JP2020176032A - Device for manufacturing glass sheet - Google Patents

Abstract

To provide a device for manufacturing a glass sheet that can optimize a manufacturing process relatively immediately even when a change in production volume and a change in composition of a glass sheet occur.SOLUTION: A device for manufacturing a glass sheet includes: a clarification tank for clarifying molten glass; piping through which the molten glass discharged from the clarification tank flows; and cooling means. The cooling means cools the molten glass flowing through the piping with a cooling medium circulating in a cooling medium space that is separated from the outside.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

The present invention relates to a glass plate manufacturing apparatus.

In general, a glass plate manufacturing apparatus has a clarification portion for removing air bubbles contained in the molten glass and a molding portion for molding the molten glass. Both parts are connected to each other by a pipe for circulating molten glass or the like.

In order to maintain the quality of the manufactured glass plate, it is important to control the temperature of the molten glass distributed from the clarification part to the molding part. Therefore, a heating device such as a heater is provided in the vicinity of the pipe through which the molten glass flows.

By providing the heating device, even if the temperature of the molten glass drops in the process of flowing through the pipe, the pipe can be heated and the molten glass can be maintained at a desired temperature.

On the other hand, a cooling means for cooling the molten glass flowing through the pipe is not usually installed. This is because the cooling of the molten glass can be carried out by natural cooling, that is, by natural heat dissipation from the piping.

Japanese Patent Publication No. 2012-517398

In recent years, from the viewpoint of improving the manufacturing efficiency of glass plates, there has been a demand for a manufacturing apparatus capable of quickly responding to a sudden and / or drastic change in production volume and a change in the type of glass plate.

In this respect, for example, when the production amount of the glass plate is significantly reduced, the temperature of the pipe can be adjusted by the above-mentioned heating device. That is, even if the amount of molten glass flowing through the pipe decreases as the production amount of the glass plate decreases and the pipe does not rise to the required temperature, in this case, the temperature of the pipe can be raised by the heating device. ..

On the other hand, if the production amount of the glass plate rises significantly during the operation of the manufacturing apparatus, the amount of molten glass flowing through the pipe increases sharply, and the temperature of the pipe rises sharply. In this case, it may be difficult to sufficiently lower the temperature of the pipe by natural cooling. Further, as a result, it becomes difficult to lower the temperature of the molten glass to a desired temperature at the inlet of the molded portion.

In addition, when the composition of the glass plate to be manufactured is changed, the process temperature of the molten glass in the clarified portion and the molded portion also changes. Therefore, it may be necessary to quickly change the temperature of the pipe through which the molten glass flows to a predetermined condition.

However, natural cooling of piping may not be able to cope with such rapid temperature changes.

In addition, Patent Document 1 describes that in a glass plate manufacturing apparatus, cooling fins are provided in a cooling refractory tube upstream or downstream of a clarification tank.

However, although such cooling fins have the effect of increasing the surface area of the pipe, they are still insufficient from the viewpoint of the cooling effect. In particular, under the above-mentioned operating conditions in which the temperature of the pipe rises sharply during the operation of the manufacturing apparatus, there is a problem that it is difficult to effectively lower the temperature of the pipe even if the cooling fins are used.

As described above, there is still a demand for a manufacturing apparatus capable of quickly responding to a sudden and / or drastic change in production volume and a change in the composition of a glass plate.

The present invention has been made in view of such a background, and in the present invention, the manufacturing process can be optimized relatively quickly even when the production amount is changed and the composition of the glass plate is changed. It is an object of the present invention to provide a glass plate manufacturing apparatus.

In the present invention, it is a glass plate manufacturing apparatus.
A clarification tank that clarifies molten glass and
The piping through which the molten glass discharged from the clarification tank flows, and
Cooling means and
Have,
The cooling means provides a manufacturing apparatus configured to cool the molten glass flowing through the piping by a refrigerant flowing in a refrigerant space separated from the outside world.

INDUSTRIAL APPLICABILITY The present invention can provide a glass plate manufacturing apparatus capable of optimizing the manufacturing process relatively quickly even when the production amount is changed and the composition of the glass plate is changed.

It is a figure which showed roughly the structure of the glass plate manufacturing apparatus by one Embodiment of this invention. It is sectional drawing which shows another structural example of the cooling means schematically. It is a figure which showed schematic the structure of the glass plate manufacturing apparatus by another embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which showed roughly the structure of the glass plate manufacturing apparatus by still another embodiment of this invention.

Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

(Glass plate manufacturing apparatus according to one embodiment of the present invention)
A glass plate manufacturing apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG.

FIG. 1 schematically shows a glass plate manufacturing apparatus (hereinafter, referred to as “first manufacturing apparatus”) according to an embodiment of the present invention.

As shown in FIG. 1, the first manufacturing apparatus 100 has a melting portion 110, a clarifying portion 130, and a molding portion 180 from the upstream side of the apparatus.

The melting unit 110 is a section for melting the glass raw material to form the molten glass MG. The clarification section 130 is a section for removing the gas component contained in the molten glass MG. The molding unit 180 is a section for forming the molten glass MG to form the glass ribbon GR.

Further, although not shown in FIG. 1, the first manufacturing apparatus 100 further includes a slow cooling portion for slowly cooling the glass ribbon GR formed by the molding portion 180 and a cutting portion for cutting the glass ribbon GR. Can have.

The melting unit 110 has a melting furnace 112 that melts a glass raw material to form molten glass.

The clarification unit 130 has a clarification tank 132 that removes a gas component from the molten glass MG.

The clarification tank 132 is connected to the melting furnace 112 by a flow passage 120, which enables the flow of molten glass MG from the melting furnace 112 to the clarification tank 132.

The molding unit 180 has a bathtub 182 in which the molten metal MM is housed. The molten glass MG supplied to the molding unit 180 is cooled during transportation on the molten metal MM to form a glass ribbon GR.

A pipe 140 is provided between the clarification tank 132 and the bathtub 182. The molten glass MG discharged from the clarification section 130 is supplied to the molding section 180 by the pipe 140.

The pipe 140 is made of, for example, a precious metal or heat-resistant ceramics. As the noble metal, platinum (including platinum alloy), gold (including gold alloy), iridium (including iridium alloy), rhodium (including rhodium alloy) and the like may be used. Examples of the heat-resistant ceramics include refractory bricks, alumina-based ceramics, and zirconia-based ceramics.

Although not shown in FIG. 1, a heating device may be provided in the vicinity of the flow passage 120 and the pipe 140.

When manufacturing a glass plate using such a first manufacturing apparatus 100, first, a glass raw material is supplied to the melting unit 110. The glass raw material is melted in the melting furnace 112 to become molten glass MG. The molten glass MG is supplied to the clarification section 130 via the flow passage 120.

The molten glass MG supplied to the clarification section 130 is heated to a desired temperature in the clarification tank 132.

Temperature of the molten glass MG in the fining vessel 132, i.e. fining temperature _{T C} is not particularly limited, for example, in the range of 1100 ° C. 1750 ° C.. Fining temperature _{T C} is preferably in the range of 1500 ° C. to 1650 ° C..

To heat the molten glass MG clarified temperature T _C in the refining unit 130 is to remove the gas components contained in the molten glass MG efficiently. That is, normally, the solubility of a gas component such as oxygen tends to decrease as the temperature of the molten glass MG increases. Therefore, by raising the temperature of the molten glass MG, the gas component contained in the molten glass MG can be efficiently removed.

The molten glass MG may be preheated by a heating device (not shown) before being supplied to the clarification tank 132, that is, in the flow passage 120.

Next, the degassed molten glass MG is supplied to the molding unit 180 through the pipe 140.

The bathtub 182 of the molding unit 180 contains a molten metal MM such as molten tin in advance. Therefore, the molten glass MG supplied to the molding unit 180 is installed on the molten metal MM. After that, the molten glass MG moves on the molten metal MM from the upstream to the downstream of the bathtub 182, and is formed into a glass ribbon GR in the process.

The temperature of the molten glass MG at the inlet of the molding unit 180 varies depending on the glass composition and the like, but is, for example, in the range of 700 ° C. to 1500 ° C. This temperature is preferably in the range of 800 ° C to 1450 ° C.

When the temperature at the inlet of the molded portion 180 of the molten glass MG is lower than the above range, the pipe 140 may be heated by a heating device (not shown).

After that, the glass ribbon GR is carried out from the outlet of the molding section 180, carried into a slow cooling section (not shown), and slowly cooled. Further, the slowly cooled glass ribbon GR is cut to a predetermined size by a cutting machine of a cutting portion (not shown).

In the first manufacturing apparatus 100, the glass plate can be manufactured by such a method.

By the way, during the production of glass plates, abrupt and / or drastic changes in production volume may be required. However, with conventional manufacturing equipment, it is often difficult to adjust the process conditions to conditions suitable for the production of the modified glass plate.

For example, when the production amount of the glass plate is reduced, the amount of molten glass flowing through the pipe is reduced, and the temperature of the pipe may not rise sufficiently. However, in such a situation, the pipe can be heated to a predetermined temperature by heating the pipe using a heating device installed in the vicinity of the pipe. Therefore, in this case, the temperature of the molten glass can be adjusted relatively quickly.

On the other hand, when the production amount of the glass plate is increased, the amount of molten glass flowing through the pipe increases and the temperature of the pipe rises. In such a situation, it may be difficult to sufficiently lower the temperature of the molten glass flowing through the pipe and the inside by only natural cooling from the pipe. In particular, when the production volume is rapidly and / or significantly increased, it becomes extremely difficult to reduce the molten glass to a predetermined temperature by natural cooling.

In addition, when the type of glass plate to be manufactured is changed, the process temperature of the molten glass in the clarified portion and the molded portion also changes. Therefore, it may be necessary to quickly change the temperature of the pipe through which the molten glass flows to a predetermined condition. However, as described above, natural cooling of the pipe may make it impossible to quickly adjust the temperature of the molten glass.

On the other hand, the first manufacturing apparatus 100 has a feature that the cooling means 150 is provided around the pipe 140.

In the present application, the "cooling means" means all means capable of cooling the molten glass MG flowing in the piping by the refrigerant flowing in the refrigerant space separated from the outside world. Further, such a refrigerant is not particularly limited as long as it can be used properly in the installation environment. The refrigerant may be, for example, water (or water vapor) or air.

For example, in the example shown in FIG. 1, the cooling means 150 is composed of a spiral pipe 152 wound around a pipe 140, and a refrigerant is circulated inside the spiral pipe 152.

In the first manufacturing apparatus 100, such a cooling means 150 can effectively cool the pipe 140 and the molten glass MG flowing inside the pipe 140.

Further, the cooling means 150 can freely adjust the flow velocity and / or the flow rate of the refrigerant supplied to the refrigerant space. Therefore, the molten glass MG can be accurately cooled depending on the situation.

For example, when the production amount of the glass plate is slightly increased, the amount of molten glass MG flowing through the pipe 140 increases, but the amount of increase is small. Therefore, the temperature of the pipe 140 does not rise so significantly. In such a case, the pipe 140 can be properly cooled by slightly increasing the amount of the refrigerant circulated by the cooling means.

On the other hand, when the production amount of the glass plate increases significantly, the amount of molten glass MG flowing through the pipe 140 increases remarkably, so that the temperature of the pipe 140 rises sharply. However, even in such a case, the pipe 140 can be appropriately cooled by sufficiently increasing the flow velocity and the flow rate of the refrigerant.

In this way, when the cooling means 150 is used, the piping 140 and the molten glass MG suitable for the situation can be cooled by adjusting the flow velocity and the flow rate of the refrigerant.

Due to the effect of such cooling means 150, in the first manufacturing apparatus 100, even if a sudden and / or drastic change in the production amount of the glass plate and a change in the type of the glass plate occur, the pipe 140 is desired. It can be adjusted to temperature relatively quickly. Further, as a result, in the first manufacturing apparatus 100, the manufacturing process can be optimized relatively quickly, and thereby the manufacturing efficiency of the glass plate can be improved.

(About cooling means 150)
In the example shown in FIG. 1, the cooling means 150 has a spiral pipe 152 wound around the pipe 140.

The spiral tube 152 is made of, for example, a precious metal or heat-resistant ceramics. As the noble metal, for example, platinum (including platinum alloy), gold (including gold alloy), iridium (including iridium alloy), rhodium (including rhodium alloy) and the like can be used as the noble metal.

In the example shown in FIG. 1, the spiral pipe 152 is directly wound around the pipe 140. However, the spiral pipe 152 may be wound around the pipe 140 via inclusions installed on the outer periphery of the pipe 140.

When the spiral tube 152 is wound directly around the pipe 140, a large heat exchange may occur locally at the contact point between the two. When such a large heat exchange occurs, the pipe 140 may be deformed. However, when the spiral tube 152 is wound through inclusions, such local heat exchange is avoided.

The inclusions may be a thin sheet-like heat-resistant member.

Here, the spiral tube 152 shown in FIG. 1 is merely an example of the cooling means 150. It should be noted that the structure of the cooling means 150 is not particularly limited as long as the molten glass MG flowing through the pipe 140 can be appropriately cooled.

Hereinafter, another configuration example of the cooling means 150 will be described with reference to FIG.

FIG. 2 schematically shows a cross section of another configuration example of the cooling means 150.

As shown in FIG. 2, the cooling means 150 is configured as a part of the double pipe structure 160.

Specifically, the double pipe structure 160 has an inner pipe 162 and an outer pipe 164. Further, a first flow path 166 is formed inside the inner pipe 162, and a second flow path 168 is formed between the inner pipe 162 and the outer pipe 164.

In such a double pipe structure 160, the molten glass MG or the refrigerant for the cooling means 150 is circulated in the first flow path 166, and the second flow path 168 is the opposite of the first flow path 166. The fluid can be circulated. Therefore, one of the inner pipe 162 and the outer pipe 164 can be used as the pipe 140, and the other can be used as the cooling means 150.

For example, when the inner pipe 162 is used as the pipe 140 through which the molten glass MG flows through the first flow path 166 and the outer pipe 164 is used as the cooling means 150 through which the refrigerant flows through the second flow path 168, the refrigerant may be used. , The molten glass MG can be cooled efficiently.

In the double tube structure 160, the inner tube 162 and / or the outer tube 164 may be made of a noble metal, heat-resistant ceramics, or the like. As the precious metal, the above-mentioned materials can be used.

(Glass plate manufacturing apparatus according to another embodiment of the present invention)
Next, a glass plate manufacturing apparatus according to another embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG.

FIG. 3 shows a glass plate manufacturing apparatus (hereinafter, referred to as “second manufacturing apparatus”) according to another embodiment of the present invention.

As shown in FIG. 3, the second manufacturing apparatus 200 has the same configuration as the first manufacturing apparatus 100 shown in FIG. 1 described above.

Therefore, in the second manufacturing apparatus 200, a reference numeral obtained by adding 100 to the reference numeral shown in FIG. 1 is used for the same part or member as that of the first manufacturing apparatus 100. For example, the second manufacturing apparatus 200 has a melting unit 210, a clarification unit 230, and a molding unit 280.

However, the second manufacturing apparatus 200 is different from the first manufacturing apparatus 100 in that the stirring portion 270 is provided between the clarification portion 230 and the molding portion 280.

The stirring unit 270 is a section for agitating the molten glass MG to homogenize the molten glass MG. Therefore, the stirring unit 270 has a stirrer 272 capable of stirring the molten glass MG. The configuration of the stirrer 272 is not particularly limited, and a stirrer conventionally used may be used as the stirrer 272.

A first pipe 240 is provided between the clarification tank 232 and the stirrer 272. The molten glass MG is supplied from the clarification tank 232 to the stirrer 272 via the first pipe 240.

A second pipe 275 is provided between the stirrer 272 and the bathtub 282. The molten glass MG discharged from the stirring unit 270 is supplied to the molding unit 280 by the second pipe 275.

The first pipe 240 and / or the second pipe 275 is made of, for example, a precious metal or heat-resistant ceramics. As the noble metal, platinum (including platinum alloy), gold (including gold alloy), iridium (including iridium alloy), rhodium (including rhodium alloy) and the like may be used.

Regarding the operation of the second manufacturing apparatus 200, the above-mentioned description regarding the first manufacturing apparatus 100 can be referred to. Therefore, it will not be described further here.

Here, in the second manufacturing apparatus 200, the cooling means 250 is provided in the first pipe 240.

In the example shown in FIG. 3, the cooling means 250 has a spiral pipe 252. However, the configuration of the cooling means 250 is not particularly limited. The cooling means 250 may be composed of, for example, a double pipe as shown in FIG.

It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that the same effect as that of the first manufacturing apparatus 100 described above can be obtained in the second manufacturing apparatus 200 having such a cooling means 250.

That is, also in the second manufacturing apparatus 200, the molten glass MG flowing through the first pipe 240 can be quickly cooled by the cooling means 250. Therefore, in the second manufacturing apparatus 200, the pipe 240 is adjusted to a desired temperature relatively quickly even if the production amount of the glass plate is suddenly and / or drastically changed and the type of the glass plate is changed. it can. Further, as a result, in the second manufacturing apparatus 200, the manufacturing process can be optimized relatively quickly, and thereby the manufacturing efficiency of the glass plate can be improved.

(Glass plate manufacturing apparatus according to still another embodiment of the present invention)
Next, with reference to FIG. 4, a glass plate manufacturing apparatus according to still another embodiment of the present invention will be described.

FIG. 4 shows a glass plate manufacturing apparatus (hereinafter, referred to as “third manufacturing apparatus”) according to still another embodiment of the present invention.

As shown in FIG. 4, the third manufacturing apparatus 300 has the same configuration as the second manufacturing apparatus 200 shown in FIG. 3 described above.

Therefore, in the third manufacturing apparatus 300, a reference numeral obtained by adding 100 to the reference numeral shown in FIG. 3 is used for the same part or member as that of the second manufacturing apparatus 200. For example, the third manufacturing apparatus 300 has a melting unit 310, a clarifying unit 330, a stirring unit 370, and a molding unit 380.

However, in the third manufacturing apparatus 300, the installation position of the cooling means 350 is different from that of the second manufacturing apparatus 200. That is, as shown in FIG. 4, the cooling means 350 is provided in the second pipe 375 that connects the stirrer 372 and the bathtub 382.

Generally, in the stirring unit 370, the higher the temperature of the molten glass MG contained inside the stirrer 372, that is, the lower the glass viscosity, the easier it is to carry out the homogenization treatment. Therefore, the temperature of the molten glass MG in the stirrer 372 is preferably as high as possible.

In this respect, in the third manufacturing apparatus 300, unlike the second manufacturing apparatus 200, the cooling means 350 is arranged on the downstream side of the stirring unit 370. Therefore, in the third manufacturing apparatus 300, the temperature of the molten glass MG supplied to the stirring unit 370 is unlikely to decrease, and a more efficient homogenization treatment can be performed.

In the example shown in FIG. 4, the cooling means 350 has a spiral tube 352. However, the configuration of the cooling means 350 is not particularly limited. The cooling means 350 may be composed of, for example, a double pipe as shown in FIG.

It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that a third manufacturing apparatus 300 having such a cooling means 350 can obtain the same effects as those of the first manufacturing apparatus 100 and the second manufacturing apparatus 200 described above. ..

That is, also in the third manufacturing apparatus 300, the molten glass MG flowing through the second pipe 375 can be quickly cooled by the cooling means 350. Therefore, in the third manufacturing apparatus 300, even if a sudden and / or drastic change in the production amount of the glass plate and a change in the type of the glass plate occur, the second pipe 375 is relatively kept at a desired temperature. Can be adjusted quickly. Further, as a result, in the third manufacturing apparatus 300, the manufacturing process can be optimized relatively quickly, and thereby the manufacturing efficiency of the glass plate can be improved.

As described above, one embodiment of the present invention has been described by taking the first manufacturing apparatus 100 to the third manufacturing apparatus 300 as an example.

However, these configurations are merely examples, and the glass plate manufacturing apparatus according to the present invention may have a configuration different from these configurations.

For example, in the second manufacturing apparatus 200 shown in FIG. 3, the cooling means 250 is installed around the first pipe 240. However, unlike this, the cooling means 250 may be installed in both the first pipe 240 and the second pipe 275.

Further, in the first manufacturing apparatus 100 to the third manufacturing apparatus 300, the melting furnace and the clarification tank are shown as separate members separated from each other and connected by a distribution pipe. However, unlike this, the melting furnace and the clarification tank may have a structure directly connected to each other or an integrated structure. In this case, the distribution pipe becomes unnecessary.

In addition to this, various modifications can be made without departing from the present invention.

100 First manufacturing equipment 110 Melting part 112 Melting furnace 120 Flow passage 130 Clarifying part 132 Clarifying tank 140 Piping 150 Cooling means 152 Spiral pipe 160 Double pipe structure 162 Inner pipe 164 Outer pipe 166 First flow path 168 Second Flow path 180 Molding part 182 Bathtub 200 Second manufacturing equipment 210 Melting part 212 Melting furnace 220 Flow passage 230 Clarifying part 232 Clarifying tank 240 First pipe 250 Cooling means 252 Spiral pipe 270 Stirring part 272 Stirrer 275 Second pipe 280 Molding part 282 Bathtub 300 Third manufacturing equipment 310 Melting part 312 Melting furnace 320 Flow passage 330 Clarifying part 332 Clarifying tank 340 First pipe 350 Cooling means 352 Spiral pipe 370 Stirring part 372 Stirrer 375 Second pipe 380 Molding Part 382 Bathtub GR Glass Ribbon MG Molten Glass MM Molten Metal

Claims (9)

It is a glass plate manufacturing device
A clarification tank that clarifies molten glass and
The piping through which the molten glass discharged from the clarification tank flows, and
Cooling means and
Have,
The cooling means is a manufacturing apparatus configured to cool the molten glass flowing through the pipe with a refrigerant circulated in a refrigerant space separated from the outside world. The manufacturing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the pipe has a precious metal or heat-resistant ceramics. The cooling means constitutes a double pipe together with the pipe, and forms a double pipe.
The manufacturing apparatus according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the molten glass flows inside the inner tube of the double tube, and the refrigerant flows between the outer tube and the inner tube of the double tube. The manufacturing apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the outer tube has a precious metal or heat-resistant ceramics. The manufacturing apparatus according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the cooling means includes a spiral pipe wound around the pipe. The manufacturing apparatus according to claim 5, wherein the spiral tube has a noble metal. The manufacturing apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein the refrigerant is air or water. The manufacturing apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 7, further comprising a heating means for heating the pipe. Further, a stirring chamber for stirring the molten glass is provided downstream of the clarification tank.
The cooling means
(I) Downstream of the stirring chamber,
(Ii) The manufacturing apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 8, which is installed between the clarification tank and the stirring chamber, or (iii) both the (i) and the (ii).

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