JPH0544905B2 - - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION Technical Field The present invention relates to a method for manufacturing a hollow spherical body, and more particularly to a method for manufacturing a transparent capsule for accommodating a solar collector previously proposed by the applicant.

Prior Art The present applicant first focused sunlight using a lens or the like and introduced it into a light guide, and transmitted the sunlight to any desired location through the light guide for illumination or other uses. Various collection devices were proposed. Furthermore, in order to protect the lens from wind, rain, dust, etc., it has also been proposed to house the sunlight collecting device in a transparent capsule.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an example of a sunlight collecting device previously proposed by the applicant. In the figure, 1 is a cylindrical base, 2 is a transparent dome-shaped head, and these A capsule 3 for a sunlight collecting device is constructed, and in a state of use, a sunlight collecting device 5 is accommodated in the capsule as shown. As is well known, the solar light collecting device is equipped with a large number of lenses 6, and the sunlight collected by the lenses is introduced into a light guide cable and transmitted to any desired location through the light guide cable. It is becoming more and more common.

Conventionally, in the solar light collecting device as described above, the transparent capsule is made of acrylic, but it is very difficult to form the capsule into a spherical shape and a uniform thickness.

In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, the present applicant previously proposed a method of manufacturing a hollow spherical body by a simple means.

FIG. 4 is a block diagram for explaining an example of the transparent capsule manufacturing method previously proposed by the present applicant. In the figure, 10 is a transparent acrylic disk;
The periphery of the cylindrical container 2 can be formed by any desired means.
It is hermetically fixed to the upper end of 0. Acrylic can be spread in a desired amount at a temperature slightly lower than its melting point. Therefore, after the acrylic disc 10 is airtightly mounted on the container 20 as described above, heating is performed inside the container 20. When pressurized air is applied, the acrylic disk 10 is deformed into a spherical shape as shown in the figure. At this time, as shown in Figure 4,
Blow molding is performed by blowing heated and pressurized air, but in this case, it becomes an oblate sphere due to the influence of weight, and it is difficult to make it into a perfect sphere, and moreover, it is difficult to make it almost uniform throughout. To make matters even more difficult, it was inevitable that the area near the flange would be thick and the area near the top would be thin, which would cause the refractive index of light to differ in each area, making it impossible to efficiently collect sunlight.

Purpose The present invention was made in view of the above-mentioned circumstances, and in particular, the present invention was made for the purpose of providing a method for manufacturing a transparent capsule having an almost perfect spherical shape and having the same thickness throughout. It is something that

Structure FIG. 1 is a diagram for explaining one embodiment of the method for manufacturing a hollow spherical body according to the present invention, and in the figure, 30 is a tank, 31 is a liquid contained in the tank 30, and 32 is a tank. A pipe 33 that hangs down from above the tank 30 and has its lower end immersed in the liquid 31.
is the molding material for the hollow spherical body to be manufactured, and the liquid 31 is at a desired temperature, more specifically,
It is heated to a temperature close to the melting temperature of the hollow spherical body molding material 33, which will be described later, and has a specific gravity that is approximately equal to the specific gravity of the hollow spherical body molding material 33 described above. A molding material 33 for the hollow spherical body to be manufactured is attached to the lower end of the pipe 32. This is done by first attaching the molding material 33 to the tip of the pipe 32 outside the tank, and then attaching the molding material 33 to the tip of the pipe 32. Alternatively, the lower end of the pipe 32 may be placed in the tank, or a molten material 33 such as glass, acrylic resin, etc., which will be the material of the hollow spherical body to be manufactured, may be introduced from above the pipe 32.
may be attached to the tip of the pipe 32 at the lower end of the pipe 32. In this case, the specific gravities of the liquid 31 and the melt 33 are selected to be approximately equal, so that the melt 33 is almost unaffected by the earth's gravity and floats within the liquid 31. In this state, a liquid having approximately the same specific gravity as the liquid 31 and heated to approximately the same temperature as the liquid 31 is introduced from the upper end of the pipe 32, preferably a tank 30.
The liquid 31 inside is circulated through a pump 35 and used to be press-fitted as a liquid 34. Then, the liquid 34 is pressurized into the molten material 33 that has adhered to the lower end of the pipe 32 as described above, and the molten material 3
3 gradually expands to form a hollow spherical body 36 as shown by the chain line in the figure. At this time, since the hollow spherical body 36 has liquid of approximately equal specific gravity inside and outside, the spherical body receives an approximately uniform force over its entirety, and therefore is almost completely A nearly spherical hollow sphere is formed. In this way,
After the hollow spherical body is made to a predetermined size, the temperature of the liquids 31 and 34 is lowered, the melt is solidified, and the spherical body 36 is cut at a desired position and separated from the pipe 32, thereby forming a spherical body. 36 can be taken out from inside the tank 30.

Note that the pump 35 has a hollow sphere 36 as described above.
When expanding the liquid in the tank 30, pipe 3
2 into the hollow spherical body 36. In this way, the hollow spherical body 3
The liquid 31 in the tank 30 will not overflow when the tank 6 is expanded, and the size of the tank 30 can be reduced.

The formed hollow spherical body 36 is separated from the pipe 32 and taken out from the tank 30 as described above, but at that time, the hollow spherical body 36 is filled with the liquid 34. It is very difficult to remove the spherical body 36 and the tank 30. Therefore, for example, the liquid 34 inside the hollow spherical body 36 is discharged while introducing air into the hollow spherical body 36, and the hollow spherical body 36 is
6 from the tank. Note that the hollow spherical body 36 formed as described above is actually used as a capsule of a sunlight collecting device as shown in FIG.
- It is the part below the line indicated by the L line, and the L
The part above the -L line (the shaded part) is cut and discarded after being removed from the tank, so there is no problem with making any modifications to this part as described below.

After expanding the melt 33 to a desired size to form a hollow spherical body 36 as described above, a flexible pipe 37 is inserted into the hollow spherical body 36 from a portion above the L-L line. the hollow sphere 36 by inserting the hollow sphere and cutting the hollow sphere along line C, for example.
from the pipe 32. In addition, after the flexible pipe 37 is separated from the pipe 32 as described above, the hollow spherical body 3 is inserted through the hole after the separation.
It may be inserted within 6. In this way,
When a weight 38 is attached to a portion of the hollow spherical body 36 above L-L with adhesive or the like after or before the hollow spherical body 36 is separated from the pipe 32, the hollow spherical body 36 rotates within the liquid 31. The weighted part comes downward, but at that time, the tip of the flexible pipe 37 also moves together with the hollow spherical body 36 and becomes the state shown in FIG. 37 will not come off from the hollow spherical body 36. After this, when air is supplied into the hollow spherical body 36 from the flexible pipe 37, the liquid 34 inside the hollow spherical body is pushed out into the tank 30, and instead, the liquid 34 inside the hollow spherical body 36 is forced out. is filled with air 39. Therefore, the hollow sphere moves upward in the tank due to its buoyancy, and
Since the liquid inside is removed, it can be easily taken out from the tank 30. In addition, although the example in which the pipe 32 is suspended from above the tank 30 has been described above, it is also possible to insert it from below or from the side as long as watertightness can be ensured. can be easily understood.

Effects As described above, according to the present invention, the hollow spherical body is molded in a liquid having a specific gravity approximately equal to the material of the hollow spherical body to be manufactured, so that during the manufacturing process, the hollow spherical body is It is possible to create a hollow spherical body that is almost completely spherical with almost no influence of gravity or the like.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

1 and 2 are diagrams for explaining an embodiment of the hollow spherical body manufacturing method according to the present invention, and FIG. 3 is a diagram for explaining an example of the use of the hollow spherical body according to the present invention. FIG. 4 is a diagram for explaining an example of a conventional method for manufacturing a hollow spherical body. 30...Tank, 31...Liquid, 32...Pipe, 33...Hollow spherical body forming material, 34...Liquid, 35...Pump, 36...Hollow spherical body, 37
...Pump, 38...Flexible pipe.

Claims (1)

[Scope of Claims] 1. A tank containing a liquid heated to a predetermined temperature, and a pipe inserted into the tank and opening into the liquid in the tank, the tip of the pipe being A molten body is attached to the liquid in the tank, and then a liquid having a specific gravity substantially equal to that of the liquid and heated to a temperature substantially equal to that of the liquid is pressurized through the pipe to form the molten body into a spherical shape within the liquid in the tank. A huge amount,
A method for manufacturing a hollow spherical body, which comprises expanding the molten body to a desired size, lowering the temperature of the liquid to solidify the molten body, and then taking out the expanded spherical body from the tank. 2. The method for manufacturing a hollow spherical body according to claim 1, characterized in that the spherical body is separated from the pipe and the spherical body is taken out from the tank while supplying air into the spherical body. 3. The hollow spherical body according to claim 2, wherein the spherical body is taken out from the tank by attaching a weight to the separating part side and placing the separating part side downward in the liquid. production method. 4. The hollow space according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the liquid and the melt have approximately the same specific gravity and are heated to approximately the same temperature. How to make a spherical body. 5. The method for manufacturing a hollow spherical body according to any one of claims 1 to 4, characterized in that the liquid in the tank is circulated and used as the liquid to be press-injected from the pipe.