JP6699293B2 - Glass material manufacturing method and manufacturing apparatus - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a manufacturing method and a manufacturing apparatus for glass materials by a containerless floating method.

  In recent years, research on a containerless floating method has been conducted as a method for manufacturing a glass material. For example, in Patent Document 1, a barium titanium-based ferroelectric sample suspended in a gas levitation furnace is irradiated with a laser beam to be heated and melted, and then cooled to cool the barium titanium-based ferroelectric sample to a glass. The method of making it possible is described. As described above, in the containerless floating method, since the progress of crystallization due to contact with the wall surface of the container can be suppressed, even a material that cannot be vitrified by the conventional manufacturing method using a container is used. It may be vitrified. Therefore, the containerless floating method is a remarkable method as a method capable of producing a glass material having a novel composition.

  In the method disclosed in the cited document 1, a laser beam is irradiated from above and below the glass raw material in a state where the glass raw material is suspended by ejecting gas from one hole provided at the bottom of the gas levitation furnace. It is heated and melted. Therefore, it is considered that the laser beam irradiated from below is emitted through the gas ejection holes of the gas levitation furnace.

JP, 2006-248801, A

  However, the present inventors have found that the following problems occur when the laser beam is emitted through one gas ejection hole. That is, since the portion of the glass raw material lump irradiated with the laser beam is melted by heating and has a low viscosity, when the gas ejected onto this portion is easily deformed. As a result, it becomes difficult for the gas to be uniformly dispersed along the outer peripheral surface of the glass raw material lump, and the floating state of the glass raw material lump becomes unstable.

  It is an object of the present invention to provide a glass material manufacturing method and manufacturing apparatus capable of stably suspending a glass raw material lump even when a laser beam is emitted through a gas ejection hole.

  The manufacturing method of the present invention is a method of manufacturing a glass material by heating and melting the glass raw material lump in a suspended state, and then cooling the glass raw material lump, in which the glass raw material lump is floated by jetting gas upward from below. A step of preparing a molding member having a plurality of first holes and a second hole through which a gas is ejected and through which a laser beam irradiated to the glass raw material block from below is passed; The glass raw material lump is arranged above, and the laser beam is passed through the second hole to irradiate the glass raw material lump in a state where the glass raw material lump is suspended by ejecting gas from the first hole and the second hole, And a step of heating and melting the glass raw material lump.

  In the present invention, it is preferable that the second hole is formed in the central portion of the molding member and the first hole is formed outside the second hole.

  In the present invention, the hole diameter of the second hole is preferably larger than the hole diameter of the first hole. In this case, for example, the hole diameter of the second hole is preferably 1.1 to 10 times the hole diameter of the first hole.

  In the present invention, the molding member may be made of a porous material. In this case, it is preferable that the first holes are communicating holes of the porous material.

  The manufacturing apparatus of the present invention is an apparatus for manufacturing a glass material by heating and melting the glass raw material lump in a suspended state and then cooling the glass raw material lump, in which the glass raw material lump is floated by ejecting gas from below to above. A molding member having a plurality of first holes and a second hole through which a gas is ejected and through which a laser beam irradiated to the glass raw material lump from below passes, and a gas in the first hole and the second hole. By supplying gas from the first hole and the second hole toward the glass raw material lump placed on the molding member, the gas supply unit for supplying the gas and the laser light source for emitting the laser beam are provided. The glass raw material lump is floated, the laser beam from the laser light source is passed through the second hole, and the glass raw material lump is irradiated and heated and melted.

  According to the present invention, even if a laser beam is emitted through the gas ejection holes, the glass raw material lump can be stably suspended.

It is a schematic cross section which shows the manufacturing method (manufacturing apparatus) of the 1st Embodiment of this invention. It is a top view which shows the 1st hole and 2nd hole in 1st Embodiment shown in FIG. It is a typical sectional view showing a forming member in a manufacturing method (manufacturing device) of a 2nd embodiment of the present invention. It is a top view which shows the 1st hole and 2nd hole in 2nd Embodiment shown in FIG. It is a typical sectional view showing a forming member in a manufacturing method (manufacturing device) of a 3rd embodiment of the present invention. It is a top view which shows the 1st hole and 2nd hole in 3rd Embodiment shown in FIG. It is a typical sectional view showing a forming member in a manufacturing method (manufacturing device) of a 4th embodiment of the present invention. It is a schematic cross section which shows the manufacturing method (manufacturing apparatus) of a comparative example.

  Hereinafter, preferred embodiments will be described. However, the following embodiments are merely examples, and the present invention is not limited to the following embodiments. In each drawing, members having substantially the same function may be referred to by the same reference numeral.

(First embodiment)
FIG. 1 is a schematic cross-sectional view showing the manufacturing method (manufacturing apparatus) of the first embodiment. As shown in FIG. 1, in the glass material manufacturing apparatus 1 of the present embodiment, the glass raw material lump 2 is arranged above the molding surface 10 a of the molding member 10 in a floating state. The molding surface 10a is preferably provided in a concave spherical shape or a concave aspherical shape. The molding surface 10a is formed with a first hole 11 and a second hole 12 for ejecting the gas 4 from the lower side to the upper side. The gas 4 is blown out from the first hole 11 and the second hole 12, whereby the glass raw material lump 2 floats upward. By supplying the gas 4 to the first hole 11 and the second hole 12 from the gas supply means 3 such as a gas cylinder, the gas 4 is ejected from the first hole 11 and the second hole 12.

  The type of gas 4 is not particularly limited, and may be, for example, air or oxygen, an inert gas such as nitrogen gas, argon gas, or helium gas, or carbon monoxide gas. It may be a reducing gas containing carbon dioxide gas or hydrogen.

FIG. 2 is a plan view showing the first hole 11 and the second hole 12 in the first embodiment shown in FIG. As shown in FIG. 2, the second hole 12 is formed at the center of the molding surface 10 a of the molding member 10, and the plurality of first holes 11 are formed outside the second hole 12. In this embodiment, one second hole 12 is formed in the molding surface 10a. The first hole 11 is formed in a region 13 shown by a chain double-dashed line. The diameter D ₁ indicates the diameter of the region 13, and the diameter D ₀ indicates the diameter of the molding surface 10a. In the present embodiment, the hole diameter of the first hole 11 and the hole diameter of the second hole 12 are formed to be substantially the same.

  The molded member 10 can be made of, for example, silicon carbide, super steel, stainless steel, duralumin, carbon, or the like.

  As shown in FIG. 1, a laser beam 6 from a laser light source 5, which is a heating means, is fed while the glass raw material mass 2 is suspended by ejecting a gas 4 from the first hole 11 and the second hole 12. Then, the glass raw material lump 2 is irradiated through the second hole 12. Further, in the present embodiment, the laser light source 7 as a heating means is also provided above the glass raw material lump 2, and the laser beam 8 from the laser light source 7 is also applied to the glass raw material lump 2. By irradiating the laser beams 6 and 8, the glass raw material lump 2 is heated and melted to be vitrified, and then cooled, whereby a glass material can be obtained. In the step of heating and melting the glass raw material lump 2 and the step of cooling the glass material until the temperature of the glass material becomes at least the softening point or less, at least the gas 4 is continuously jetted, and the glass raw material lump 2 or the glass material is molded surface 10a. It is preferable not to come into contact with.

  In this embodiment, the glass raw material lump 2 is irradiated with the laser beam 6 from below as well as the laser beam 6 from below, but only the laser beam 6 from below may be irradiated to the glass raw material lump 2.

  FIG. 8 is a schematic cross-sectional view showing a manufacturing method (manufacturing apparatus) of a comparative example. As shown in FIG. 8, in this comparative example, only one gas ejection hole 31 is formed in the central portion of the molding member 30. That is, this device, like Patent Document 1, ejects the gas 4 from the gas ejection hole 31 to suspend the glass raw material lump 2 and irradiates the glass raw material lump 2 with the laser beam 6 through the gas ejection hole 31. It is supposed to do. Therefore, the laser-irradiated portion 2a of the glass raw material lump 2 is heated and melted by the irradiation of the laser beam 6 and its viscosity is lowered. Hit When the gas 4 ejected onto the laser-irradiated portion 2a hits, the viscosity is low, so that the laser-irradiated portion 2a is easily deformed, and the gas 4 is less likely to be uniformly dispersed along the outer peripheral surface of the glass raw material lump 2. Therefore, the floating state of the glass raw material lump 2 becomes unstable, and the glass raw material lump 2 may come into contact with the molding member 30.

  On the other hand, in the present embodiment, the plurality of first holes 11 only for ejecting the gas 4 are provided. Therefore, the gas 4 ejected from the first holes 11 can stably maintain the floating state of the glass raw material lump 2. In particular, in the present embodiment, since the plurality of first holes 11 are provided around the second hole 12, the floating state of the glass raw material lump 2 can be kept more stable.

  As described above, in the present embodiment, the hole diameter of the first hole 11 and the hole diameter of the second hole 12 are formed to be substantially the same. If the diameters of the first holes 11 and the second holes 12 are too large, the flow velocity of the gas jet may be low, and the glass raw material lump 2 may not be sufficiently suspended. Therefore, the diameter of the first hole 11 and the second hole 12 is preferably 2 mm or less, more preferably 1.5 mm or less, further preferably 1 mm or less, and 0.5 mm or less. Is particularly preferable. However, if the diameters of the first holes 11 and the second holes 12 are too small, it may be difficult to eject gas. Further, it becomes difficult for the laser beam 6 to pass through the second hole 12. Therefore, the diameter of the first hole 11 and the second hole 12 is preferably 0.1 mm or more, and more preferably 0.3 mm or more.

(Second embodiment)
FIG. 3 is a schematic cross-sectional view showing a molded member in the manufacturing method (manufacturing apparatus) of the second embodiment of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 3, in the present embodiment, the hole diameter of the second hole 12 is larger than the hole diameter of the first hole 11. Similar to the first embodiment, the second holes 12 are formed at the center of the molding surface 10a of the molding member 10, and the plurality of first holes 11 are formed outside the second holes 12. ..

FIG. 4 is a plan view showing the first hole 11 and the second hole 12 in the second embodiment shown in FIG. As shown in FIG. 4, in the present embodiment, the hole diameter of the second hole 12 is larger than the hole diameter of the first hole 11, and the plurality of first holes 11 are formed around the second hole 12. There is. Further, in the present embodiment, the first holes 11 are densely formed in the region close to the second holes 12. In addition, although the diameter D ₁ and the diameter D ₀ are not shown in FIG. 4, the diameter D ₁ is the diameter of the region 13 and the diameter D ₀ is the diameter of the molding surface 10 a, as in FIG. 2.

  In the present embodiment, as described above, the hole diameter of the second hole 12 is made larger than the hole diameter of the first hole 11. Thereby, the flow velocity of the gas 4 ejected from the second hole 12 can be made slower than the flow velocity of the gas 4 ejected from the first hole 11. As a result, the deformation of the glass raw material mass 2 is suppressed, and the floating state of the glass raw material mass 2 can be made more stable. Further, by making the hole diameter of the second hole 12 larger than the hole diameter of the first hole 11, it becomes easy to adjust the optical path of the laser beam 6.

  The hole diameter of the second hole 12 is preferably 1.1 to 10 times the hole diameter of the first hole 11, more preferably 1.5 to 8 times, and preferably 2 to 5 times. More preferable. If the diameter of the second holes 12 is too large, the floating state of the glass raw material lump 2 tends to be unstable.

  The practical size of the hole diameter of the first hole 11 is preferably similar to the size illustrated in the first embodiment. In the present embodiment, the hole diameter of the second hole 12 is preferably 3 mm or less, more preferably 2 mm or less, further preferably 1.8 mm or less, and 1.5 mm or less. Particularly preferably, 1.2 mm or less is the most preferable. The hole diameter of the second hole 12 is preferably 0.3 mm or more, more preferably 0.5 mm or more, and further preferably 0.8 mm or more.

  Also in the present embodiment, since the plurality of first holes 11 are provided, the floating state of the glass raw material lump 2 can be stably maintained by the gas 4 ejected from the first holes 11. Further, since the plurality of first holes 11 are provided around the second holes 12, the floating state of the glass raw material lump 2 can be kept more stable.

(Third Embodiment)
FIG. 5 is a schematic cross-sectional view showing a molded member in the manufacturing method (manufacturing apparatus) of the third embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 6 is a plan view showing the first hole 11 and the second hole 12 in the third embodiment shown in FIG. As shown in FIGS. 5 and 6, in the present embodiment, one first hole 11 is formed in the center of the molding surface 10a, and four second holes 12 are formed around it. Further, a plurality of first holes 11 are formed around the second holes 12. Note that, although the diameter D ₁ and the diameter D ₀ are not shown in FIG. 6, the diameter D ₁ is the diameter of the region 13 and the diameter D ₀ is the diameter of the molding surface 10 a as in FIG. 2.

  As shown in this embodiment, a plurality of second holes 12 may be formed in the present invention. By forming a plurality of second holes 12, it is possible to irradiate a plurality of laser beams 6 from below, so that it becomes easier to control the heating and melting state of the glass raw material ingot 2. The plurality of laser beams 6 may be emitted from different laser light sources or may be emitted from one laser light source and divided by a beam splitter or the like.

  Also in the present embodiment, the hole diameter of the second hole 12 is made larger than the hole diameter of the first hole 11 as in the second embodiment. Therefore, the flow velocity of the gas 4 ejected from the second hole 12 can be made slower than the flow velocity of the gas 4 ejected from the first hole 11, and the floating state of the glass raw material lump 2 can be made more stable. . Further, by making the hole diameter of the second hole 12 larger than the hole diameter of the first hole 11, the hole diameter of the second hole 12 can be made relatively large, so that the optical path of the laser beam 6 can be easily adjusted. Become.

  The hole diameters of the first hole 11 and the second hole 12 are preferably the same as those in the second embodiment.

  Also in the present embodiment, since the plurality of first holes 11 are provided, the floating state of the glass raw material lump 2 can be stably maintained by the gas 4 ejected from the first holes 11. Further, since the plurality of first holes 11 are provided around the second holes 12, the floating state of the glass raw material lump 2 can be kept more stable.

(Fourth Embodiment)
FIG. 7 is a schematic cross-sectional view showing a molded member in the manufacturing method (manufacturing apparatus) of the fourth embodiment of the present invention. In this embodiment, the molding member 10 is made of a porous material having communication holes. As shown in FIG. 7, the molding member 10 is held by a holding member 14 provided around the molding member 10. Further, by providing the holding member 14, the gas 4 is shielded so as not to leak from the side of the molding member 10 through the communication hole of the molding member 10. A second hole 12 is formed in the center of the molding surface 10a.

  In the present embodiment, the communication holes existing around the second holes 12 of the molding member 10 form the first holes 11. The communication hole forming the first hole 11 is a hole that extends from the lower side to the upper side of the molding member 10. The gas 4 supplied below the molding member 10 passes through this communication hole and is ejected above the molding surface 10a. The gas 4 supplied below the molding member 10 is also jetted above the molding surface 10 a by passing through the second hole 12.

  As the porous material forming the molded member 10, a porous ceramic material such as a carbide such as silicon carbide, a nitride, or an oxide can be used.

  The size of the hole diameter of the second hole 12 can be the same as that of the second embodiment, for example. The diameter of the communication hole forming the first hole 11 is preferably 1 to 200 μm, and more preferably 5 to 100 μm. The porosity of the porous material is preferably 30 to 60%, more preferably 35 to 55%. If the diameter of the communication holes is too small or the porosity of the porous material is too low, it may be difficult to eject gas. On the other hand, if the diameter of the communication holes is too large, or the porosity of the porous material is too high, the flow rate of the gas jet becomes low, and the glass raw material block 2 may not be able to be sufficiently suspended.

  In this embodiment, since the communication hole of the porous material is the first hole 11, the diameter of the second hole 12 is larger than that of the first hole 11. Therefore, the flow velocity of the gas 4 ejected from the second hole 12 can be made slower than the flow velocity of the gas 4 ejected from the first hole 11, and the floating state of the glass raw material lump 2 can be made more stable. it can. Further, since the hole diameter of the second hole 12 can be made relatively large, it becomes easy to adjust the optical path of the laser beam 6.

  In the present embodiment, since the communication holes of the porous material are the first holes 11, a large number of the first holes 11 are provided. Therefore, the gas 4 ejected from the first hole 11 can stably maintain the floating state of the glass raw material lump 2. Moreover, since many first holes 11 are provided around the second holes 12, the floating state of the glass raw material lump 2 can be kept more stable.

  In addition, in each of the above-described embodiments, the plurality of formed first holes 11 do not necessarily have to have the same hole diameter and may be different from each other.

  In the second to fourth embodiments, only the laser beam 6 from below is applied to the glass raw material ingot 2, but in these embodiments as well, the laser beam from below is irradiated as in the first embodiment. The glass raw material ingot 2 may be irradiated with the laser beam 8 from above together with 6.

  According to the present invention, since a glass material can be produced by a containerless floating method, a glass material having a composition that does not vitrify by a melting method using a container, such as not containing a network-forming oxide, is a glass material. Can be manufactured. Examples of such glass include terbium-boric acid composite oxide-based glass material, barium titanate-based glass material, lanthanum-niobium composite oxide-based glass material, lanthanum-niobium-aluminum composite oxide-based glass material, lanthanum. —Niobium-tantalum composite oxide glass material, lanthanum-tungsten composite oxide glass material, lanthanum-titanium composite oxide glass material, lanthanum-titanium-zirconia composite oxide glass material and the like.

  Hereinafter, the present invention will be described in more detail based on specific examples, but the present invention is not limited to the following examples, and is appropriately modified and implemented without departing from the scope of the invention. It is possible to

(Example 1)
The raw material powders were weighed and mixed, and then calcined at a temperature of around 1000° C. to sinter the raw material powders. A desired amount of glass raw material 2 was produced by cutting out a desired amount from the sintered body. The glass composition of the glass raw material lump 2 is 18 mol% La ₂ O ₃ -82 mol% TiO ₂ .

  Next, the glass material was manufactured by heating and melting the glass raw material ingot 2 under the following conditions using the glass material manufacturing apparatus according to the first embodiment shown in FIGS. 1 and 2. The specific procedure is shown below.

  First, 0.25 g of the glass raw material lump 2 was placed on the molding surface 10 a of the molding member 10. Next, the gas 4 was supplied from the gas supply means 3 to the first hole 11 and the second hole 12, and the glass raw material block 2 was floated above the molding surface 10a. In this state, the laser beam 6 passes through the second hole 12 from the lower laser light source 5 to irradiate the glass raw material lump 2 with the laser beam 6, and the laser beam 8 from the upper laser light source 7 irradiates the glass raw material lump 2. Then, the glass raw material lump 2 was heated and melted. Each of the laser beams 6 and 8 increased its output at 1 W/sec, and when the output reached 30 W (total 60 W), the output was held for 15 seconds, and then the laser irradiation was stopped.

  After that, the glass material was obtained by cooling the melt of the glass raw material lump 2. The diameter of the obtained glass material was 4.1 mm.

  The positions and dimensions of the first hole 11 and the second hole 12 are as follows.

Diameter D ₀ of molding surface 10a: 14 mm
Diameter D _{1 of} region 13 in which first hole 11 is formed: 13 mm
Hole diameter of the first hole 11: 0.3 mm
Number of first holes 11: 253
Position where the second hole 12 is formed: central part of the molding surface 10a Hole diameter of the second hole 12: 0.3 mm
Number of second holes 12: 1
Gas 4: Nitrogen gas

(Example 2)
Using the glass raw material lump 2 prepared by the same method as in Example 1, and using the glass material manufacturing apparatus according to the second embodiment shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, the glass raw material lump 2 was prepared under the following conditions. A glass material was produced by heating and melting. The specific procedure is shown below.

  First, 0.28 g of the glass raw material lump 2 was placed on the molding surface 10 a of the molding member 10. Next, the gas 4 was supplied from the gas supply means to the first hole 11 and the second hole 12, and the glass raw material lump 2 was floated above the molding surface 10a. In this state, the glass raw material lump 2 was irradiated with the laser beam 6 from the lower laser light source through the second hole 12 to heat and melt the glass raw material lump 2. The output of the laser beam 6 was increased at 2 W/sec, and when the output reached 65 W, the output was maintained for 15 seconds, and then the laser irradiation was stopped.

  After that, the glass material was obtained by cooling the melt of the glass raw material lump 2. The diameter of the obtained glass material was 4.4 mm.

  The positions and dimensions of the first hole 11 and the second hole 12 are as follows.

Diameter D ₀ of molding surface 10a: 14 mm
Diameter D _{1 of} region 13 in which first hole 11 is formed: 12 mm
Hole diameter of the first hole 11: 0.3 mm
Number of first holes 11: 374
Position where the second hole 12 is formed: central portion of the molding surface 10a Hole diameter of the second hole 12: 1.5 mm
Number of second holes 12: 1
Gas 4: Nitrogen gas

(Example 3)
Using the glass raw material lump 2 prepared by the same method as in Example 1, and using the glass material manufacturing apparatus according to the third embodiment shown in FIGS. 5 and 6, the glass raw material lump 2 was prepared under the following conditions. A glass material was produced by heating and melting. The specific procedure is shown below.

  First, 0.2 g of the glass raw material lump 2 was placed on the molding surface 10 a of the molding member 10. Next, the gas 4 was supplied from the gas supply means to the first hole 11 and the second hole 12, and the glass raw material lump 2 was floated above the molding surface 10a. In this state, the four laser beams 6 were passed through the second holes 12 from below to irradiate the glass raw material lump 2 to heat and melt the glass raw material lump 2. The output of each of the four laser beams 6 was increased at 1 W/sec, and when the output reached 14 W (total 56 W), the output was held for 15 seconds, and then the laser irradiation was stopped.

  After that, the glass material was obtained by cooling the melt of the glass raw material lump 2. The diameter of the obtained glass material was 3.5 mm.

  The positions and dimensions of the first hole 11 and the second hole 12 are as follows.

Diameter D ₀ of forming surface 10a: 11 mm
Diameter D _{1 of} region 13 in which first hole 11 is formed: 8 mm
Hole diameter of the first hole 11: 0.2 mm
Number of first holes 11: 245
Position where the second hole 12 is formed: Position that is 0.9 mm away from the center of the molding surface 10a and corresponds to each vertex of the square. Hole diameter of the second hole 12: 0.8 mm
Number of second holes 12: 4
Gas 4: Nitrogen gas

(Example 4)
Using the glass raw material lump 2 prepared by the same method as in Example 1, and using the glass material manufacturing apparatus according to the fourth embodiment shown in FIG. 7, the glass raw material lump 2 is heated and melted under the following conditions. By doing so, a glass material was produced. The specific procedure is shown below.

  First, 0.15 g of the glass raw material lump 2 was placed on the molding surface 10 a of the molding member 10. As the molded member 10, a silicon carbide porous body (hole diameter of communicating holes: 5 to 50 μm, porosity: 40%) was used. Next, the gas 4 was supplied from the gas supply means to the molding member 10 in which the second hole 12 was formed, and the glass raw material lump 2 was floated above the molding surface 10a. In this state, the glass raw material lump 2 was irradiated with the laser beam 6 from the lower laser light source through the second hole 12 to heat and melt the glass raw material lump 2. The output of the laser beam 6 was increased at 1 W/sec, the output was maintained for 15 seconds when the output reached 50 W, and then the laser irradiation was stopped.

  After that, the glass material was obtained by cooling the melt of the glass raw material lump 2. The diameter of the obtained glass material was 2.8 mm.

  The position and size of the second hole 12 are as follows.

Diameter D ₀ of molding surface 10a: 10 mm
Position where the second hole 12 is formed: central part of the molding surface 10a Hole diameter of the second hole 12: 1.2 mm
Number of second holes 12: 1
Gas 4: Nitrogen gas

(Comparative Example 1)
By using the glass raw material lump 2 prepared in the same manner as in Example 1 and using the glass material manufacturing apparatus according to the comparative example shown in FIG. 8 to heat and melt the glass raw material lump 2 under the following conditions. A glass material was produced. The specific procedure is shown below.

  First, 0.12 g of the glass raw material lump 2 was placed on the molding member 30. Next, the gas 4 was supplied from the gas supply means to the gas ejection hole 31, and the glass raw material block 2 was floated above the molding member 30. In this state, the glass raw material lump 2 was irradiated with the laser beam 6 from the lower laser light source through the gas ejection holes 31 to heat and melt the glass raw material lump 2. The laser beam 6 increased its output at 2 W/sec and maintained the output when the output reached 50 W. However, the floating state of the molten material of the glass raw material lump 2 became unstable, and the molten glass came into contact with the molding member 30, and the desired glass material could not be obtained.

  The positions and dimensions of the gas ejection holes 31 are as follows.

Position where the gas ejection hole 31 is formed: central portion of the molding member 30 Hole diameter of the gas ejection hole 31: 1 mm
Number of gas ejection holes 31: 1
Gas 4: Nitrogen gas

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1... Glass material manufacturing apparatus 2... Glass raw material block 2a... Laser irradiation part 3... Gas supply means 4... Gas 5... Laser light source 6... Laser beam 7... Laser light source 8... Laser beam 10... Molding member 10a... Molding surface 11 ... diameter of the first hole 12 ... second hole 13 ... area 14 ... holding member 30 ... molding member 31 ... gas ejection hole _{D 0} ... forming surface 10a with a diameter _{D 1} ... region 13

Claims (7)

A method for producing a glass material by cooling after heating and melting a glass raw material lump in a suspended state,
A plurality of first holes for ejecting gas upward from below to suspend the glass raw material mass; and second for ejecting the gas and passing a laser beam irradiated to the glass raw material mass from below. A step of preparing a molded member having a hole of
The glass raw material lump is placed on the forming member, and gas is ejected from the first hole and the second hole to suspend the glass raw material lump in the state where the glass raw material lump is suspended. Irradiating the glass raw material lump through two holes to heat and melt the glass raw material lump ,
The glass material manufacturing method, wherein the second hole has a larger diameter than the first hole .   The method for manufacturing a glass material according to claim 1, wherein the second hole is formed in a central portion of the molded member, and the first hole is formed outside the second hole. The method for manufacturing a glass material according to claim 1, wherein a plurality of the second holes are formed .   The method for manufacturing a glass material according to claim 3, wherein the hole diameter of the second hole is 1.1 to 10 times the hole diameter of the first hole.   The method for manufacturing a glass material according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the molding member is made of a porous material, and the first hole is a communication hole of the porous material. An apparatus for manufacturing a glass material by cooling after melting a glass raw material in a suspended state by heating and melting,
A plurality of first holes for ejecting gas upward from below to suspend the glass raw material mass; and second for ejecting the gas and passing a laser beam irradiated to the glass raw material mass from below. pore size of the pores possess, the second hole, said first hole of pore size greater than the molding member,
Gas supply means for supplying the gas to the first hole and the second hole,
A laser light source for emitting the laser beam,
By ejecting gas from the first hole and the second hole toward the glass raw material lump disposed on the forming member, the glass raw material lump is floated, and the glass from the laser light source is discharged. An apparatus for producing a glass material, which comprises passing a laser beam through the second hole and irradiating the glass raw material block to heat and melt the glass material. The glass material manufacturing apparatus according to claim 6, wherein a plurality of the second holes are formed.

Images