KR20210001524A - Apparatus for manufacturing glass plate - Google Patents

Abstract

The plate glass manufacturing apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention includes: a float bath where molten glass floats on a molten metal liquid surface and is molded into a glass ribbon; a slow cooling furnace where the glass ribbon enters after the molding in the float bath; a chamber disposed between the float bath and the slow cooling furnace; lift-out rollers disposed in the chamber, drawing the glass ribbon out of the float bath, and conveying the glass ribbon to the slow cooling furnace; and an inert gas supply unit disposed apart upward from the glass ribbon on the outlet side of the float bath and supplying inert gas downward. The inert gas supply unit includes: a pipe-shaped member as a flow path for inert gas supply where a hollow is formed along the direction of extension; and a dispersion plate having through holes along the width direction of the glass ribbon as a plate-shaped member disposed in the pipe-shaped member so as to cross the direction of extension. The through holes are arranged along the width direction of the glass ribbon to form one through hole row. A plurality of the through hole rows may be formed along the conveyance direction of the glass ribbon.

Description

Plate glass manufacturing equipment {APPARATUS FOR MANUFACTURING GLASS PLATE}

The present invention relates to a plate glass manufacturing apparatus, and more particularly, to a plate glass manufacturing apparatus for manufacturing plate glass by a float process (float process).

The float method and the fusion method relate to a method of manufacturing plate glass. In particular, the float method has an advantage of efficiently manufacturing a large area plate glass.

1 is a view showing a general plate glass manufacturing apparatus for manufacturing plate glass by a float method.

The float method is a molding process in which molten glass is continuously formed into a glass ribbon (G) in a float bath (10) in which molten metal (M) is stored, and slow cooling in which the formed glass ribbon (G) is slowly cooled in a slow cooling furnace (20). Including the process.

The glass ribbon (G) formed while passing through the float bath (10) is drawn out of the float bath (10) by the lift-out rollers (LOR) arranged in the dross box (31) constituting the chamber (30). After that, it is carried into the slow cooling furnace 20. The chamber 30 is disposed between the float bath 10 and the slow cooling furnace 20, and the outlet 11 of the float bath 10, the space inside the chamber 30, and the space inside the slow cooling furnace 20 are glass ribbons. They are in communication with each other to smoothly transport (G).

On the other hand, the tin (Sn) component of the molten metal (M) stored in the float bath 10 may be partially evaporated by high temperature to exist as vapor. When a large amount of such tin (sn) vapor is introduced into the interior space of the chamber 30, it reacts with air, especially oxygen, flowing into the chamber 30 from the slow cooling furnace 20 to generate metal oxide, which is a glass ribbon (G ) And/or the final glass product.

Accordingly, there is a need to reduce the introduction of tin (sn) vapor from the float bath 10 into the chamber 30 during the manufacturing process of the plate glass. For this, as shown in FIG. 1, a screen 40 for supplying an inert gas may be disposed on the outlet 11 side of the float bath 10.

Most of the screens 40 may include a tubular member 41 extending in the vertical direction, as shown in FIG. 2. The tubular member 41 has an upper surface closed, but a part of the tubular member 41 communicates with the gas supply pipe 42, and the lower surface 43 is generally completely open.

However, since such a screen 40 supplies gas through a portion of the upper surface of the tubular member 41, for example, through the gas supply pipe 42 communicating with the center of the upper surface, the lower surface 43 of the tubular member 41 The discharged gas does not form a uniform pressure over the entire width of the glass ribbon (G), and in particular, tin into the chamber 30 due to a pressure relatively lower than that of the center at the left and right ends of the glass ribbon G in the width direction. There was a problem that the vapor barrier effect of the (sn) component was not great.

The present invention has been conceived to solve the above-described problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide a plate glass manufacturing apparatus capable of effectively reducing the vapor of tin components flowing into the chamber from the float bath.

However, the problem to be solved by the present invention is not limited to the above-mentioned problems, and other problems that are not mentioned will be clearly understood by those skilled in the art from the following description.

A plate glass manufacturing apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention includes: a float bath for forming a glass ribbon by floating molten glass on a molten metal liquid surface; A slow cooling furnace into which the glass ribbon molded in the float bath is carried; A chamber disposed between the float bath and the slow cooling furnace; A plurality of lift-out rollers disposed in the chamber and transferring the glass ribbon from the float bath to the slow cooling furnace; And an inert gas supply unit disposed upwardly and spaced apart from the glass ribbon at the outlet side of the float bath to supply an inert gas downward, wherein the inert gas supply unit is a flow path through which an inert gas is supplied, and is hollow along an extension direction. The formed tubular member, and a plate-shaped member disposed in the tubular member across the extension direction, comprising a dispersion plate in which a plurality of through holes are formed along a width direction of the glass ribbon, the plurality of through holes being the glass ribbon It is arranged along the width direction of to form one through-hole, and a plurality of through-holes may be formed along the transport direction of the glass ribbon.

In this embodiment, the dispersion plate may be disposed at the lower end of the tubular member.

In this embodiment, a through hole included in any one of two adjacent through hole rows may be formed between two adjacent through holes included in the other.

In this embodiment, it is preferable that the distance between the centers of the two adjacent through-holes is less than or equal to twice the diameter of the through-hole.

In this embodiment, the inert gas supply unit may be movable along the vertical direction.

In this embodiment, it may include a vibration sensing unit disposed at both ends of the at least one lift-out roller to detect vibration.

In the present embodiment, it may include a control unit that adjusts the interval between the glass ribbon and the inert gas supply unit based on the vibration intensity sensed by the vibration detection unit.

The plate glass manufacturing apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention supplies an inert gas from the float bath outlet side to the glass ribbon through an inert gas supply unit including a dispersion plate in which a plurality of through-hole heat is formed along the transport direction of the glass ribbon. In addition, the vapor of the tin component flowing into the chamber from the float bath can be effectively reduced over the entire width of the glass ribbon.

1 is a view schematically showing a general plate glass manufacturing apparatus for manufacturing plate glass by a float method.
FIG. 2 is a view schematically showing an embodiment of the screen shown in FIG. 1 and the glass ribbon being transferred.
3 is a view schematically showing a plate glass manufacturing apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 4 is a view schematically showing an embodiment of the inert gas unit and the glass ribbon to be transferred shown in FIG.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS The present invention will become apparent with reference to the embodiments described below in detail together with the accompanying drawings. However, the present invention is not limited to the embodiments disclosed below, but will be implemented in various forms different from each other, and only these embodiments make the disclosure of the present invention complete, and common knowledge in the technical field to which the present invention pertains. It is provided to completely inform the scope of the invention to those who have it, and the invention is only defined by the scope of the claims. Meanwhile, terms used in the present specification are for explaining embodiments and are not intended to limit the present invention. In this specification, the singular form also includes the plural form unless specifically stated in the phrase. As used in the specification, "comprises" and/or "comprising" refers to the presence of one or more other components, steps, actions and/or elements, and/or elements, steps, actions and/or elements mentioned. Or does not preclude additions. Terms such as first and second may be used to describe various components, but the components should not be limited by terms. The terms are only used for the purpose of distinguishing one component from another component.

3 is a view schematically showing a plate glass manufacturing apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 3, the plate glass manufacturing apparatus 100 may include a float bath 110, a slow cooling furnace 120, and a chamber 130 disposed between the float bath 110 and the slow cooling furnace 120. have.

The glass ribbon G molded to a desired width or thickness on the liquid level M_a of the molten metal M in the float bath 110 is formed by the traction force of the lift-out rollers 141 to 143 or the transfer rollers 121 and 122. It is withdrawn apart from the liquid level M_a. Then, the glass ribbon G is carried into the chamber 130 from the outlet 111 of the float bath 110 and is transferred through the lift-out rollers 141 to 143. Subsequently, the glass ribbon G is carried in the slow cooling furnace 120 and is slowly cooled while being transferred through the transfer rollers 121 and 122. Thereafter, the glass ribbon G is taken out of the slow cooling furnace 120 and cooled to near room temperature, and then cut into a predetermined size to be manufactured into a final product of plate glass.

The glass ribbon G is formed by pouring and dissolving plural kinds of raw materials corresponding to the final product of plate glass into a melting tank to produce a molten glass, and continuously supplying the molten glass into the float bath 110 to form. Before supplying the molten glass into the float bath 110, it is preferable that air bubbles contained in the molten glass are defoamed and clarified.

The float bath 110 accommodates molten metal (M). The molten metal (M) may be made of molten tin, molten tin alloy, or the like. As the molten glass floated on the molten metal liquid surface M_a is continuously supplied, it may be formed into a flat glass ribbon G while going downstream.

The upper space in the float bath 110 may be filled with a reducing gas including nitrogen and hydrogen to prevent oxidation of the molten metal M.

A glass ribbon molded in the float bath 110 may be carried into the slow cooling furnace 120. The slow cooling furnace 120 generally uses air as a slow cooling gas, and since the outlet on the downstream side is open to the outside, the inside of the slow cooling furnace 120 is basically placed in an atmospheric atmosphere. The inside of the slow cooling furnace 120 may communicate with the inside of the float bath 110 through the inside of the chamber 130.

The chamber 130 may include a hood 131 installed above the glass ribbon G, and a dross box 132 installed below the glass ribbon G. It is preferable that the chamber 130 has an insulating structure. For example, as shown in FIG. 1, at least a portion of the outer wall of the hood 131 may be covered with an insulating material 133, and at least a portion of the inner wall of the dross box 132 may be covered with the insulating material 134. have. By applying the heat insulators 133 and 134, heat dissipation from the chamber 130 may be suppressed, and accordingly, the temperature distribution of the glass ribbon G may be stabilized to suppress the warpage of the product.

In the chamber 130, a plurality of lift-out rollers 141 to 143, contact members 144 to 146, and a drape 147 may be disposed.

Each of the lift-out rollers 141 to 143 is rotationally driven by a driving unit such as a motor, and the glass ribbon G is drawn from the float bath 110 by the driving force and transferred to the slow cooling furnace 120 obliquely upward. can do. Contact members 144 to 146 may be installed under the lift-out rollers 141 to 143.

The contact members 144 to 146 may be formed of carbon or the like. Each of the contact members 144 to 146 may slide in contact with the outer circumferential surface of the corresponding lift-out rollers 141 to 143.

The drape 147 is provided above the glass ribbon G, and is a member which partitions the space above the glass ribbon G. The drape 147 restricts air from being mixed from the slow cooling furnace 120, thereby suppressing an increase in the oxygen concentration in the chamber 130.

FIG. 4 is a view schematically showing an embodiment of the inert gas unit and the glass ribbon to be transferred shown in FIG. 3.

The inert gas supply unit 150 may be spaced upward from the glass ribbon G on the side of the outlet 111 of the float bath 110 to supply the inert gas downward.

The inert gas supplied through the inert gas supply unit 150 is nitrogen (N ₂ ), oxygen (O ₂ ), helium (He), neon (Ne), argon (Ar), krypton (Cr), and xenon (Xe). It may be at least one gas selected from the inert gas group consisting of, and preferably, nitrogen gas.

The inert gas supplied through the inert gas supply unit 150 forms an airflow near the outlet 111 of the float bath 110 so that the vapor containing the tin (sn) component on the float bath 110 is discharged to the chamber 130 It plays a role of reducing what is introduced into the interior.

The inert gas supply unit 150 may include a tubular member 151 and a distribution plate 153.

The tubular member 151 is a flow path through which an inert gas is supplied, and a hollow may be formed along the vertically extending direction. The tubular member 151 may have a width corresponding to the width of the glass ribbon G. For example, the width of the tubular member 151 may be at least equal to or greater than the width of the glass ribbon G. The tubular member 151 has an upper surface 151a closed, but a part of the tubular member 151 may communicate with the gas supply pipe 152, and the lower surface 151b may be formed in an open shape.

The dispersion plate 153 is a plate-shaped member disposed in the tubular member 151 across the extending direction, and a plurality of through holes 1531 may be formed along the width direction of the glass ribbon G.

The plurality of through holes 1531 may be arranged along the width direction of the glass ribbon to form one through hole row 1531a and 1531b. A plurality of through holes 1531a and 1531b may be formed along the transport direction of the glass ribbon G. As shown in FIG. 4, the dispersion plate 153 of this embodiment has two through-holes 1531a and 1531b.

The inert gas supply unit 150 is a part of the upper surface 151a of the tubular member 151, for example, as shown in FIG. 4, through a gas supply pipe 152 communicating with the central part of the upper surface 151a. Gas may be supplied within 151.

When the inert gas supply unit 150 does not have the distribution plate 153, gas will be concentrated and discharged in the center of the lower surface 151b of the tubular member 151, but in this embodiment, the width direction of the glass ribbon G Since a plurality of through-holes 1531 are formed along the line, and a distribution plate 153 in which a plurality of through-holes 1531a and 1531b are formed along the transport direction of the glass ribbon G is included, the dispersion plate 153 Accordingly, the distribution of gas flow from the inside of the tubular member 151 to the lower side can be uniformly induced over the entire horizontal cross-sectional area.

The dispersion plate 153 is preferably disposed adjacent to the lower surface 151b of the tubular member 151. Through the lower surface 151b of the tubular member 151, the flow distribution of the gas is uniformly formed in the area under the vicinity of the tubular member 151 so that the gas pressure applied to the entire surface of the glass ribbon G is uniform. This is to secure the transfer stability of the ribbon (G).

In the dispersion plate 153, in order to easily achieve the uniformity of the flow distribution of the gas, the through hole 1531 included in one of the two through hole rows 1531a and 1531b adjacent to each other is the other ( It is preferable that it is formed between two adjacent through-holes 1531 included in 1531b).

The inert gas supply unit 150 may be configured to be movable in the vertical direction so that the gap between the glass ribbon G and the inert gas supply unit 150 can be adjusted. In detail, the inert gas supply unit 150 is a driving unit (not shown) that moves the tubular member 151 in the vertical direction so that the gap between the glass ribbon G and the lower surface 151b of the tubular member 151 can be adjusted. Such a driving unit may include, for example, an actuator that is directly or indirectly connected to the tubular member 151 to provide a driving force to move the tubular member 151.

The distance between the glass ribbon G and the lower surface 151b of the tubular member 151 may be adjusted according to the degree to which the tubular member 151 is moved in the vertical direction by the driving unit, which is supplied according to the adjustment of the distance. The pressure applied to the glass ribbon G by the inert gas and/or the vapor inflow rate of the tin (sn) component from the float bath 110 to the chamber 130 may be controlled.

The plate glass manufacturing apparatus 100 may further include a vibration sensing unit 160 disposed at both ends of the at least one lift-out roller 141 to 143 to detect vibration.

The plate glass manufacturing apparatus 100 further includes a control unit (not shown) that adjusts the gap between the glass ribbon G and the inert gas supply unit 150 based on the vibration intensity sensed by the vibration detection unit 160. I can. The control unit includes a circuit board, an integrated circuit chip, a series of computer programs mounted on hardware, firmware, software, etc. for controlling the driving unit to adjust the distance between the glass ribbon G and the inert gas supply unit 150 according to the embodiment. It can be implemented in various forms.

When the vibration intensity sensed by the vibration detection unit 160 is higher than a preset reference value, the control unit controls the driving unit to move the inert gas supply unit 150 downward to the glass ribbon G and the inert gas supply unit 150. By narrowing the gap between them, the vibration intensity of the glass ribbon G can be lowered. At this time, in order to prevent the pressure applied to the glass ribbon G by the inert gas from being excessively increased, the supply flow rate of the inert gas may be adjusted to gradually decrease.

Table 1 below includes various embodiments using an inert gas supply unit 150 including a dispersion plate 153 in which a plurality of through hole rows 1531a and 1531b are formed, and a dispersion plate in which only one through hole row is formed. The results of a comparative example using the inert gas supply unit described below are shown.

division Gas flow to the tubular member Through hole diameter
(mm) Spacing between through holes
(mm) Total sum of multiple through hole areas
(Relative value) Float bath outlet pressure
(Relative value) Gas flow from float bath to chamber
(Relative value) Condensation concentration of tin component in chamber
(Relative value) Comparative example same 3 30 One One One One Example 1 3 6 10 2.22 0.66 0.04 Example 2 4 8 13 2.26 0.66 0.04 Example 3 5 10 17 2.28 0.65 0.04 Example 4 6 12 20 2.32 0.64 0.03 Example 5 3 13 5 2.36 0.61 0.05 Example 6 8 13 33 2.34 0.64 0.03

Specifically, in both Comparative Examples and Examples 1 to 6, the gas flow rates supplied into the tubular member were all the same, but the pressures at the outlet side of the float bath were all higher in Examples 1 to 6 than in Comparative Examples. The flow rate of gas moving from the bath to the chamber was lower in Examples 1 to 6 than in Comparative Examples. In addition, it was confirmed that the condensation concentration of the tin component in the chamber formed by the vapor of the tin component introduced from the float bath was improved to 95% or more in all Examples 1 to 6 than in Comparative Examples.

Referring to the results of Table 1, the distance between the centers of two adjacent through-holes 1531 (P, hereinafter referred to as'the gap between through-holes') is twice the diameter (D) of the through-holes 1531 It is more preferable to be below. Looking at Examples 1 to 4, the distance P between the through-holes 1531 is twice the diameter D of the through-holes 1531, and the areas of a plurality of through-holes sequentially from Examples 1 to 4 The total sum of was increased, and as a result, both the gas flow rate from the float bath to the chamber and the condensation concentration of the tin component in the chamber tended to decrease. On the other hand, in the case of Example 5, the gap (P) between the through holes (1531) was formed larger than twice the diameter (D) of the through holes (1531). Looking at the results, the gas moving from the float bath to the chamber The flow rate was decreased compared to Examples 1 to 4, but it was confirmed that the condensation concentration of the tin component in the chamber increased compared to Examples 1 to 4. In the case of Example 5, it is estimated that the gas cannot be spread out relatively uniformly on the lower surface of the lower surface 151b of the tubular member 151 compared to Examples 1 to 4. Looking at Example 6, the spacing (P) between the through-holes 1531 is less than twice the diameter (D) of the through-holes 1531, and the sum of the areas of the plurality of through-holes is relatively It was found to be large, and the gas flow rate moving from the float bath to the chamber and the condensation concentration of the tin component in the chamber were confirmed similarly to the results of Example 4. In conclusion, when the distance P between the through-holes 1531 is less than twice the diameter D of the through-holes 1531, the area of the lower surface 151b of the tubular member 151 is more than the other cases. Compared to that, the total sum of the areas of the plurality of through-holes can be increased, and thus the gas flow rate moving from the float bath to the chamber and the condensation concentration of the tin component in the chamber can be effectively reduced.

The plate glass manufacturing apparatus 100 according to the embodiment of the present invention includes an inert gas supply unit 150 including a dispersion plate 153 in which a plurality of through holes 1531a and 1531b are formed along the transport direction of the glass ribbon G. ) To the glass ribbon (G) from the side of the float bath 110, the outlet 111, so that the vapor of the tin (sn) component flowing into the chamber 130 from the float bath 110 is removed from the glass ribbon. (G) It can be effectively reduced over the entire width. Through this, since the tin component condensed in the chamber 130 is also reduced, metal oxides that cause defects are also reduced, thereby improving the quality of the manufactured glass product.

Although the present invention has been described in connection with the above-mentioned preferred embodiments, it is possible to make various modifications or variations without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. Accordingly, the scope of the appended claims will include such modifications or variations as long as they fall within the gist of the present invention.

100: float bath
120: slow cooling furnace
121, 122: transfer roller
130: chamber
141, 142, 143: lift out roller
150: inert gas supply unit
151: tubular member
152: gas supply pipe
153: dispersion plate
1531: through hole
1531a, 1531b: Through hole
160: vibration detection unit

Claims (7)

A float bath for floating molten glass on a molten metal liquid surface to form a glass ribbon;
A slow cooling furnace into which the glass ribbon molded in the float bath is carried;
A chamber disposed between the float bath and the slow cooling furnace;
A plurality of lift-out rollers disposed in the chamber and transferring the glass ribbon from the float bath to the slow cooling furnace; And
Including; an inert gas supply unit disposed spaced apart upward from the glass ribbon at the outlet side of the float bath to supply an inert gas downward,
The inert gas supply unit,
As a flow path through which an inert gas is supplied, a tubular member having a hollow formed along the extending direction,
A plate-shaped member disposed in the tubular member across the extension direction, and comprising a dispersion plate having a plurality of through holes formed along a width direction of the glass ribbon,
The plurality of through holes are arranged along the width direction of the glass ribbon to form one through hole row,
The through hole is formed in a plurality along the transport direction of the glass ribbon, plate glass manufacturing apparatus. The method of claim 1,
The dispersion plate is disposed on the lower surface of the tubular member, plate glass manufacturing apparatus. The method of claim 1,
A through-hole included in one of the two adjacent through-hole rows is formed between two adjacent through-holes included in the other. The method of claim 3,
A distance between the centers of two adjacent through-holes is less than or equal to twice the diameter of the through-hole. The method of claim 1,
The inert gas supply unit is movable along the vertical direction, plate glass manufacturing apparatus. The method of claim 5,
A plate glass manufacturing apparatus comprising a vibration sensing unit disposed at both ends of the at least one lift-out roller to sense vibration. The method of claim 6,
And a control unit for adjusting a distance between the glass ribbon and the inert gas supply unit based on the vibration intensity sensed by the vibration detection unit.

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