JP6582670B2 - Glass article manufacturing apparatus and glass article manufacturing method - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a glass article manufacturing apparatus and a glass article manufacturing method.

  Conventionally, in the production of a plate-like glass article (glass ribbon) by the downdraw method, a glass provided with a forming furnace for forming glass ribbon by flowing down molten glass and a slow cooling furnace for gradually cooling the glass ribbon flowing down from the forming furnace An apparatus for manufacturing an article is known (see, for example, Patent Document 1).

  In addition, on the upstream side of the molding furnace, the molten glass transferred from the melting furnace through various processes is finally supplied from the supply pipe at the lower end of the pot to the introduction pipe on the molding furnace side (for example, patent) Reference 2).

International Publication No. 2014/51069 JP 2012-36086 A

  By the way, the casings of the forming furnace and the slow cooling furnace are integrally or separately connected to each other in the vertical direction, and are made of metal and heavy. Therefore, the casings of the forming furnace and the slow cooling furnace are installed with respect to the strong beam of the building.

  On the other hand, the casings of the forming furnace and the slow cooling furnace are in a high temperature state during the production from the preheating before the production of the glass ribbon. That is, the casings of the forming furnace and the slow cooling furnace are thermally expanded due to a high temperature, and the amount of expansion of the casing of the forming furnace and the slow cooling furnace at this time varies depending on the individual. And if the housing | casing of a shaping furnace and a slow cooling furnace expand | swells, the height of the various apparatuses attached to this housing will fluctuate. For example, the height of a molding furnace fixed to the casing and a large-diameter introduction pipe (large-diameter pipe in Reference 2) extending from the compact varies.

  Therefore, a molded body in the molding furnace, in this case, a large-diameter introduction pipe (in literature 2, a large-diameter pipe) extending from the molded body, and a supply pipe (in literature 2, in which the tip portion is inserted into this introduction pipe , Small-diameter pipes) may not have the desired positional relationship, particularly the positional relationship in the height direction with reference to the beam of the building. If the heights of the supply pipe and the introduction pipe are not properly controlled in this way, there is a concern that a stagnant layer will be generated in the molten glass between the supply pipe and the introduction pipe, which may reduce the quality of the glass ribbon. Connected. There is also a concern that the supply pipe and the introduction pipe may come into contact with each other and break.

  The present invention has been made in order to solve the above-described problems, and the object of the present invention is to provide a glass article manufacturing apparatus capable of suppressing the influence of thermal expansion of a casing of a molding furnace or a slow cooling furnace, and a glass article. It is to provide a manufacturing method.

  An apparatus for manufacturing a glass article that solves the above problems includes a furnace in which a glass ribbon is flow-down molded or gradually cooled from above to below, and the furnace is supported by the support of the furnace casing by the support device. In the glass article manufacturing apparatus, the support device includes a height adjustment mechanism capable of adjusting a height of the furnace.

  According to this configuration, the height adjustment mechanism is provided in the support device that supports the furnace (furnace casing) in which the glass ribbon is flow-down formed or gradually cooled, and the height of the furnace can be adjusted. . This makes it possible to set the molding furnace and the slow cooling furnace to a desired height at any time even when the furnace expands due to a high temperature during the manufacturing from preheating before manufacturing the glass ribbon. Moreover, each furnace can be easily set to a desired height even when the forming furnace or the slow cooling furnace contracts due to a change in operating conditions or the like.

  In the apparatus for manufacturing a glass article, the furnace includes a forming furnace that performs the flow-down forming of the glass ribbon and a slow cooling furnace that performs the slow cooling of the glass ribbon, and the support device and the height adjustment. The mechanism is preferably provided in each of the molding furnace and the slow cooling furnace.

According to this configuration, the forming furnace and the slow cooling furnace are independently supported by the support devices, and the height adjustment mechanism can individually adjust the height of the forming furnace and the slow cooling furnace.
In the glass article manufacturing apparatus, it is preferable that a heat-resistant elastic member is interposed between a lower end opening of the furnace casing of the forming furnace and an upper end opening of the furnace casing of the slow cooling furnace.

  According to this configuration, in the manufacturing apparatus in which the forming furnace and the slow cooling furnace are independently supported and individual height adjustment is performed, the lower end opening of the furnace casing of the forming furnace and the upper end opening of the furnace casing of the slow cooling furnace A heat-resistant expansion and contraction member is interposed between the two openings, and the gap can be closed while absorbing fluctuations in the gap between the openings.

  In the glass article manufacturing apparatus, the height adjusting mechanism preferably includes a screw mechanism using a bolt, and is configured to be capable of adjusting the height of the furnace in accordance with the tightening or loosening of the bolt.

  According to this configuration, the height adjustment mechanism includes a screw mechanism using a bolt, and the height of the furnace can be adjusted by tightening or tightening the bolt. Furthermore, using a screw mechanism can contribute to simplification of the configuration of the height adjustment mechanism.

In the glass article manufacturing apparatus, the furnace is preferably supported by a screw mechanism using the bolt.
According to this configuration, since the screw adjustment mechanism (height adjustment mechanism) using the bolt also serves as a support for the furnace, it can contribute to simplification of the configuration of the support device including the height adjustment mechanism.

A method for manufacturing a glass article that solves the above-described problems produces a glass article using the glass article manufacturing apparatus.
According to this method, a glass article is manufactured by a glass article manufacturing apparatus in which a support device that supports a furnace (furnace casing) in which glass ribbon is formed or cooled slowly is provided with a height adjusting mechanism. Therefore, the glass article can be produced in a molding furnace or a slow cooling furnace set to a desired height.

  According to the glass article manufacturing apparatus of the present invention, it is possible to reduce the influence of thermal expansion of a casing of a forming furnace or a slow cooling furnace. Moreover, according to the manufacturing method of a glass article, the influence by the thermal expansion of the housing | casing of a shaping furnace or a slow cooling furnace is suppressed small, and a glass article can be manufactured.

(A) is a front view which shows typically the manufacturing apparatus of the glass article in embodiment, (b) is the end elevation.

Hereinafter, an embodiment of a glass article manufacturing apparatus and a glass article manufacturing method will be described with reference to the drawings.
As shown in FIGS. 1A and 1B, the glass article manufacturing apparatus 11 includes a forming furnace 20 and a slow cooling furnace from upstream to downstream in the conveying direction of the glass ribbon GR, that is, from above to below. They are arranged in the order of 30.

  The molding furnace 20 located at the upper part of the glass article manufacturing apparatus 11 includes a molding unit 22 and a cooling roller (not shown) in a molding furnace casing 21. The molding furnace casing 21 has a substantially rectangular tube shape with the upper surface closed and the lower surface opened. The forming part 22 is a forming part having a structure for forming the glass ribbon GR using the overflow downdraw method. The molding part 22 receives supply of the molten glass G from an introduction pipe 22a extending laterally.

  Here, on the upstream side of the forming furnace 20, the molten glass G transferred from the melting furnace (not shown) through various processes is finally supplied from the supply pipe 10 a provided at the lower end of the pot 10 to the introduction pipe 22 a. Yes. In this case, the introduction pipe 22a has a larger diameter than the supply pipe 10a, and the leading end of the supply pipe 10a is inserted into the introduction side opening 22b of the introduction pipe 22a. Then, by receiving the supply of the molten glass G from the introduction pipe 22a, a plate-shaped (strip-shaped) glass ribbon GR is continuously formed downward so as to overflow from the upper portion of the molding portion 22, and a cooling roller (not shown) Is conveyed downward.

  The slow cooling furnace 30 located in the lower part of the molding furnace 20 includes a plurality of transport rollers (not shown) in a slow cooling furnace casing 31 provided continuously with the molding furnace 20. The slow cooling furnace casing 31 has a substantially rectangular cylindrical shape with an upper surface and a lower surface opened. The slow cooling furnace 30 cools the glass ribbon GR in a casing 31 with a desired temperature gradient, and a conveying roller (not shown) applies an appropriate tension to the glass ribbon GR to flatten the glass ribbon GR downward. Transport toward.

  In such a forming furnace 20 and a slow cooling furnace 30, the forming furnace casing 21 and the slow cooling furnace casing 31 are strong beams such as H steel provided in a building (not shown) that houses the glass article manufacturing apparatus 11 and the like. 41 and 51 are installed. The upper beam 41 is located at the lower part of the molding furnace casing 21, and the lower beam 51 is located at the lower part of the slow cooling furnace 30. The upper surfaces 41a and 51a of the beams 41 and 51 have horizontal support surfaces.

  A plurality of support pieces 23a are provided on the side surface of the molding furnace housing 21, and support bolts 23b are screwed into the support pieces 23a from above to below. The front ends of the support bolts 23b are in contact with the upper surface 41a of the upper beam 41, and the forming furnace housing 21 is supported in the standing posture through the support bolts 23b and the support pieces 23a. In other words, the supporting device such as the internal molding portion 22 and a cooling roller (not shown) is supported by the support of the molding furnace casing 21.

  Similarly, a plurality of support pieces 32a are also provided on the side surface of the slow cooling furnace casing 31, and support bolts 32b are screwed into the support pieces 32a from above to below. The tip of each support bolt 32b is in contact with the upper surface 51a of the lower beam 51, and the slow cooling furnace casing 31 is supported in an upright posture through each support bolt 32b and the support piece 32a. That is, the support roller of the slow cooling furnace housing 31 supports a conveyance roller (not shown) inside.

  Further, by performing screwing operation and screwing operation of the support bolts 23b and 32b provided in association with the respective casings 21 and 31, the tips of the support bolts 23b and 32b from below the support pieces 23a and 32a. The protruding amount of the part changes. That is, the height direction positions of the forming furnace casing 21 and the slow cooling furnace casing 31 can be adjusted with reference to the upper surfaces 41a and 51a of the beams 41 and 51, respectively.

  Incidentally, between the lower end opening of the forming furnace casing 21 and the upper end opening of the slow cooling furnace casing 31, a rectangular annular heat-resistant expansion / contraction member 61 along both openings is interposed. The heat-resistant elastic member 61 includes, for example, a fiber blanket 62, and is mounted in such a manner that a plurality of the blankets 62 are stacked in the vertical direction so as to be slightly contracted at both openings. The blanket 62 may be stacked in the horizontal direction. Further, as the heat-resistant elastic member 61, the outer periphery of the fiber blanket 62 may be further covered with a glass cloth 63 to improve the airtightness. Such a heat-resistant expansion and contraction member 61 closes the gap while absorbing fluctuations in the gap between the openings during thermal expansion of the forming furnace casing 21 and the slow cooling furnace casing 31. In other words, it is preferable that the gap between the openings of the forming furnace casing 21 and the slow cooling furnace casing 31 is within a desired range in order to sufficiently exhibit the function of the heat-resistant elastic member 61.

  In such a glass article manufacturing apparatus 11, the forming furnace casing 21 and the slow cooling furnace casing 31 are in a high-temperature state during the manufacturing from the preheating before the manufacturing of the glass ribbon GR. That is, since the forming furnace casing 21 and the slow cooling furnace casing 31 are made of metal such as stainless steel (SUS) or nickel alloy, they thermally expand at a high temperature. The amount of swelling varies from individual to individual.

  In the present embodiment, in consideration of this, height position adjusting means for adjusting the height positions of the forming furnace casing 21 and the slow cooling furnace casing 31 to the appropriate positions by changing the screwing degree of the support bolts 23b and 32b is added. As a result, the height relationship between the introduction pipe 22a on the molding furnace 20 side and the supply pipe 10a on the pot 10 side can be particularly adjusted. Therefore, the generation of the stagnant layer in the molten glass G is suppressed between the supply pipe 10a and the introduction pipe 22a, and the quality of the glass ribbon GR can be improved. Further, damage due to contact between the supply pipe 10a and the introduction pipe 22a can be prevented in advance.

Next, characteristic effects of the present embodiment will be described.
(1) The supporting pieces 23a and 32a and the supporting bolts 23b and 32b that support the forming furnace 20 (casing 21) in which the glass ribbon GR is flow-down formed and the slow cooling furnace 30 (housing 31) in which slow cooling is performed are supported. In addition to functioning as a device, it functions as a height adjustment mechanism, and can adjust the height of each furnace 20, 30 by screwing and unscrewing the support bolts 23b, 32b. Thereby, even if the furnaces 20 and 30 expand during the production from the preheating before the production of the glass ribbon GR in particular, the molding furnace 20 and the slow cooling furnace 30 are sometimes set to a desired height. Can do.

  (2) The forming furnace 20 and the slow cooling furnace 30 are independently supported by supporting devices (support bolts 23b, 32b, etc.), and the height adjusting mechanism individually raises the forming furnace 20 and the slow cooling furnace 30. Adjustments can be made.

  (3) In the glass article manufacturing apparatus 11 of this embodiment in which the forming furnace 20 and the slow cooling furnace 30 are independently supported and individual height adjustment is performed, the lower end opening of the furnace casing 21 of the forming furnace 20 A heat-resistant expansion and contraction member 61 is interposed between the upper end opening of the furnace casing 31 of the slow cooling furnace 30, and the gap can be closed while absorbing the change in the gap between the two openings.

(4) Since the height adjustment mechanism includes a screw mechanism using the bolts 23b and 32b, it can contribute to simplification of the structure of the mechanism.
(5) Since the bolts 23b and 32b that perform height adjustment also serve as support for the furnaces 20 and 30, it is possible to contribute to simplification of the configuration of the support device including the height adjustment mechanism.

In addition, you may change the said embodiment as follows.
In the above embodiment, the two furnaces, that is, the casings 21 and 31 of the molding furnace 20 and the slow cooling furnace 30 are separated, but the casings of the molding furnace 20 and the slow cooling furnace 30 may be integrated. When the casing of the molding furnace 20 and the slow cooling furnace 30 is integrated and sufficient rigidity and strength can be obtained, only by the support mechanism (support pieces 23a, 32a and support bolts 23b, 32b) provided in one of the casings. These may be supported.

  In the above embodiment, the height of the forming furnace 20 and the slow cooling furnace 30 is adjusted by the support bolts 23b and 32b (screw mechanism), but a mechanism for adjusting the height other than the screw mechanism may be used. For example, a mechanism such as a fluid-operated jack mechanism, a rack jack mechanism, or a pantograph jack mechanism may be used.

  In the above embodiment, the support bolts 23b and 32b for adjusting the height of the molding furnace 20 and the slow cooling furnace 30 also serve as a support, but the bolt (screw mechanism) does not have a function to support, and simply the molding furnace 20 and the slow cooling furnace. The structure which functions only to 30 height adjustments may be sufficient.

  -The arrangement position of the support pieces 23a and 32a in each housing | casing 21 and 31 of the shaping furnace 20 and the slow cooling furnace 30 shown to the said embodiment and drawing is an example, and may be set to arbitrary positions. For example, the support pieces 23a and 32a may be arranged at the upper end of each casing, or the support pieces 23a and 32a may be arranged at the lower end of each casing.

  In the above embodiment, the case where the forming furnace 20 and the slow cooling furnace 30 are supported using the support pieces 23a and 32a and the support bolts 23b and 32b on the basis of the beams 41 and 51 and the like has been shown as an example. If the height of the slow cooling furnace 30 can be adjusted, the support method may be arbitrarily modified. For example, the molding furnace 20 and the slow cooling furnace 30 may be supported by being hung from a beam positioned above the molding furnace 20. For example, the molding furnace 20 and the slow cooling furnace 30 may be suspended using a joint member having an expansion / contraction mechanism, or may be suspended using a chain member or a wire member.

  In the above embodiment, the heat-resistant expansion / contraction member 61 is interposed between the molding furnace 20 and the slow cooling furnace 30, but the heat-resistant expansion / contraction member 61 may be other than the fiber blanket 62 and the glass cloth 63, and the molding furnace casing 21 and the slow cooling furnace casing 31 may be abutted or omitted.

  In the above-described embodiment, the case where the auxiliary device such as the internal molding portion 22 or a cooling roller (not shown) is supported by the support of the molding furnace housing 21 is exemplified. It is good also as a structure supported separately from 21. FIG. For example, the cooling roller, the molding furnace casing 21 and the molding unit 22 may be individually supported.

  DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 11 ... Manufacturing apparatus of glass articles, 20 ... Molding furnace (furnace), 21 ... Molding furnace housing (furnace housing), 30 ... Slow cooling furnace (furnace), 31 ... Slow cooling furnace housing (furnace housing), 23a, 32a ... Support piece (support device), 23b, 32b ... support bolt (bolt, support device, height adjustment mechanism), 61 ... heat-resistant elastic member, G ... molten glass, GR ... glass ribbon.

Claims (5)

A glass article manufacturing apparatus comprising a furnace in which a glass ribbon is flow-down-formed or gradually cooled from above to be supported, and the furnace is supported by the support of the furnace casing by a support apparatus,
The support device includes a height adjustment mechanism capable of adjusting the height of the furnace ,
Each of the furnaces includes a forming furnace that performs down-flow forming of the glass ribbon, and a slow cooling furnace that performs slow cooling of the glass ribbon,
The molding furnace is installed with respect to the upper beam located at the lower part of the molding furnace,
The slow cooling furnace is installed with respect to the lower beam located in the lower part of the slow cooling furnace,
The apparatus for manufacturing a glass article, wherein the supporting device and the height adjusting mechanism are provided in each of the forming furnace and the slow cooling furnace . Between the upper opening of the furnace casing of the annealing furnace and the lower end opening portion of the forming furnace furnace casing, the production of glass article according to claim 1, characterized in that heat-resistant elastic member is interposed apparatus. It said height adjusting mechanism includes a screw mechanism using a bolt, according to claim 1 or claim 2, characterized in that it is adjustably configured the height of the furnace according to the gradual tightening of the bolt Glass article manufacturing equipment. The said furnace is supported by the screw mechanism using the said volt | bolt, The manufacturing apparatus of the glass article of Claim 3 characterized by the above-mentioned. A glass article is manufactured using the glass article manufacturing apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 4 , wherein the glass article is manufactured.

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