JPH06166521A - Means for controlling flow of melt - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To obtain a flow controlling means for a melt, usable for a long period with a relatively simple mechanism and hardly requiring any labor such as maintenance and inspection. CONSTITUTION:A crucible housing part 13 is formed in nearly the central part of a furnace 11. A melting crucible 12 is supported by a crucible supporting member 14 installed in the bottom of the crucible housing part 13 and located in nearly the central part of the crucible housing part 13. A cylindrical heater 6 is provided so as to surround a nozzle part (12a) installed in the lowermost part of the melting crucible 12. The cylindrical heater 16 is equipped with a cylindrical nozzle cooling part 21 provided in a prescribed region on the circumference of the nozzle part (12a). A cooling pipe on the feed side and a cooling pipe 23 on the discharge side are connected through connecting parts to symmetric positions of the nozzle cooling part 21 with the nozzle part (12a) as the center. On the other hand, the tip of nearly the central part of the melting crucible 12 is equipped with a valve part (18a) capable of closing an opening of the nozzle part (12a). A stirring valve 18 having stirring blades (18b) for stirring a glass melt 19 contained in the melting crucible 12 is rotatably inserted and installed so as to enable the free vertical lifting and lowering.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

FIELD OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to a melt flow control means.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art When a fluid such as air or water is carried through a carrier pipe, a fluid flow is mechanically provided on a conduit of the carrier pipe in order to control to stop or start the flow of the fluid. It is practiced to provide means for shutting off, a so-called valve mechanism. For example, as shown in FIG. 4 (A), a ball valve 40 for blocking or transmitting the fluid by rotating a ball 43 having a through hole 42 penetrating in a horizontal direction with respect to the liquid flow path 41, As shown in FIGS. 4 (B) and 4 (C), a stop valve 49 or a gate valve 50 for shutting off or passing the fluid by pushing or drawing the shields 45, 46 into the fluid passages 47, 48 is used. is there.

On the other hand, when the glass melt is conveyed to the processing means, the glass melt 62 stored in the homogenizing (stirring) tank 61 is passed through the melting tank and the refining tank as shown in FIG. The viscosity of the glass melt 62 is kept constant by cooling and adjusting the temperature in the supply device 63 connected to the homogenization tank 61. Then, the glass melt 62 is discharged from the discharge device 6
4 supplies it to the processing means (not shown). In the discharging device 64, as shown in FIGS. 6A to 6E, first, the plunger 71 is pushed down to droop the glass melt 62 through the orifice 72 (B). Next, the hanging glass melt 73 is cut out by a shear 74 (CE). In such a glass melt supply means, the outflow of the glass melt 62 from the orifice 74 is normally prevented by the surface tension of the glass melt 62, and when the glass melt 62 is allowed to flow out, the plunger 71 is used. It is done by pushing down.

[0004]

However, when the mechanical valve mechanism such as the ball valve 40, the stop valve 49 and the gate valve 50 described above is used for the flow control of the glass melt, the glass melt Temperature is 1450 to 1650 ° C
Therefore, the valve mechanism is exposed to high temperature conditions. For this reason, the parts must be made of heat resistant material, and
The life of the valve is extremely short because the valve deforms due to thermal expansion of the component and causes malfunction of the valve, or the component deteriorates significantly.

On the other hand, in the flow control means utilizing the surface tension of the glass melt 62, the volume of the glass melt 62 supplied becomes non-uniform unless the viscosity of the glass melt 62 is constant. Further, if the viscosity is extremely low, the flow cannot be prevented. Therefore, as described above, the glass melt 6
In order to make the viscosity of No. 2 constant, it is necessary to cool the glass melt 62 and perform temperature control in the feeder 63. As a result, this flow control means makes the entire apparatus large in scale and is not suitable for small-scale production of glass castings. Here, the glass melt is described as an example, but in addition,
Similar problems have been observed in controlling the flow of melts such as metals or alloys.

The present invention has been made in view of the above points, and can be used for a long period of time with a relatively simple mechanism.
(EN) Provided is a melt flow control means which requires almost no maintenance and inspection.

[0007]

DISCLOSURE OF THE INVENTION The present invention is directed to a melt transfer pipe which is disposed between an unloading part and a transferred part and in which a melt is transferred, and a pipe of the melt transfer pipe. Located anywhere in the path and in the vicinity of the melt transfer tube,
And, a cooling section through which a cooling fluid is sent, a cooling fluid supply section for supplying the cooling fluid to the cooling section, and the same location where the cooling section is arranged. And a heating means arranged in the vicinity of the melt transfer pipe, to provide a melt flow control means.

[0008]

According to the melt flow control means of the present invention, when it is desired to stop the flow of the melt, the cooling fluid is supplied from the cooling fluid supply section to the inside of the cooling section, and the melt conveyance pipe is provided. To cool the melt conveyed inside. This significantly increases the viscosity of the melt and prevents the melt from flowing due to the cured melt itself. On the other hand, in order to restart the flow of the melt, the melt conveying pipe is heated by the heating means to melt the cured melt again. This causes the melt to start flowing again.

[0009]

Embodiments of the present invention will now be described in detail with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 shows a glass melt supply device to which the flow control means of the present invention is applied.

Reference numeral 11 in the drawing denotes a furnace made of a heat resistant material.
A substantially cylindrical crucible accommodating portion 13 for accommodating the molten crucible 12 is formed in a substantially central portion of the furnace 11. The melting crucible 12 is supported by a crucible support member 14 made of a heat-resistant material provided on the bottom of the crucible housing portion 13, and is positioned at a substantially central portion of the crucible housing portion 13. Further, a plurality of heaters 15 are arranged in the crucible housing portion 13.
The heater 15 is connected to a power supply unit (not shown).

A cylindrical heater 16 is provided so as to surround a nozzle portion 12a provided at the bottom of the melting crucible 12. The cylindrical heater 16 includes a main body 16a made of a substantially cylindrical heat-resistant material whose both ends are open, and a main body 16a.
It is composed of an electric heater 16b arranged on the inner peripheral surface of a.
The electric heater 16b is connected to the power supply unit.

As shown in FIG. 2, the cylindrical heater 16 is provided with a cylindrical nozzle cooling section 21 made of a heat-resistant material and provided in a predetermined area on the peripheral surface of the nozzle section 12a. A supply side cooling pipe 22 and a discharge side cooling pipe 23 are connected to the nozzle cooling part 21 at positions symmetrical with respect to the nozzle part 12a via connection parts 21a and 21b. The other end of the supply side cooling pipe 22 is connected to the compressed air generator 31, as shown in FIG. On the other hand, the discharge side cooling pipe 2
The other end of 3 is open to the outside of the furnace 11.

On the other hand, the glass melt 1 housed in the melting crucible 12 has a valve portion 18a at the tip thereof which can close the opening of the nozzle portion 12a in the approximate center of the melting crucible 12.
A stirring valve 8 equipped with a stirring blade 18b for stirring 9
It is vertically inserted and rotatably inserted. The other end of the rotating shaft 18c of the stirring valve 18 is connected to an elevating / rotating device (not shown) that elevates and rotates the stirring blade 18. In addition, the furnace 11 corresponding to the tip of the nozzle portion 12a
A cutout port 17 is formed at the bottom of the. The supply target portion 32 is disposed below the cutout port 17. In the glass melt supply device 10 having such a configuration, the flow of the glass melt 19 is controlled as follows, and the glass melt 19 is supplied.

First, the agitation valve 18 is lowered to move the valve portion 18a.
To close the opening of the nozzle portion 12a. In this state, the glass raw material is placed inside the melting crucible 12,
Electric heater 16b of heater 15 and cylindrical heater 16
The electric current is conducted from the power source to the raw material by heating and melting,
A glass melt 19 is obtained. At this time, the compressed air generator 3
Compressed air is sent from No. 1 to the nozzle cooling unit 21 via the supply side cooling pipe 22.

Next, the stirring valve 18 is raised and the nozzle 1
Open the opening of 2a. Thereby, the glass melt 1
9 flows into the nozzle portion 12a by its own weight. When the glass melt 19 reaches the position corresponding to the nozzle cooling part 21,
Upon cooling, the viscosity decreases and the glass melt 19 stops flowing and replaces the plug. At this time, the stirring valve 18 is rotated to stir the glass melt 19 to homogenize the components.

After the stirring, the rotation of the stirring valve 18 is stopped,
It is lowered again to close the opening of the nozzle portion 12a. Next, the supply of compressed air to the nozzle cooling unit 21 is stopped.
As a result, the glass melt 19 whose viscosity has decreased to form a plug is heated and melted by the cylindrical heater 16. At this time, since the opening of the nozzle portion 12a is closed by the stirring valve 18, the glass melt 19 does not flow down due to its surface tension.

After that, the stirring valve 18 is raised to open the nozzle portion 12a. As a result, the glass melt 19 flows out of the furnace 11 through the nozzle 12 a and the cutout 17 due to the weight of the glass melt 19 that further flows into the nozzle 12 a from the melting crucible 12, and the glass is supplied to the supplied portion 32. The melt 19 is supplied.

In the operation of supplying the glass melt 19 as described above, the ascent distance of the stirring valve 18 is kept constant, and the remaining amount of the glass melt 19 inside the melting crucible 12 and the time for raising the stirring valve 18 are set. By moving the stirring valve 18 up and down while controlling it, a certain amount of glass melt 19 can be caused to flow out. However, the first several batches need to be discarded because the non-homogenized glass melt 19 flowing into the nozzle portion 12a is discharged without stirring.

Actually, the inner diameter of the nozzle portion 12a is 6 mm,
In the glass melt supply device 10 in which the inner diameters of the cooling pipes 22 and 23 are 24 mm, when the nozzle portion 12 a is heated to 1250 ° C. by the cylindrical heater 16, 3 kg / cm ²
It was possible to cool the temperature of the nozzle portion 12a to 800 ° C. by supplying compressed air (temperature 25 ° C.) to the nozzle cooling portion 21. Further, in this case, when the glass melt 19 was outflowed a plurality of times with the aim of supplying 10 g of the glass melt 19 at a time, ± 0.0
It could be done with an accuracy of 5 g.

As described above, according to the glass melt supply device 10 to which the flow control means of the present invention is applied, the outflow of the glass melt 19 can be stopped by the supply of compressed air, so that the structure is extremely simple. In addition, since there is no mechanical mechanism for contacting with the glass melt 19, maintenance work and the like due to aging of parts are not required. Stir valve 18
Also rotates without contacting the molten crucible 12, so there is little risk of wear and damage. By changing the size of the furnace 11, that is, the melting crucible 12, according to the required volume of the glass melt 19, it is possible to supply the glass melt 19 with high precision from a large volume to a small volume. Further, if compressed air is supplied from the start of melting, a gap is created between the stirring valve 18 and the nozzle portion 12a, and the glass melt 19 flows into the nozzle portion 12a at an inappropriate time. Even if it does, it is cooled and becomes a stopper, which prevents the glass melt 19 from flowing out, which is safe. Further, the glass melt 19 remaining inside the melting crucible 12 after the outflow is completed.
Is heated to a higher temperature by the heater 15 and the cylindrical heater 16 to reduce the viscosity, thereby melting the crucible 1
Since the glass melt 19 inside 2 can be completely discharged, post-treatment is easy.

[0021]

As described above, according to the melt flow control means of the present invention, the melt is cooled to lower or increase the viscosity of the melt without using a mechanical mechanism and control. Since the flow of the melt can be controlled by adjusting the temperature, the labor required for maintenance and the like can be significantly reduced, and a remarkable effect such as long-term use can be obtained.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a sectional view showing a main part of a glass melt supply device to which a flow control means of the present invention is applied.

FIG. 2 is a horizontal cross-sectional view showing the main part of the glass melt supply device corresponding to the line AA ′ in FIG.

FIG. 3 is a schematic view showing a glass melt supply apparatus of the same embodiment.

4A to 4C are explanatory views showing a conventional valve mechanism.

FIG. 5 is a sectional view showing a conventional glass melt supply device.

FIG. 6A to FIG. 6E are process diagrams showing a glass melt outflow control process by a conventional glass melt flow control means.

[Explanation of symbols]

10 ... Glass melt supply device, 11 ... Furnace, 12 ... Molten crucible, 12a ... Nozzle part, 14 ... Crucible support part, 15 ...
Heater, 16 ... Cylindrical heater, 18 ... Stirring valve, 19 ... Glass melt, 21 ... Nozzle cooling part, 22 ... Supply side cooling pipe, 23 ... Discharge side cooling pipe, 31 ... Compressed air generator.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. Arranged between the unloading section and the transported section,
And, a melt transfer pipe in which the melt is transferred,
A cooling unit, which is arranged at an arbitrary position in the pipeline of the melt transport pipe and near the melt transport pipe, and through which a cooling fluid is passed, and the cooling unit for the cooling. Melt characterized by comprising a cooling fluid supply part for supplying a fluid, and a heating means arranged at the same location where the cooling part is arranged and in the vicinity of the melt transport pipe. Flow control means.