JPH11157847A - Device and method for supplying molten glass - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To surely close the outflow port of a crucible with a plunger and to surely supply a constant amount of molten glass, in a device. SOLUTION: This device is provided with: a crucible 1 for receiving molten glass 28 formed by heating glass; a cylindrical nozzle 7 placed at an outflow port of the crucible 1; a plunger 18 for opening/closing the outflow port of the crucible 1 by elevating/lowering the plunger 18 along the axis of the crucible 1; a compression spring 20 for actuating the plunger 18 so as to move toward the outflow port of the crucible 1; and a detection means 19 for detecting release of the plunger 18 from the state in which the outflow port of the crucible 1 is closed with the plunger 18. Based on the information detected by the detection means 19, the elevation distance and elevation time of the plunger 18 are controlled.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

The present invention relates to an apparatus and a method for supplying molten glass such as a glass gob.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art A molten material is supplied by using a plunger, and Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 6-166521 discloses a conventional supply control structure using a plunger.

In this control structure, a plunger to which a stirring blade is attached is inserted into a crucible so as to be able to move up and down. A nozzle extends downward into the crucible, and a plunger is inserted along the axis of the nozzle. A crucible heater is arranged around the crucible, and a nozzle heater is arranged around the nozzle so as to surround it.
In addition, a nozzle cooling unit is provided at a predetermined position in the length direction of the nozzle.

In this structure, the plunger is lowered to close the outlet of the nozzle, a glass material is charged into the crucible, and heated by a crucible heater. When the glass material is melted by this heating, the plunger is raised to cause the molten glass to flow into the nozzle.

[0005] The molten glass that has flowed in is stopped at the position of the nozzle cooling section, and is homogenized by rotating the plunger. Thereafter, stirring is stopped, the plunger is lowered to close the nozzle, the nozzle is heated by the nozzle heater, and the glass is heated and melted. At this time, the molten glass does not flow down due to surface tension and negative pressure because the nozzle is closed. Thereafter, the plunger is lifted to open the nozzle, and the molten glass flows out by its own weight. The plunger waits for a certain period of time at the raised position, then lowers again to close the nozzle,
Supply molten glass.

[0006]

However, in this conventional flow control structure, the plunger must reliably close the nozzle in order to supply a certain amount of molten glass by raising and lowering the plunger. . However, the plunger is deformed by the heat of the high-temperature molten glass, it is difficult to align the plunger and the nozzle, and the members that make up the crucible change over time due to the effects of heat and the decrease in the molten glass. Then, the relative position between the nozzle and the plunger is shifted.

[0007] Due to this deviation, the plunger stops at the shifted position, and it becomes impossible to reliably close the nozzle. For this reason, leakage of the molten glass occurs, and it becomes difficult to supply a fixed amount of the molten glass due to the leakage.

Further, the relative displacement between the plunger and the nozzle occurs at the height of the plunger when the nozzle is closed, and therefore, it is difficult to control the supply amount by the plunger rising amount.

The present invention has been made in view of such problems of the prior art, and the plunger can reliably close the nozzle, thereby preventing the molten glass from leaking.
Moreover, it is an object of the present invention to provide a supply apparatus and a supply method capable of continuously supplying a fixed amount of molten glass by accurately controlling the amount of rise of the plunger and the nozzle release time.

[0010]

Means for Solving the Problems To achieve the above object, an invention according to claim 1 comprises a container for housing molten glass obtained by heating and melting glass, a cylindrical nozzle provided at an outlet of the container, and A plunger that moves up and down on the axis of the nozzle to open and close the outlet, a biasing unit that biases the plunger toward the outlet, and releases the plunger from closing the outlet. And a control means for controlling a rising distance and a rising time of the plunger based on information detected by the detecting means.

In the present invention, a cylindrical nozzle is provided at the outlet of the container, and the plunger which can move up and down on the axis of the nozzle is lowered to close the outlet of the container. At this time, the plunger is urged toward the outlet of the container by the urging means. Then, the plunger is raised, and it is detected by the detecting means that the outlet of the container is opened from a state where the outlet is closed by the plunger. The rising distance and the rising time of the plunger are controlled by the control means based on the information detected by the detection means, and the molten glass contained in the container is caused to flow out through the cylindrical nozzle.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method for supplying molten glass in which molten glass contained in a container flows out from a cylindrical nozzle provided at an outlet of the container. A first step of urging a possible plunger toward the outlet by the urging means and closing the outlet, and raising and lowering the plunger to determine the position and time of the plunger when the outlet is opened. A second step of detecting, and a third step of raising the plunger by a desired distance and a desired time based on the detected position and time, opening the outlet, and allowing the molten glass to flow out of the cylindrical nozzle. And the following.

According to the present invention, the plunger which can be moved up and down on the axis of the cylindrical nozzle provided at the outlet of the container is urged toward the outlet of the container by the urging means, and the plunger is used by the plunger. Close. Then, the plunger is raised to detect the position and time of the plunger when the outlet of the container is opened. The plunger is raised a desired distance and a desired time based on the detected position and time, the outlet of the container is opened, and the molten glass contained in the container flows out from the cylindrical nozzle.

[0014]

(Embodiment 1) FIG. 1 shows Embodiment 1 of the present invention, and FIGS. 2 (a) and 2 (b) show the state operation thereof. The molten glass 28 is accommodated in the crucible 1 which is a container. The crucible 1 is formed of a heat-resistant material, and its bottom 1a is formed in a conical shape whose diameter decreases downward. This bottom 1a is a cylindrical crucible pedestal 2
The crucible 1 is provided upright by being supported above. Further, an open outlet is provided at the center of the bottom 1a of the crucible 1, and a nozzle 7 is linearly extended at the outlet. The nozzle 7 is inserted into the crucible pedestal 2 together with the surrounding nozzle heating heater 8. From this nozzle 7, molten glass is dropped.

A crucible heater 3 is provided around the crucible 1. Further, the crucible heater 3 is surrounded by a cylindrical heat insulating material 4. The crucible pedestal 2 and the heat insulating material 4 are connected to a crucible portion base plate 5 having a supply hole 5a for molten glass.
It is installed above. On the heat insulating material 4, an elevating base 6 having an insertion hole 6 a through which the plunger 18 is inserted is provided upright.

The lifting shaft base 6 has a slide shaft 1
A motor 14 is mounted on the top plate 10 at the upper end of the slide shaft 11. A ball screw 12 connected to a motor 14 hangs from the lower surface of the top plate 10 in parallel with the slide shaft 11, and the moving table 9 is attached to the ball screw 12.

The moving table 9 includes a linear bush 13 and
The slide bush 11 penetrates the linear bush 13, and the ball nut meshes with the ball screw 12. In such a structure, the moving table 9 is moved up and down along the slide shaft 11 and the ball screw 12 by the forward / reverse rotation of the motor 14.

A shaft 16 is mounted on the moving table 9 coaxially with the nozzle 7 via a shaft holder 15. The shaft 16 is attached to the shaft holder 15 so as to be coaxial with the nozzle 7 extending from the outlet at the lower end of the crucible 1. A plunger 18 is attached to a lower portion of the shaft 16 via a flexible joint 17.

The plunger 18 penetrates through the insertion hole 6a of the lift base 6 and hangs down in the crucible 1. Plunger 1
Numeral 8 is connected to the above-described shaft 16 so as to hang down so as to be located coaxially with the nozzle 7 at the lower end of the crucible 1. The tip (lower end) 18a of the plunger 18
The crucible 1 has a pointed shape that matches the conical shape of the bottom 1a.

A compression spring 20 is attached to the shaft 16. The compression spring 20 is disposed between the shaft holder 15 and the flexible joint 17, and biasing means for biasing the plunger 18 to move to the outlet of the lower end 1 a of the crucible 1 via the flexible joint 17. Has become.

Further, a stopper 21 and a contact detection sensor 19 are attached to the upper end of the shaft 16. The shaft holder 15 contacts the stopper 21, and the contact detection sensor 19 detects these contact and non-contact. Contact between the stopper 21 and the shaft holder 15,
Non-contact is linked to the operation of the plunger 18 closing and opening the outlet at the lower end of the crucible 1, whereby the contact detection sensor 19 closes and opens the outlet of the plunger 18 via the stopper 21 and the shaft holder 15. Detecting means for detecting the

In addition to the above, in this embodiment, control means 50 for controlling the driving of the motor 14 is provided. This control means controls the motor to control the ascent distance and the ascent time of the plunger 18 based on information detected by the contact detection sensor 19, as shown in a specific operation described later.

Next, the operation of this embodiment will be described with reference to FIG.
This will be described with reference to (a) and (b). The glass material is put into the crucible 1 while the plunger 18 is lowered and the nozzle 7 is closed, and is heated and melted by the crucible heater 3 to form a molten glass 28.

After the molten glass 28 has become homogeneous and can be discharged, the motor 14 is driven to move the moving table 9.
To rise. When the contact detection sensor 19 detects the contact between the stopper 21 and the shaft holder 15 due to this rise, the contact is detected and raised by a certain amount with reference to the position and the time to stop.

In this state, as shown in FIG.
The plunger 18 opens the outlet at the lower end of the crucible 1, that is, the nozzle 7. By keeping this open state for a certain period of time, a certain amount of molten glass
8 drain.

After the set time has elapsed, the motor 1
4 is driven to lower the moving table 9, and the plunger 18 is lowered as shown in FIG. Plunger 1
When it is detected that the tip 18a of the nozzle 8 comes into contact with the outlet of the crucible 1 and the stopper 21 and the shaft holder 15 are separated, the moving table 9 is further lowered by a set amount based on the position and stopped.

At this time, the shaft 16, the flexible joint 17, and the plunger 18 rise relatively to the moving table 9 and the shaft holder 15, and the compression spring 20 compresses by a set amount. For this reason, plunger 1
8 is pressed against the outlet of the crucible 1, that is, the nozzle 7 by the reaction force of the compression spring 20.

Here, there is a relative displacement between the plunger 18 and the nozzle 7, and even when the plunger 18 is caught on the crucible 1, the plunger is pressed by the pressing force of the compression spring 20 and the action of the flexible joint 17. The tip 18a of 18 follows the conical shape of the bottom 1a of the crucible 1 and can reliably close the nozzle 7. Also, since the reaction force of the compression spring 20 gradually increases as it descends, no transient load is applied to the plunger 18 and the nozzle 7.

In such an embodiment, the plunger 1
8 is pressed by the compression spring 20, so that the crucible 1 is pressed.
The nozzle 7 can be reliably closed according to the shape of the nozzle 7. For this reason, it is possible to eliminate leakage due to misalignment between the plunger 18 and the nozzle 7.

The control of the vertical position of the plunger 18 and the release time of the nozzle 7 is performed by detecting the position and time when the stopper 21 contacts the shaft holder 15, and ascending distance from the position and the release time of the nozzle 7. Therefore, the flow rate of the molten glass 28 flowing out and the opening time of the nozzle 7 are constant, and a fixed amount of molten glass can be supplied.

(Embodiment 2) FIGS. 3 and 4 show Embodiment 2 of the present invention, in which the same members as those in Embodiment 1 are assigned the same reference numerals, and duplicate explanations are omitted. In this embodiment, a displacement sensor is used in addition to the contact detection sensor 19 shown in the first embodiment, and an XY table is provided on a mounting portion of the plunger 18.

As shown in FIG. 3, an X-direction displacement sensor 27a and a Y-direction displacement sensor 27b are attached to the elevating base 6 through which the plunger 18 is inserted. These sensors 27a and 27b detect the displacement of the plunger 18 in the XY directions in the plane.

An XY table bracket 24 is attached to the moving table 9 which moves up and down by the rotation of the ball screw 12. This XY table bracket 24
An XY table 23 through which the shaft 16 is inserted into the center portion is mounted on the upper part of the XY table 23. A shaft holder 22 is mounted on the XY table 23. The shaft 16 is inserted through the shaft holder 22 so as to be able to move up and down coaxially with the nozzle 7.

A stopper 2 is provided above the shaft 16.
1. A contact sensor 19 is attached, and a displacement sensor 26 is attached via a sensor bracket 25. A plunger 18 is attached to a lower portion of the shaft 16 via a flexible joint 17. Furthermore, flexible joint 17 and XY
A compression spring 20 is mounted between the table brackets 24 and urges the plunger 18 to move downward.

Next, the operation of this embodiment will be described with reference to FIG.
This will be described with reference to FIG. As in the first embodiment, the glass material is put into the crucible 1 while the plunger 18 is lowered and the nozzle 7 is closed, and is heated and melted by the crucible heating heater 3 to form a molten glass 28. When the molten glass 28 is homogenized and is ready to flow out, the motor 14 is driven and the moving table 9 is raised. When the contact detection sensor 19 detects the contact between the stopper 21 and the shaft holder 15 due to the rise, Based on the position and the time, it is raised by a certain amount and stopped. Then, as shown in FIG. 4A, the nozzle 7 is opened for a certain period of time to discharge a certain amount of the molten glass 28.

After the set time has elapsed, the motor 1
4, the moving table 9 is lowered, and the plunger 18 is lowered as shown in FIG. Plunger 1
When it is detected that the tip 18a of the nozzle 8 comes into contact with the outlet of the crucible 1 and the stopper 21 and the shaft holder 15 are separated, the moving table 9 is further lowered by a set amount based on the position and stopped.

At this time, the shaft 16, the flexible joint 17, and the plunger 18 rise relatively to the moving table 9 and the shaft holder 15, and the compression spring 20 compresses by a set amount. For this reason, plunger 1
8 is pressed against the outlet of the crucible 1, that is, the nozzle 7 by the reaction force of the compression spring 20.

Here, there is a relative displacement between the plunger 18 and the nozzle.
Even when it is caught, the tip 18a of the plunger 18 follows the conical shape of the bottom 1a of the crucible 1 by the pressing force of the compression spring 20 and the action of the flexible joint 17, and reliably closes the nozzle 7 as shown in FIG. Can be. Also, since the reaction force of the compression spring 20 gradually increases as it descends, no transient load is applied to the plunger 18 and the nozzle 7.

By doing so, the first embodiment
Similarly to the above, the plunger 18 conforms to the shape of the crucible 1, so that the nozzle 7 can be reliably closed, and leakage due to misalignment between the plunger 18 and the nozzle 7 can be eliminated. Plunger 1 as in mode 1
Since the position of the vertical movement of 8 and the control of the nozzle release time are controlled, the glass flow rate and the nozzle release time become constant, and a fixed amount of molten glass can be supplied.

In this embodiment, furthermore, the displacement sensor 26 constantly monitors the operation state of the plunger 18 being raised and lowered. When the relative displacement between the plunger 18 and the nozzle 7 occurs with time or suddenly, the position where the plunger 18 first comes into contact with the crucible 1 becomes higher and exceeds a preset threshold value. Next, the displacement direction is estimated by the X-direction displacement sensor 27a and the Y-direction displacement sensor 27b. Based on this, the XY table 23 is adjusted automatically or manually to correct the positional deviation.

As described above, by detecting and correcting the amount of displacement, at the bottom 1a of the crucible 1 near the nozzle 7,
The amount imitated by the pressing force of the compression spring 20 is reduced,
Wear of the crucible 1 and a change in shape near the nozzle 7 can be suppressed. Therefore, not only the frequency of maintenance of the crucible 1 is reduced, but also the life of the crucible 1 can be extended.

In the above embodiment, after the molten glass 28 in the crucible 1 is melted until it can flow out of the nozzle 7, the plunger 18 is raised from a state where the nozzle 7 is closed by the tip of the plunger 18. At this time, the position and time at which the plunger 18 is separated from the crucible 1 are detected by the contact detection sensor 19, and a fixed amount of the molten glass 28 is controlled from the nozzle 7 by controlling the amount of rise of the plunger 18 and the time of opening the nozzle 7. Let out. Thereafter, the plunger 18 is lowered to close the nozzle 7. At this time, after the contact between the tip 18a of the plunger 18 and the nozzle 7 is detected by the contact detection sensor 19, the plunger 18 is pressed against the nozzle 7 with an external force different from that of the drive actuator of the plunger 18, so that the tip of the plunger 18 is Since the nozzle 7 is made to follow the tapered portion, the nozzle 7 can be reliably closed, and leakage of the molten glass can be prevented. The pressed plunger 18 is always in a position to close the nozzle 7, and when the external force pressing the plunger 18 is released and the plunger 18 is raised again, the contact detection sensor 1
Since the position detected by 9 is constant, a fixed amount of molten glass can be continuously supplied by controlling the rising amount and the opening time of the nozzle.

In the present invention, a technical idea having the following configuration is derived from the above-described specific embodiment.

(1) In a device for melting a glass material in a crucible provided with a nozzle at the bottom fixed in a melting furnace and supplying molten glass by moving a plunger installed in the crucible up and down, a conical inlet is provided. A crucible provided with a nozzle at the bottom, and installed in the crucible so that it can move up and down coaxially with the nozzle,
It is possible to close the nozzle, the plunger part whose tip is swingable, and the vertically movable table that holds the plunger part up and down, and the lifting table that can move up and down independently of the plunger part. An actuator that can be moved, a detection device that detects that the plunger has blocked the nozzle, and a pressing mechanism that can press the plunger against the nozzle are provided. Molten glass supply device.

In this structure, the plunger portion reliably blocks the bottom of the crucible, so that the molten glass does not leak.

(2) In the state where the nozzle provided in the crucible is closed by the plunger portion, a glass material is put into the crucible and heated in a melting furnace to melt the glass material, and the plunger portion is raised. A second position for discharging molten glass by detecting a position and a time when the nozzle is opened, and controlling a rising distance from the opened position and the opening time of the nozzle.
The plunger part is lowered again, and after the plunger part contacts the crucible, the plunger part is pressed, so that the plunger tip follows the tapered part of the nozzle inlet to reliably close the nozzle and prevent the molten glass from flowing out. 3rd to stop
And supplying the molten glass intermittently by repeating the above steps and the above steps.

According to this method, the plunger can prevent the molten glass from flowing out carelessly.

[0048]

As described above, according to the first aspect of the present invention, the plunger can be made to conform to the shape of the crucible by urging the plunger by the urging means, so that the nozzle can be reliably mounted. It is possible to eliminate the variation in the supply amount due to the blockage and leakage of the molten glass. Further, when the plunger moves up, the position where the plunger is separated from the crucible is detected, and the amount of molten glass can be supplied to control the amount of rise of the plunger.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, since the plunger closes the outlet of the crucible by the urging force of the urging means,
Since there is no molten glass leakage and the position and time of the rise of the plunger are controlled, an accurate amount of molten glass can be supplied.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view of Embodiment 1 of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view illustrating a raising operation and a lowering operation of the plunger according to the first embodiment.

FIG. 3 is a sectional view of a second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view illustrating a raising operation and a lowering operation of a plunger according to a second embodiment.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Crucible 7 Nozzle 9 Moving table 11 Slide shaft 14 Motor 15 Shaft holder 16 Shaft 17 Flexible joint 18 Plunger 19 Contact detection sensor 20 Compression spring 21 Stopper

Claims (2)

[Claims] 1. A container for storing molten glass obtained by heating and melting glass, a cylindrical nozzle provided at an outlet of the container, and a plunger which moves up and down on an axis of the nozzle to open and close the outlet. An urging means for urging the plunger toward the outlet, a detecting means for detecting that the plunger has opened the outlet from a closed state, and information based on information detected by the detecting means. And a control means for controlling a rising distance and a rising time of the plunger. 2. A molten glass housed in a container,
In a method for supplying molten glass flowing out from a cylindrical nozzle provided at an outlet of a container, a plunger capable of moving up and down on the axis of the nozzle is urged toward the outlet by an urging means, and the outlet is provided. A first step of closing the plunger, a second step of raising the plunger and detecting the position and time of the plunger when the outlet is opened, and moving the plunger a desired distance based on the detected position and time. And a third step of raising the desired time, opening the outlet, and allowing the molten glass to flow out of the cylindrical nozzle.