75%, Al ₂ O ₃ : 0 to 3%, CaO: 5 to 5%. _{15%, MgO: 0~15%,} Na 2 O: 10~20%, K 2 O: 0~3%, Li 2 O: 0~5%, Fe 2 O 3: 0~3%, TiO 2: _{0~5%, CeO 2: 0~3%} , BaO: 0~5%, SrO: 0~5%, B 2 O 3: 0~5%, ZnO: 0~5%, ZrO 2: 0~5 %, SnO ₂ : 0 to 3%, SO ₃ : 0 to 0.5%.

In the case of non-alkali glass used for a substrate for a liquid crystal display or an organic EL display, SiO ₂ : 39 to 75%, Al ₂ O ₃ : _{3 to} 27%, B in terms of mass percentage based on oxide. It is preferable to have a composition of ₂ O ₃ : 0 to 20%, MgO: 0 to 13%, CaO: 0 to 17%, SrO: 0 to 20%, BaO: 0 to 30%.

In the case of mixed alkali type glass is used as the substrate for plasma display, as represented by mass percentage based on _{oxides, SiO 2: 50~75%, Al} 2 O 3: 0~15%, MgO + CaO + SrO + BaO + ZnO: 6~24 %, Na ₂ O + K ₂ O: 6 to 24%.

As other applications, in the case of borosilicate glass used for heat-resistant containers or physics and chemistry instruments, etc., it is expressed in terms of mass percentage on the basis of oxide, SiO ₂ : 60 to 85%, Al ₂ O ₃ : 0 to 5% B ₂ O ₃ : 5 to 20%, Na ₂ O + K ₂ O: 2 to 10%.

In the air melting method performed in the present embodiment, the raw material of the glass having any of the above-described compositions, for example, the particulate raw material powder particles of the respective components described above are mixed according to the composition ratio of the target glass, and the granulated body Glass raw material particles GM2 were prepared.
Basically, the air melting method is a method of manufacturing glass by melting glass raw material particles GM2 in order to manufacture glass composed of a plurality of (usually three or more components) components.

For example, when an example of an alkali-free glass is applied as an example of the glass raw material particle GM2, silica sand, alumina (Al ₂ O ₃ ), boric acid (H ₃ BO ₃ ), magnesium hydroxide (Mg (OH ₂ ), raw material powder particles such as calcium carbonate (CaCO ₃ ), strontium carbonate (SrCO ₃ ), barium carbonate (BaCO ₃ ) are blended so as to match the composition ratio of the target glass, for example, spray dry granulation method Thus, glass raw material particles GM2 can be obtained as a granulated body of about 30 to 1000 μm.

  As a method of preparing the glass raw material particles GM2 from the glass raw material powder particles, a method such as a spray dry granulation method can be used. Granulation in which an aqueous solution in which the glass raw material is dispersed and melted is sprayed into a high temperature atmosphere and dried and solidified. The method is preferred. Further, this granulated body may be composed only of raw materials having a mixing ratio corresponding to the target glass component composition, but the granulated body is further mixed with glass cullet powder having the same composition, and this is mixed with glass. It can also be used as raw material particles GM2.

As an example method for obtaining the glass raw material particles GM2 by spray-dry granulation, the glass raw material powder particles in the range of 2 to 500 μm are dispersed in a solvent such as distilled water as the glass raw material powder particles of the above-mentioned components. The glass raw material particles in which the above-mentioned glass raw material powder particles of each of the above components are dispersed almost uniformly by stirring and mixing the slurry for a predetermined time with a stirrer such as a ball mill, mixing, pulverizing, and then spray drying granulation. GM2 is obtained.
In addition, when stirring the above-mentioned slurry with a stirrer, it stirs, after mixing binders, such as 2-aminoethanol and PVA (polyvinyl alcohol), in order to improve the intensity | strength of the uniform dispersion | distribution of a raw material powder particle, and a granulation raw material. It is preferable.
The glass raw material particles GM2 used in the present embodiment can be formed by a dry granulation method such as a tumbling granulation method or a stirring granulation method in addition to the spray dry granulation method described above.

The average particle diameter (weight average) of the glass raw material particles GM2 is preferably in the range of 30 to 1000 μm. More preferably, glass raw material particles GM2 having an average particle diameter (weight average) in the range of 50 to 500 μm are used, and glass raw material particles GM2 in the range of 70 to 300 μm are more preferable. An example of the glass raw material particles GM2 is enlarged and shown in FIG. 4, but it is preferable that one glass raw material particle GM2 has a composition ratio that substantially matches or approximates the composition ratio of the final target glass.
The average particle diameter (weight average) of the molten glass particles U in which the glass raw material particles GM2 are melted is usually about 80% of the average particle diameter of the glass raw material particles GM2. The particle size of the glass raw material particles GM2 is preferably selected from the above-mentioned range from the viewpoint that it can be heated in a short time, the generated gas can be easily diffused, and the composition variation between the particles is reduced.

Moreover, these glass raw material particle | grains GM2 can contain a clarifier, a coloring agent, a melting adjuvant, an opacifier, etc. as an auxiliary material as needed. In addition, boric acid and the like in these glass raw material particles GM2 have a relatively high vapor pressure at a high temperature and thus are easily evaporated by heating. Therefore, it is possible to mix them in excess of the composition of the glass as the final product. it can.
In this embodiment, when a clarifier is contained as an auxiliary material, a necessary amount of a clarifier containing one or more elements selected from chlorine (Cl), sulfur (S), and fluorine (F) is required. Can be added.
Also, conventionally used fining agents such as Sb and As oxides, even if the effect of reducing bubbles is generated, these fining elements are undesirable elements in terms of reducing environmental impact, and their use is It is preferable to reduce in view of the direction of reducing the environmental load.

According to the manufacturing apparatus (air melting apparatus) 40 shown in FIG. 4, the glass raw material particles GM2 are introduced into the heated gas phase atmosphere K formed by the oxyfuel flame H of the air melting burner 10, so that the glass raw material particles GM2 can be melted in a gas phase atmosphere to form molten glass particles U, and the molten glass particles U can be dropped in the direction of the storage portion 41B of the furnace body 41 made of refractory bricks and stored as molten glass G. it can. Since the manufacturing apparatus 40 of this embodiment is a structure provided with the above-mentioned air melting burner which concerns on this invention, the glass raw material particle GM2 does not stay in the front-end | tip part of a burner, and it is hard to adhere as a lump, lump. Therefore, it is difficult to grow as a large lump and does not fall into the molten glass G, so that the glass composition does not become inhomogeneous and a high-quality molten glass G can be obtained.
The molten glass G is discharged from the discharge port 44 at a predetermined speed, introduced into a vacuum deaerator as necessary, and further degassed forcibly in a reduced pressure state, and then transferred to a molding device 45 to a desired shape. Can be molded to produce glass products.
Since the glass product manufactured as described above is formed from the high-quality molten glass G as described above, a high-quality glass product can be obtained.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing an example of a method for producing a glass product using the glass raw material melting method according to the present invention.
In order to manufacture a glass product according to the method shown in FIG. 5, once the molten glass G is obtained by the glass melting step S <b> 1 using the above-described air melting apparatus 40, the molten glass G is sent to the molding apparatus 45. The glass product G5 can be obtained by passing through a molding step S2 for molding into a desired shape, followed by slow cooling in the slow cooling step S3 and cutting to a required length in the cutting step S4.
In addition, the process of grind | polishing the molten glass after shaping | molding is provided as needed, and a glass product can be manufactured.

The air melting apparatus and glass product manufacturing apparatus of the present invention are not limited to the example shown in FIG. For example, the air melting burner according to the present invention and other heating means can be used in combination as a heating means for forming a heated gas phase atmosphere.
FIG. 6 shows another example of an apparatus for manufacturing a molten glass and a glass product using the glass raw material melting method according to the present invention. The manufacturing apparatus 50 of the present embodiment uses an air melting burner 10 as a heating means. 4 is different from the apparatus shown in FIG. 4 in that a thermal plasma generator is provided and the shape of the ceiling of the furnace body for storing the molten glass is different.

In the manufacturing apparatus 50 of the present embodiment, a high-frequency plasma generator (thermal plasma generator) 57 includes a plasma generating coil 52, a frame 54, a supply source 53, a plasma oscillator 55, and an operation panel 56, and is configured with a high frequency. By operating the plasma generator 57, that is, by applying a high frequency from the plasma oscillator 55 to the plasma generating coil 41, high-frequency thermal plasma can be generated inside the frame 54.
The plasma generating coil 52 is disposed along the outer periphery of a vertical cylindrical frame 54, and the burner 10 is vertically supported on the upper side of the frame 54, and the burner 10 has its lower end at the center on the upper side of the frame 54. Is placed downwards as you wish.

  The lower side of the frame 54 is connected to the opening of the ceiling 51 </ b> A of the furnace body 51 through a downward trumpet-shaped connection wall 58, and the internal space of the frame 54 is connected to the internal space of the furnace body 51. Further, the frame 54 provided with the plasma generating coil 52, the connection wall 58 below it, and the furnace body 51 below it are integrally formed, and working gas such as argon gas is supplied from the supply source 53 to the inside of the frame 54. Is supplied, a high frequency is applied from the plasma generating coil 52, the working gas is ionized and plasma ignition is performed, so that a thermal plasma flame can be generated on the center side of the frame 54.

  The manufacturing apparatus 50 shown in FIG. 6 uses the high-frequency thermal plasma generated by the plasma generating coil 41 in addition to the oxyfuel flame H generated from the burner 10 as necessary, and the oxyfuel flame H or the oxyfuel flame H and the high-frequency heat. The glass raw material particles GM2 are melted by using a heated gas phase atmosphere made of plasma, so that molten glass particles can be obtained. Since the manufacturing apparatus 50 of this example also includes the burner 10, the same effects as those of the manufacturing apparatus 40 described above can be achieved. As the thermal plasma generator, a multi-phase plasma arc generator can be used instead of the high-frequency plasma generator.

  FIG. 7 shows an embodiment of an apparatus for manufacturing glass beads (glass particles) by carrying out the glass raw material melting method according to the present invention. The manufacturing apparatus 60 of the present embodiment includes an accommodating portion 64, An air-melting burner 10 is arranged so that the oxygen combustion flame is jetted downward so as to penetrate the ceiling portion 64 </ b> A of the housing portion 64. The manufacturing apparatus 60 shown in FIG. 7 has a structure similar to that of the manufacturing apparatus 40 of the previous embodiment, and is different in that the furnace body 41 of the previous apparatus is changed to the accommodating portion 64. Other configurations are the same as the configuration of the manufacturing apparatus 40 shown in FIG. 4, and the same elements are denoted by the same reference numerals, and the description of the same elements is omitted.

In the manufacturing apparatus 60 of the present embodiment, a transport cart 62 including a stainless steel bucket-shaped storage unit 61 is accommodated in the storage unit 64. Although not shown, the housing surface of the accommodating portion 64 is cooled with cooling water. Further, an exhaust gas device 65 is connected to the side wall portion of the housing portion 64 via the exhaust pipe 63.
Although omitted in FIG. 7, an opening / closing door capable of sealing the accommodation portion 64 is formed on the side wall portion of the accommodation portion 64, and the transport carriage 62 opens the opening / closing door to open the accommodation portion. 64 can be moved to the outside.

  As in the case of the embodiment described above, the glass raw material particles GM2 are melted in the gas phase atmosphere by introducing the glass raw material particles GM2 into the heated gas phase atmosphere composed of the oxyfuel flame H generated by the burner 10. The molten glass particles U can be obtained, and the molten glass particles U are dropped into the stainless steel storage unit 61 and cooled to obtain the glass beads GB. Therefore, the storage unit 61 is a cooling unit that cools the molten glass particles in the apparatus 60 of the present embodiment. In the device 60 of the present embodiment, the storage unit 61 and the transport carriage 62 are not essential, and may be configured such that the molten glass particles are received in the floor portion 64B of the storage unit 64 by omitting them. The internal space and the floor portion 64B constitute a cooling unit that cools the molten glass particles.

Since the glass beads GB manufactured by the manufacturing apparatus 60 shown in FIG. 7 are configured to include the above-described air-melting burner according to the present invention, the glass raw material particles GM2 stay at the tip of the burner and adhere to it. Since this adhered substance does not fall after being enlarged as a lump, glass beads GB of uniform quality can be obtained.
The glass beads thus obtained are used as glass beads as they are, mixed with other raw materials, or used by being put into other melting furnaces.
The apparatus for producing glass beads of the present invention is not limited to the example shown in FIG. For example, as in the previous manufacturing apparatus, the air melting burner according to the present invention and other heating means can be used in combination as the heating means for forming the heated gas phase atmosphere.

  FIG. 8 shows another example of the glass bead manufacturing apparatus according to the present invention. The manufacturing apparatus 70 according to this embodiment includes a high-frequency plasma generator as a heating means in addition to the air-melting burner according to the present invention. It is different from the apparatus shown in FIG. The configuration of the high-frequency plasma generator 57 of the manufacturing apparatus 70 shown in FIG. 8 is the same as that of the manufacturing apparatus 50 shown in FIG. In the manufacturing apparatus 70 of the present embodiment, the lower side of the frame 54 of the high-frequency plasma generator 57 is connected to the opening of the ceiling part 64A of the housing part 64 via the downward trumpet type connection wall 58, and the internal space of the frame 54 is It communicates with the internal space of the accommodating portion 64.

  The manufacturing apparatus 70 shown in FIG. 8 uses the high-frequency thermal plasma generated by the plasma generation coil 41 in addition to the oxyfuel flame H generated from the burner 10 as necessary, and the oxyfuel flame H or the oxyfuel flame H and the high-frequency heat. The glass raw material particles GM2 are melted to form molten glass particles using a heated gas phase atmosphere made of plasma, and then the molten glass particles are cooled to form glass beads. Since the manufacturing apparatus 70 of this example also includes the burner 10, the same effects as those of the manufacturing apparatus 60 shown in FIG. 7 can be obtained.

Fig.9 (a) is a cross-sectional perspective view which shows the modification of the air fusion burner which concerns on this invention, FIG.9 (b) is sectional drawing of the same burner.
FIG. 9 shows the tip portion of the burner 80 of this embodiment. The burner 80 of this embodiment has a flat shape at the tip of the burner 10 of the first embodiment, whereas a portion of the tip of the burner is shown. The aspect formed by making it protrude is shown.
9 has a multi-tube structure in which a plurality of nozzle tubes 81, 82, 83, 84, and 85 are concentrically arranged, and the inner side of the burner 80 extends outward from the center of the burner. The fuel gas supply path A, the glass raw material particle supply path B, the primary combustion gas supply path C, the secondary combustion gas supply path D, the first refrigerant flow path E, and the second refrigerant flow path F are concentrically arranged in this order. As for the point where the vibration applying means is provided on the rear end side of the first nozzle tube 81 and the rear end side of the second nozzle tube 82, the burner 10 of the first embodiment shown in FIG. It is equivalent.

  In the burner 80 of the present embodiment, the distal end portion 81a of the first nozzle tube 81 and the distal end portion 82a of the second nozzle tube 82 that form the supply path B for glass raw material particles are the same as the distal end portion 83a of the third nozzle tube 83 and the first end portion 83a. The tip part 82a of the supply path B for the glass raw material particles is formed so as to protrude further than the tip part 85a of the connection part between the four nozzle pipe 84 and the fifth nozzle pipe 85, and the primary combustion gas supply path C. And the secondary combustion gas supply path D are formed so as to protrude further toward the front side of the burner. The position of the tip portion 83a of the third nozzle tube 83 and the position of the tip portion 85a of the connecting portion of the fourth nozzle tube 84 and the fifth nozzle tube 85 are aligned, and the position of the tip portion 81a of the first nozzle tube 81; The position of the tip 82a of the second nozzle tube 82 is also aligned.

  With the above-described structure, the generation of eddy current gas returning to the peripheral surface of the tip portion 82a that is the jet outlet of the glass raw material particle supply path B can be suppressed, so that the glass raw material particles ejected from the glass raw material particle supply path B It can suppress staying in the part 82a vicinity. Therefore, according to the air melting burner 80 of the present embodiment, it is possible to prevent the glass raw material particles from staying and adhering to the tip portion of the burner 80. For this reason, the lump of adhering material of the glass raw material particles does not grow greatly, and it is prevented from falling into the glass melt below the burner as a large lump, and the glass is caused by the composition difference between the lump of adhering material and the glass melt. There is an effect of being able to produce high-quality glass having a uniform composition without being homogenized.

  Further, in the burner 80 shown in FIG. 9, the surface 81P on the supply path B side of the glass raw material particles in the first nozzle tube 81 is formed to have a straight shape with a uniform thickness up to the tip side, The tip of the other surface (inner surface) 81Q (surface on the fuel gas supply path side) has a tapered portion 81T (direction control means) so that the diameter of the fuel gas supply path A gradually increases from the front side of the front end portion to the front end portion 81a. Is formed. As a result, the fuel gas ejected from the fuel gas supply path A flows to the adjacent glass raw material particle supply path B, so that the flight speed of the fuel gas ejected from the glass raw material particle supply path B is relatively high. Slow glass raw material particles are blown off by a fuel gas flow having a relatively high flight speed, and the retention of the glass raw material particles near the nozzle tip can be more effectively suppressed.

Even when the burner 80 having the structure shown in FIG. 9 is used, a lump of melt of glass raw material particles to be generated on the tip side of the burner 80 can be prevented.
Although omitted in FIG. 9, since the vibration applying means equivalent to that of the first embodiment is provided on the rear end side of the first nozzle tube 81 and the rear end side of the second nozzle tube 82, the nozzle shape described above is used. In combination with the action that can suppress the formation of the mass of the melt, the effect of further suppressing the generation of the mass of the melt by applying the vibration is exhibited.

  The technology of the present invention can be widely applied to the production of architectural glass, vehicle glass, optical glass, medical glass, display device glass, glass beads, and other general glass products.

A ... Fuel gas supply path, B ... Glass raw material particle supply path, C ... Primary combustion gas supply path, D ... Secondary combustion gas supply path, E, F ... Refrigerant flow path, 10 ... In-air melting burner, 11 ... 1st nozzle tube, 11b ... Rear end, 12 ... 2nd nozzle tube, 12A ... Flange plate, 12b ... Rear end, 12c ... Through-hole, 13 ... 3rd nozzle tube, 13b ... Rear end, 14 ... 4th nozzle pipe, 14b ... rear end part, 15 ... fifth nozzle pipe, 15b ... rear end part, 16 ... sixth nozzle pipe, 20 ... closing member, 21 ... fuel supply device, 22 ... first pipe, 23 ... 2nd piping, 24 ... glass raw material particle supply device, 25 ... 3rd piping, 26 ... primary combustion gas supply source, 27 ... 4th piping, 28 ... secondary combustion gas supply source, 29 ... 5th piping, 30 ... refrigerant supply device, 31 ... sixth pipe, 32 ... seal ring, 34, 35, 36 ... vibration applying means,
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 40 ... Air melting apparatus (manufacturing apparatus), 41 ... Furnace body, 42 ... Exhaust port, 42a ... Exhaust pipe, 43 ... Exhaust gas treatment apparatus, 44 ... Discharge port, 45 ... Molding apparatus, 46 ... Gas supply source, 47a, 47b, 47c ... supply pipe, 48 ... raw material supplier, 49 ... supply pipe, 50 ... air melting apparatus (manufacturing apparatus), 51 ... furnace body, 52 ... plasma generating coil, 57 ... high frequency plasma generating apparatus (thermal plasma generation) Apparatus), 60 ... air melting apparatus (manufacturing apparatus), 61 ... storage part (cooling part), 63 ... exhaust pipe, 64 ... housing part, 65 ... exhaust gas treatment apparatus, 70 ... air melting apparatus (manufacturing apparatus), K: heated gas phase atmosphere, G: molten glass, GM2: glass raw material particles, U: molten glass particles, H: oxygen combustion flame, GB: glass beads.

Claims (15)

  A burner used in an air melting method in which glass raw material particles are melted in a gas phase atmosphere to form molten glass particles, comprising a burner body having a multi-tube structure in which a plurality of nozzle tubes are arranged. Of the nozzle tube and a plurality of channels formed by the plurality of nozzle tubes between the nozzle tubes, one for the glass raw material particle supply path, one for the combustion gas supply path, and one for the fuel gas supply path And the rear end portion of one or more nozzle tubes constituting the glass raw material particle supply path among the plurality of nozzle tubes is provided to protrude rearward from the rear end portions of the other nozzle tubes, An air melting burner in which vibration imparting means is installed at a protruding portion of the rear end portion of the nozzle tube, and the tip end side of the burner main body portion is an injection port.   The burner body is formed to have a length that is resonated by the vibration applying means, and the fuel gas inlet, the glass material particle inlet, and the combustion gas feed are placed at the position of the vibration node in the burner body. The air-melting burner according to claim 1, wherein at least one of an inlet and a support portion of the burner main body is provided.   Among a plurality of flow paths formed by the plurality of nozzle tubes, a pair of adjacent flow paths is a refrigerant flow path, and an inlet / outlet of the refrigerant flow path is formed at a position of a vibration node of the burner body portion. The air melting burner according to claim 1 or 2.   An end wall that closes the rear end of each nozzle tube is formed at the rear end of each nozzle tube, and the rear end of another nozzle tube that protrudes rearward from the rear end of the nozzle tube passes through the end wall. Then, at least one nozzle tube constituting the glass raw material supply unit among the rear end portions of the plurality of nozzle tubes protruding rearward and penetrating through the end face wall and protruding rearward with respect to the other nozzle tubes The air-melting burner according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the air-burning burner is configured to be freely extracted.   The nozzle tube configured to be detachable is loosely inserted into a through-hole formed in an end face wall of the other nozzle tube, and a seal mechanism is formed to hermetically seal the loosely inserted portion. The air-melting burner according to claim 4, wherein the nozzle tubes are integrated with each other at a penetrating portion of the end wall.   A spacer is provided on the distal end side of the nozzle tube configured to be detachable so as to maintain a distance between the nozzle tube and the nozzle tube outside the nozzle tube, and the spacer is formed at a position of the antinode of vibration of the burner portion. Item 6. The air melting burner according to Item 4 or 5.   A heated gas-phase atmosphere is formed by the air-melting burner according to any one of claims 1 to 6, and the glass material particles are melted by sending the glass material particles into the heated gas-phase atmosphere. A method for melting glass raw material, wherein the raw material particles are molten glass particles.   The manufacturing method of the molten glass which stores the said molten glass particle of Claim 7.   The manufacturing method of the glass bead which makes the glass bead by cooling the said molten glass particle of Claim 7.   A glass melting step in which the glass raw material particles are heated using the glass raw material melting method according to claim 7 to form molten glass particles, a molten glass composed of the molten glass particles, and a glass after molding. And a step of slowly cooling the glass product.   The manufacturing method of the glass product in which the process which uses the glass raw material particle of Claim 10 as a molten glass particle includes the process of storing the said molten glass particle and making it a glass melt. An in-air melting device that heats and melts glass raw material particles in a gas phase atmosphere to form molten glass particles,
A raw material heating section for forming a heated gas phase atmosphere for heating and melting the glass raw material particles;
A raw material supply unit for supplying the glass raw material particles to the heated gas phase atmosphere;
An air melting apparatus, wherein the air melting burner is the air melting burner according to any one of claims 1 to 6.   The in-flight melting apparatus according to claim 12, wherein a storage unit for molten glass particles is provided so as to communicate with the raw material heating unit.   The air melting apparatus according to claim 12, wherein a cooling unit and a glass bead storage unit are provided so as to communicate with the raw material heating unit.   A glass product comprising the air melting apparatus according to claim 12 or 13, a forming means for forming the molten glass manufactured by the air melting apparatus, and a slow cooling means for gradually cooling the glass after forming. apparatus.

Images