JP2018016507A - Processing method and processing device of glass - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To heat emphatically a surface layer part of glass facing to a molding surface provided on a molding tool, while maintaining the molding tool at a low temperature.SOLUTION: In a processing method of a glass sheet for molding the glass sheet G1 into a shape obtained by copying a molding surface 1a provided on a molding tool 1 by heating the glass sheet G1 arranged on the molding tool 1, a laser beam LB transmitted by the molding tool 1 and absorbed by the glass sheet G1 is applied to the glass sheet G1 through the molding tool 1, to thereby heat the glass sheet G1.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

  The present invention relates to improvement of glass processing technology using a mold.

  As a method for processing glass, there is a method in which the glass is heated in a state where the glass is placed in a mold, and the glass is molded into a shape following the molding surface provided on the mold (see Patent Document 1). . In this case, it is customary to heat the mold in which the glass is disposed in a heating furnace provided with a heater or the like.

WO2016 / 067829

  However, when a heating furnace is used, the mold is also exposed to a high temperature in the heating furnace, so that the mold tends to deteriorate and the life of the mold is shortened. As a result, the replacement frequency of the mold is increased, which causes an increase in manufacturing cost.

  And when processing glass using a shaping | molding die, it is sufficient in many cases if only the surface layer part of the glass which faces a shaping | molding surface is softening. That is, it is often desirable from the viewpoint of thermal energy efficiency to heat the surface layer portion of the glass facing the molding surface rather than heating the entire mold or glass as in a heating furnace.

  This invention makes it a technical subject to heat mainly the surface layer part of the glass which faces the shaping | molding surface provided in the shaping | molding die, maintaining a shaping | molding die at low temperature.

  The present invention devised to solve the above problems is a glass processing method in which glass placed in a mold is heated to mold the glass into a shape following the molding surface provided on the mold. The laser is transmitted through the mold and absorbed by the glass, and the glass is irradiated through the mold.

  According to such a configuration, since the laser passes through the mold, the glass can be irradiated through the mold. The laser irradiated in this way is absorbed by the glass, but the absorption of the laser gradually becomes weaker as it advances from the laser incident side surface in the depth direction. In other words, laser absorption mainly occurs at the surface layer portion of the glass facing the molding surface of the mold, which is the laser incident side surface. Therefore, the surface layer portion of the glass facing the molding surface of the molding die can be intensively heated by laser absorption. In addition, since the laser passes through the mold, it is difficult for the mold to be heated by absorption of the laser.

  In the above configuration, the molding surface may have a groove that forms a fine pattern, and the fine pattern may be transferred to the glass by laser irradiation. That is, the present invention can heat the surface layer portion of the glass intensively, and is therefore suitable for transferring a fine pattern that does not require softening the entire glass.

  In the above configuration, the molding surface may be concave or convex, and a curved surface following the molding surface may be formed on the glass by laser irradiation.

  In the above configuration, the laser may be irradiated while pressing the glass against the molding surface. If it does in this way, since glass will be pressed and it will stick to a forming surface, it will become easy to shape glass in the shape which followed a forming surface.

  In the above configuration, the glass may be a glass plate.

  In the above configuration, the glass may be an aggregate of glass powder.

In the above configuration, the laser is preferably a CO ₂ laser. That is, in the case of a CO ₂ laser, since the absorption rate in the glass is increased, most of the laser is absorbed in the surface layer portion of the glass facing the molding surface of the mold. As a result, only the surface layer portion of the glass can be locally heated.

In this case, the mold is preferably formed of one or more materials selected from the group consisting of zinc selenide, zinc sulfide, gallium arsenide, and CVD diamond. In this way, the CO ₂ laser is not substantially absorbed by the mold.

In the above configuration, the laser is preferably a mid-infrared laser or a near-infrared laser. By doing so, the absorption rate in the glass is large but smaller than that in the case of the CO ₂ laser, so that absorption occurs not only in the surface layer portion of the glass but also in the portion slightly proceeding in the depth direction from the surface layer portion. Therefore, the surface layer part of glass and its vicinity can be heated locally.

  In this case, the mold is one or more materials selected from the group consisting of silicon, germanium, sapphire, zinc selenide, zinc sulfide, gallium arsenide, CVD diamond and IR grade quartz glass, or mid-infrared and / or near It is preferably made of transparent ceramics that transmit infrared rays. In this way, the mid-infrared laser and near-infrared laser are not substantially absorbed by the mold.

  The present invention, which was created to solve the above-mentioned problems, comprises a molding die on which glass is disposed and a heating device for heating the glass, and the glass is molded into a shape following the molding surface provided on the molding die. The heating apparatus is a laser irradiation apparatus that irradiates the glass, which is transmitted through the mold and absorbed by the glass, to the glass through the mold. According to such a structure, the same effect as the corresponding structure already described can be enjoyed.

  As described above, according to the present invention, the surface layer portion of the glass facing the molding surface provided in the molding die can be intensively heated while maintaining the molding die at a low temperature.

It is sectional drawing which shows the processing apparatus of the glass which concerns on 1st Embodiment of this invention. It is a figure for demonstrating the processing method of the glass using the processing apparatus of the glass of FIG. 1, Comprising: (a) is a fragmentary sectional view which shows the state of the processing process early stage of the interface of a shaping | molding die and glass, b) is a partial cross-sectional view showing a state at the end of the processing step at the interface between the mold and the glass. It is sectional drawing which shows the processing apparatus of the glass which concerns on 2nd Embodiment of this invention. It is a figure for demonstrating the processing method of the glass using the processing apparatus of the glass of FIG. 3, Comprising: (a) is a fragmentary sectional view which shows the state of the processing process early stage of the interface of a shaping | molding die and glass, b) is a partial cross-sectional view showing a state at the end of the processing step at the interface between the mold and the glass. It is sectional drawing which shows the processing apparatus of the glass which concerns on 3rd Embodiment of this invention. It is a figure for demonstrating the processing method of the glass using the processing apparatus of glass of FIG. 5, Comprising: (a) is a fragmentary sectional view which shows the state of the processing process early stage of the interface of a shaping | molding die and glass, b) is a partial cross-sectional view showing a state at the end of the processing step at the interface between the mold and the glass. It is a side view which shows the processing apparatus of the glass which concerns on 4th Embodiment of this invention.

  Embodiments according to the present invention will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

(First embodiment)
As shown in FIG. 1, the glass processing apparatus according to the first embodiment of the present invention includes a mold 1 and a laser irradiation apparatus 2 as a heating apparatus. In this embodiment, the glass plate G1 is illustrated as glass to be processed.

  The molding die 1 has a molding surface 1a on which the glass plate G1 is disposed. In this embodiment, the shaping | molding die 1 is comprised by the lower mold | type, and the upper surface of the shaping | molding die 1 is the molding surface 1a. A plurality of grooves constituting a fine pattern are formed on the molding surface 1a (see reference numeral 1b in FIG. 2). A mold release layer is preferably formed on the molding surface 1a in consideration of mold release properties of the glass plate G1. The release layer can be formed, for example, by depositing diamond-like carbon (DLC) or a fluorine-containing compound on the molding surface 1a of the molding die 1.

  The laser irradiation device 2 irradiates the laser LB from the mold 1 side. As the laser LB, one having a wavelength region that is transmitted through the mold 1 and absorbed by the glass plate G1 is selected. Therefore, the laser LB is irradiated to the glass plate G <b> 1 through the mold 1. In this embodiment, the laser irradiation apparatus 2 scans the laser LB while moving in the arrow x direction so that the entire lower surface of the glass plate G1 is irradiated with the laser LB. The laser LB may be scanned over the entire lower surface of the glass plate G1 by moving the glass plate G1 and the mold 1 while the laser irradiation device 2 is stationary. That is, it is sufficient that there is a relative movement between the laser irradiation device 2 and the glass plate G1. Alternatively, the irradiation area of the laser LB may be enlarged with a lens or the like so that the laser LB is irradiated onto the entire lower surface of the glass plate G1 at a time.

The wavelength of the laser LB is preferably 1 μm to 10 μm, more preferably 2 μm to 5 μm, and even more preferably 2 μm to 3 μm. Specifically, as the laser LB, for example, a continuous oscillation CO ₂ laser (wavelength range: 9.2 μm or 10.8 μm), a mid-infrared laser (wavelength range: 3 μm to 5 μm), a near-infrared laser (wavelength range: 1 μm). ~ 3 μm) is used. Here, the transmittance of the laser LB per unit length in the mold 1 is preferably 30% to 90%, and more preferably 40% to 70%. Further, the absorption rate of the laser LB per unit length in the glass plate G1 is preferably 10% to 60%, and more preferably 20% to 50%. Here, the unit length is 1 mm (hereinafter the same).

When a CO ₂ laser is used as the laser LB, the mold 1 is preferably formed of one or more materials selected from the group consisting of, for example, zinc selenide, zinc sulfide, gallium arsenide, and CVD diamond. In this case, the transmittance per unit length of the laser LB in the mold 1 is, for example, 30% to 60%. On the other hand, when a mid-infrared laser or near-infrared laser is used as the laser LB, the mold 1 is made of, for example, a group consisting of silicon, germanium, sapphire, zinc selenide, zinc sulfide, gallium arsenide, CVD diamond, and IR grade quartz glass. It is preferable to be formed of one or more materials selected from the above or transparent ceramics that transmit the mid-infrared and / or near-infrared. In this case, the transmittance per unit length of the laser LB in the mold 1 is, for example, 30% to 60% in the case of a mid-infrared laser and 40 to 60% in the case of a near-infrared laser.

Here, the glass plate G1 can adopt an appropriate composition according to its application, and the composition is not particularly limited. For example, as the glass plates G1, in _{mass%, SiO 2 50~80%, Al} 2 O 3 5~25%, B 2 O 3 0~15%, Na 2 O 1~20%, K 2 O 0~ Those having a composition of 10% can be employed. The glass plate G1 may contain a laser absorber in order to enhance the absorption of the laser LB. As the laser absorbing material, an inorganic pigment is preferable, and _one kind selected from carbon, Co ₃ O ₄ , CuO, Cr ₂ O ₃ , Fe ₂ O ₃ , MnO ₂ , SnO, and Ti _n O _2n-1 (n is an integer). Or 2 or more types are more preferable, and carbon is especially preferable. These pigments have excellent color developability and good laser absorptivity. As carbon, amorphous carbon or graphite is preferable. In addition, when using glass plate G1 as optical components, such as a lens, it is preferable that glass plate G1 does not contain laser absorbers, such as a pigment, substantially. Here, “substantially does not contain a laser absorber” means that a glass component is not positively added with an explicit component, but is allowed to be mixed at an impurity level. It indicates that the content of the absorbent is less than 0.1 mol%.

  Moreover, it is preferable that the glass plate G1 is a film-like thin plate, and it is preferable that the thickness is 1 micrometer-1000 micrometers.

  Next, a glass processing method using the glass processing apparatus according to the first embodiment will be described.

  First, as shown in FIG. 1, the glass plate G <b> 1 is placed on the molding surface 1 a of the mold 1 in a flat position. Next, in this state, the laser LB is irradiated from the mold 1 side by the laser irradiation device 2. Since the laser LB has a wavelength range that passes through the mold 1 and is absorbed by the glass plate G1, the laser LB passes through the mold 1 and reaches the glass plate G1. Thereby, the laser LB is irradiated to the glass plate G1 through the mold 1.

  When the laser beam LB is irradiated to the glass plate G1 through the mold 1, as shown in FIG. 2A, the heating region H1 (the portion with cross-hatching in the drawing) is formed on the glass plate G1 due to the absorption of the laser LB. Arise. In the heating region H1, the glass plate G1 is softened (or melted). Since the absorptance of the glass plate G1 varies depending on the wavelength of the laser LB, the depth ΔD of the heating region H1 depends on the wavelength of the laser LB. That is, when the absorption rate is increased, the laser LB is entirely absorbed by the surface layer portion of the glass plate G1 facing the molding surface 1a of the mold 1, and the depth ΔD of the heating region H1 is decreased. Therefore, it is preferable to appropriately select the wavelength of the laser LB in order to realize a desired depth ΔD of the heating region H1 according to the depth of the groove 1b constituting the fine pattern.

Specifically, when a CO ₂ laser is used as the laser LB, the laser LB is entirely absorbed by the surface layer portion of the glass plate G1 on the molding surface 1a side. As a result, the heating region H1 is formed only on the surface layer portion of the glass plate G1 on the molding surface 1a side. In this case, the depth ΔD of the heating region H1 is, for example, 1 μm to 10 μm.

Further, when a mid-infrared laser or a near-infrared laser is used as the laser LB, the laser LB is not completely absorbed by the surface layer portion of the glass plate G1 on the molding surface 1a side, but is also absorbed near the surface layer portion. As a result, the heating region H1 is formed on the surface layer portion of the glass plate G1 on the molding surface 1a side and in the vicinity thereof. In this case, the depth ΔD of the heating region H1 is, for example, 10 μm to 1000 μm. That is, the depth ΔD of the heating region H1 is larger than that when the CO ₂ laser is used. Here, when a mid-infrared laser (for example, a 3 micron laser) is used, the absorption of the laser LB in the OH group existing on the surface of the glass plate G1 becomes dominant. However, the laser LB is not completely absorbed by the OH group, but is absorbed in the vicinity of the surface layer portion of the glass plate G1 by the laser LB that is not absorbed by the OH group.

  As described above, when the heating region H1 is formed only in the surface layer portion on the molding surface 1a side of the glass plate G1 or in the surface layer portion and the vicinity thereof, as shown in FIG. Deformation follows the molding surface 1 a of the mold 1. In this embodiment, since the shaping | molding die 1 is a lower mold | type, gravity acts in the direction (arrow y direction) which presses the glass plate G1 against the shaping | molding surface 1a. Thereby, the groove part 1b which comprises the fine pattern provided in the molding surface 1a is transcribe | transferred to the glass plate G1. The glass plate G1 processed in this way can be used as, for example, a microlens array or a Fresnel lens. In this way, the portion of the glass plate G1 excluding the heating region H1 (the portion located on the side opposite to the incident side of the laser LB) can be a non-heating region, so that the entire glass plate G1 is excessively heated. There is nothing to do. Therefore, devitrification of the glass plate G1 can also be prevented. Further, by forming such a non-heated region, even when a heat-sensitive element such as a semiconductor or an organic EL is formed on the upper surface of the glass plate G1, a fine pattern is transferred while preventing the element from being damaged. can do. On the other hand, when attention is paid to the mold 1, the laser LB passes through the mold 1, so that the mold 1 is maintained at a low temperature. Therefore, there is also an advantage that thermal deterioration of the mold 1 can be prevented.

  Here, the glass processing apparatus or processing method configured as described above can be used as, for example, a nanoimprint apparatus or method.

(Second Embodiment)
The glass processing apparatus and the processing method thereof according to the second embodiment of the present invention are different from the first embodiment in the configuration of the molding surface of the mold.

  That is, in this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 3, the molding surface 3a of the molding die 3 is formed of a concave curved surface. In this embodiment, the glass plate G2 has a convex curved surface G2a formed by roughing. The glass plate G2 is arranged on the molding surface 3a so that the curved surface G2a faces the molding surface 3a side. In this state, the glass plate G2 is irradiated with the laser LB through the molding die 3. In addition, while the shaping | molding surface 3a is comprised by a convex curved surface, the glass plate G2 may have a concave curved surface. Moreover, the groove part which comprises the fine pattern like 1st Embodiment may be formed in the convex-shaped or concave curved surface of the shaping | molding surface 3a.

  As shown in FIG. 4A, when the glass plate G2 is irradiated with the laser LB through the mold 3, the heating region H2 is generated in the glass plate G2 by the absorption of the laser LB, and the glass plate G2 is softened in the heating region H2. (Or melt). Then, as shown in FIG. 4B, the softened heating region H2 is deformed following the molding surface 3a of the mold 3, and the curved surface G2a of the glass plate G2 is finished into a curved shape following the molding surface 3a. Is done. The glass plate G2 processed in this way can be used as, for example, a convex lens or a concave lens. Particularly, it is suitable for a lens of a mobile phone camera.

(Third embodiment)
The glass processing apparatus and its processing method according to the third embodiment of the present invention are mainly different from the first embodiment in two ways.

  The first difference is that the glass to be processed is a glass powder aggregate G3 as shown in FIG. The aggregate G3 is a green compact that is pre-pressed into a plate shape.

  As shown in FIG. 5, the second difference is that the laser beam LB is irradiated while pressing the assembly G <b> 3 against the molding surface 4 a of the mold 4. Specifically, the assembly G3 is sandwiched between the upper and lower sides by the molding die 4 and the pressing die 5, and the assembly G3 is pressed against the molding surface 4a of the molding die 4 by the pressing die 5. At this time, similarly to the first embodiment, the assembly G3 is irradiated with the laser LB through the molding die 4. Here, in this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 6, the molding surface 4a is formed with a plurality of grooves 4b constituting a fine pattern as in the first embodiment, but as in the second embodiment. A convex or concave curved surface may be formed.

  As shown in FIG. 6A, when the assembly G3 is irradiated with the laser LB through the molding die 4, a heating region H3 is generated in the assembly G3 by absorption of the laser LB, and the assembly G3 is softened in the heating region H3. (Or melt). Then, as shown in FIG. 6B, the softened heating region H3 deforms following the molding surface 4a of the molding die 4. As a result, the fine pattern of the molding surface 4a is transferred to the aggregate G3. In addition, in the heating area | region H3, the glass powder which comprises the aggregate G3 is fuse | melted, for example, it becomes transparent in the wavelength range of visible light.

  As shown in FIG. 6B, after the fine pattern is transferred to the aggregate G3, when the unfused region X3 in which the glass powders are not fused to each other remains in the aggregate G3, unfused You may perform separately the process which fuse | melts the glass powder of the area | region X3. As such a process, for example, a laser having a different wavelength that can be transmitted through the mold 4 is irradiated to the unfused region X3 through the mold 4, or a laser that can transmit through the pressing mold 5 is not transmitted through the pressing mold 5. The fused region X3 may be irradiated, or the aggregate G3 having the unfused region X3 may be sintered in a heating furnace or the like. When irradiating laser from the pressing die 5 side, a groove part constituting a fine pattern may be formed on the pressing surface of the pressing die 5. In this case, the fine pattern is transferred to both the front and back surfaces of the aggregate G3 by the molding surface 4a and the pressing surface.

  Further, when the aggregate G3 is thin, the entire aggregate G3 can be fused only by the irradiation of the laser LB so that the unfused region X3 does not remain. The thickness of the aggregate G3 is preferably 1 μm to 1000 μm.

  In FIG. 5, the molding die 4 is a lower die and the pressing die 5 is an upper die. However, the molding die 4 may be an upper die and the pressing die 5 may be a lower die. In this case, the laser beam LB is irradiated to the assembly G3 through the mold 4 from above.

  Moreover, in 1st Embodiment and 2nd Embodiment, the press type | mold like this embodiment is provided and laser LB is pressed, pressing the glass plates G1 and G2 with respect to the molding surfaces 1a and 3a of the shaping | molding die 1 and 3. FIG. You may make it irradiate.

(Fourth embodiment)
The glass processing apparatus and the processing method according to the fourth embodiment of the present invention are different from the first embodiment in that a fine pattern is transferred to the glass while continuously supplying the glass to be processed.

  As shown in FIG. 7, the glass processing apparatus according to this embodiment includes a supply source 6 for continuously supplying a plate-shaped glass ribbon G4, which is a glass to be processed, and a posture of the glass ribbon G4 from a vertical posture. The conversion roller 7 which converts into a horizontal posture, the 1st conveyor 8 and the 2nd conveyor 9 which convey the glass ribbon G4, and the winding apparatus 10 which winds up the glass ribbon G4 are provided. The second conveyor 9 may be omitted.

  The supply source 6 is not particularly limited as long as it continuously supplies the glass ribbon G4. In the example of illustration, as the supply source 6, the shaping | molding apparatus 11 and the glass roll 12 are illustrated, and the glass ribbon G4 is supplied from either of these. The thickness of the glass ribbon G4 is preferably 1 μm to 1000 μm.

  The forming apparatus 11 includes a formed body 13 for forming the glass ribbon G4 from the molten glass G4m by the overflow downdraw method. The molten glass G4m supplied to the molded body 13 overflows from the top portion 13a of the molded body 13, and the overflowed molten glass G4m passes along both side surfaces 13b exhibiting a cross-sectional wedge shape of the molded body 13 at the lower end. By joining, the glass ribbon G4 is continuously formed. Although not shown, the glass ribbon G4 is gradually cooled (annealed) in the space below the molded body 13.

  On the other hand, the glass roll 12 is obtained by winding a glass ribbon G4 around a core 12a. In this embodiment, in the glass roll 12, a protective sheet (not shown) formed of a resin or the like is disposed between the glass ribbons G4 opposed in the radial direction. That is, in the glass roll 12, these are wound around the core 12a together with the glass ribbon G4 and the protective sheet being stacked. The protective sheet is separated from the glass ribbon G4 when the glass ribbon G4 is unwound from the glass roll 12.

  The conversion roller 7 smoothly curves the vertical glass ribbon G4 supplied from the supply source 6 such as the molding device 11 or the glass roll 12 to convert it into a horizontal posture. The conversion roller 7 may be omitted.

  The first conveyor 8 provided on the lower side of the glass ribbon G4 includes a first conveyor belt 8a that functions as a mold and a laser irradiation device 8b. The first conveyor belt 8a can transmit the laser beam LB emitted from the laser irradiation device 8b, and the outer surface has a groove portion (not shown) that forms a fine pattern as described in the first embodiment. Is formed. The laser LB emitted from the laser irradiation device 8b is irradiated to the glass ribbon G4 supported on the first conveyance belt 8a through the first conveyance belt 8a.

  On the other hand, the second conveyor 9 provided on the upper side of the glass ribbon G4 includes a second conveyor belt 9a that functions as a pressing die. The second conveyor belt 9a presses the glass ribbon G4 supported on the first conveyor belt 8a from above to the first conveyor belt 8a side. In this state, the conveyor belts 8a and 9a are each driven to feed at the same speed in the a direction and the b direction in order to send the glass ribbon G4 to the downstream side.

  When the glass ribbon G4 is transported downstream by the first transport belt 8a and the second transport belt 9a, the glass ribbon G4 passes over the laser irradiation device 8b. Therefore, the laser LB is sequentially irradiated to the glass ribbon G4 through the first conveyance belt 8a. As a result, a heating region by laser LB irradiation is formed on the surface layer portion (or the surface layer portion and its vicinity) on the lower surface side of the glass ribbon G4, and the fine pattern formed on the outer surface of the first transport belt 8a is glass. Transferred to the lower surface of the ribbon G4.

  The winding device 10 winds the glass ribbon G4 to which the fine pattern has been transferred around the winding core 14a, and manufactures the glass roll 14. In this embodiment, the glass ribbon G4 is wound around the core 14a so that the transfer surface on which the fine pattern is transferred faces the inner peripheral surface. Thereby, the tensile stress which acts on the transfer surface is suppressed. In this embodiment, in the glass roll 14, a protective sheet (not shown) formed of a resin or the like is disposed between the glass ribbons G4 facing in the radial direction. The protective sheet is stacked on the glass ribbon G4 on the downstream side of the conveyors 8 and 9, and is wound around the core 14a together with the glass ribbon G4.

  In addition, when using the glass roll 12 as the supply source 6, the glass ribbon G4 pulled out from the glass roll 12 is conveyed in the horizontal direction with the glass roll 12 and the glass roll 14 disposed at substantially the same height. Alternatively, the glass roll 14 may be reached in a posture as it is.

  Further, the glass ribbon G4 to which the fine pattern has been transferred may be cut at predetermined lengths instead of being wound in a roll shape. In this case, glass plates are sequentially manufactured from the glass ribbon G4.

  Moreover, although the case where the 1st conveyance belt 8a of the 1st conveyor 8 was made into a shaping | molding die and the 2nd conveyance belt 9a of the 2nd conveyor 9 was made into a press type was demonstrated, the 1st conveyance belt 8a is a pressing type, and a 2nd conveyance belt. 9a may be a mold. In this case, the laser LB is applied to the glass ribbon G4 from the upper side through the second conveyance belt 9a.

  Further, the laser LB may be irradiated from both sides of the first conveyor belt 8a and the second conveyor belt 9a. In this case, you may form the groove part which comprises a fine pattern in each outer surface of the 1st conveying belt 8a and the 2nd conveying belt 9a.

  Moreover, although the case where the 1st conveyor 8 and the 2nd conveyor 9 were provided in the area | region which conveys the glass ribbon G4 to a horizontal direction was demonstrated, the 1st conveyor 8 and the 2nd conveyor 9 were provided to the area | region which conveys the glass ribbon G4 to a vertical direction. May be provided. In this case, the fine pattern is transferred to the glass ribbon G4 while conveying the glass ribbon G4 in the vertical direction.

  As mentioned above, although the glass processing apparatus and its manufacturing method which concern on embodiment of this invention were demonstrated, embodiment of this invention is not limited to this, A various change can be given in the range which does not deviate from the summary of this invention. Is possible.

  For example, in the above-described embodiment, the case where a fine pattern transfer process or a curved surface molding process (finishing process) is performed on glass using a molding die has been described. It can also be applied to processing.

1, 3, 4 Mold 1a, 3a, 4a Molding surface 1b, 4b Groove 2, 8b Laser irradiation device 5 Pressing die 6 Supply source 7 Conversion roller 8 First conveyor 8a First conveyor belt 9 Second conveyor 9a Second conveyor Belt 10 Winding device 11 Molding device 12 Glass roll 12a Core 13 Molded body 14 Glass roll 14a Core G1, G2 Glass plate G3 Aggregate G4 Glass ribbon H1, H2, H3 Heating region LB Laser

Claims (11)

A glass processing method for heating glass placed in a mold and molding the glass into a shape following a molding surface provided in the mold,
A method for processing glass, comprising: irradiating the glass with a laser that passes through the mold and is absorbed by the glass.   2. The glass processing method according to claim 1, wherein the molding surface has a groove portion constituting a fine pattern, and the fine pattern is transferred to the glass by the laser irradiation.   2. The glass processing method according to claim 1, wherein the molding surface is concave or convex, and a curved surface that follows the molding surface is formed on the glass by the laser irradiation. 3.   The glass processing method according to claim 1, wherein the laser is irradiated while pressing the glass against the molding surface.   The said glass is a glass plate, The processing method of the glass of any one of Claims 1-4 characterized by the above-mentioned.   The glass processing method according to claim 1, wherein the glass is an aggregate of glass powder. The glass processing method according to claim 1, wherein the laser is a CO ₂ laser.   8. The glass processing method according to claim 7, wherein the mold is made of one material selected from the group consisting of zinc selenide, zinc sulfide, gallium arsenide, and CVD diamond.   The glass processing method according to claim 1, wherein the laser is a mid-infrared laser or a near-infrared laser.   The mold is made of one material selected from the group consisting of silicon, germanium, sapphire, zinc selenide, zinc sulfide, gallium arsenide, CVD diamond and IR grade quartz glass, or mid-infrared and / or near-infrared. The glass processing method according to claim 9, wherein the glass processing method is made of transparent ceramics that transmit the glass. A glass processing apparatus comprising a forming die in which glass is disposed and a heating device for heating the glass, and forming the glass into a shape following a forming surface provided in the forming die,
The glass processing apparatus, wherein the heating apparatus is a laser irradiation apparatus that irradiates the glass with a laser that passes through the mold and is absorbed by the glass.

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