KR20220020802A - glass conveying device - Google Patents

Abstract

A glass conveying apparatus is equipped with the glass conveying pipe 7 which conveys molten glass GM, and the cooling apparatus 11 which uses gas as refrigerant|coolant R. The glass conveying pipe 7 includes a tubular body portion 8 , a flange portion 9 , and an electrode portion 10 . The cooling device 11 includes cooling passages 12 and 13 through which a refrigerant R flows in order to cool the flange portion 9 and/or the electrode portion 10 . The cooling passages 12 and 13 include an injection port 15 for supplying the refrigerant R, and an inlet 21 located downstream of the injection port 15 to introduce an external gas.

Description

glass conveying device

This invention relates to the glass conveying apparatus which conveys a molten glass.

Plate glass is used as a glass substrate and a cover glass for flat panel displays, such as a liquid crystal display and organic electroluminescent display, so that it is already known.

For example, Patent Document 1 discloses an apparatus for manufacturing plate glass. This manufacturing apparatus includes a dissolution tank (melting vessel) serving as a supply source of molten glass, a clarification tank (clarification vessel) provided on the downstream side of the dissolution tank, a homogenization tank (mixing vessel) provided on the downstream side of the clarification tank, and a downstream side of the homogenization tank A port (supply container) provided in the port, a molded body (molded body) provided on the downstream side of the port, and a coupling conduit connecting these components to each other are provided. The clarification tank, the homogenization tank, the pot, and the bonding conduit are comprised, for example of noble metals, such as platinum, and have a function as a glass conveying apparatus conveying downstream while controlling the temperature of a molten glass.

A glass conveying apparatus is equipped with the tubular main body part for conveying a molten glass, the flange part and electrode part as a heating apparatus for controlling the temperature of a molten glass, and the cooling conduit for cooling the flange part and an electrode part. The flange portion and the electrode portion are integrally formed with the body portion, and a cooling duct is provided along the circumference (outer edge) of the flange portion and the electrode portion. The cooling conduit cools a flange part and an electrode part at the time of conveyance of a molten glass by flowing refrigerant|coolant, such as water, for example. In this case, the thickness of the flange portion and the electrode portion is, for example, about 10 mm.

Japanese Patent Publication No. 2018-513092

In the conventional glass conveying apparatus, when the flange portion and the electrode portion are water-cooled by the cooling conduit, the flange portion and the electrode portion are cooled excessively, and the power consumption according to the temperature control of the molten glass increases, leading to a decrease in energy efficiency There are concerns. It is also considered to use a gas as a refrigerant instead of a liquid such as water. However, since gas has a lower thermal conductivity compared to liquid, cooling is insufficient, and there is a fear that the flange portion and the like may be oxidized. For this reason, even if the refrigerant is a gas, a cooling structure capable of appropriately preventing oxidation of the flange portion or the like is required.

The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and it is a technical subject to perform suitable cooling while using a gas as a refrigerant.

The present invention is to solve the above problems, and is a glass conveying device having a glass conveying pipe for conveying molten glass, and a cooling device using gas as a refrigerant, wherein the glass conveying pipe has a tubular body portion and a flange portion and an electrode portion, wherein the cooling device includes a cooling passage through which the refrigerant flows to cool the flange portion and/or the electrode portion, and the cooling passage includes an injection port for supplying the refrigerant and a downstream of the injection port. It is characterized in that it is provided with an inlet for introducing an external gas.

According to this configuration, the refrigerant composed of a gas is injected from the injection port to flow through the cooling passage, and the gas existing outside the cooling passage is introduced into the cooling passage from the inlet located downstream of the injection port, so that the cooling device is cooled. It is possible to increase the cooling capacity and suitably cool the flange portion and/or the electrode portion.

In the glass transport device, the cooling passage includes an upstream cooling passage formed in the flange portion and a downstream cooling passage formed in the electrode portion, and the upstream cooling passage includes an inlet through which the refrigerant flows; and an outlet through which the refrigerant flowing in from the inlet flows out, and the outlet may be the injection port for injecting the refrigerant toward the downstream cooling passage.

According to such a structure, the flange part can be suitably cooled by allowing a refrigerant|coolant to pass through an upstream cooling flow path. In the process of passing the refrigerant through the upstream cooling passage, the temperature of the refrigerant rises, but in the downstream cooling passage, the temperature of the refrigerant can be lowered by the gas introduced from the inlet located on the downstream side of the injection port. For this reason, the electrode part can also be cooled suitably.

The inlet may be a gap formed between the upstream cooling passage and the downstream cooling passage. Thereby, since the gap as the inlet port is located around the injection port, it is possible to suppress the refrigerant supplied from the injection port from flowing out from the inlet port, and it is possible to reliably pass through the downstream cooling passage. For example, as shown in FIG. 5 to be described later, when a gap serving as the inlet 21 is formed between the flange portion 9 having the upstream flow path formed therein and the flow path constituent member 17 of the downstream cooling flow path, it will be described later. As shown in Fig. 2, the length of the inlet in the circumferential direction of the downstream cooling flow passage can be increased compared to the case in which the opening serving as the inlet 21 is formed in the flow passage structural member 17 of the downstream cooling passage. can For this reason, since the amount of the external gas introduced into the downstream cooling passage increases, the cooling capacity can be further increased. In addition, since the temperature of the coolant is lowered at the inlet of the downstream cooling passage formed in the electrode portion, the entire electrode portion can be properly cooled.

The upstream cooling passage may be formed inside the flange portion. Thereby, compared with the case where the cooling flow path is provided in the outer surface side of a flange part, the said flange part can be cooled efficiently. Further, by forming the upstream cooling flow path inside the flange portion, the thickness dimension of the flange portion can be increased. As a result, the electric resistance of the flange portion is lowered and the rigidity is increased, so that energy-efficient heating and cooling can be performed and deformation of the flange portion can be prevented.

The glass conveying apparatus of the said structure WHEREIN: The said flange part is provided in the edge part of the said main body part, The said glass conveying pipe may contain the some said glass conveying pipe which makes the said flange parts oppose and is mutually connected.

Even when the flange portion in which the upstream cooling flow passage is formed is formed at the end of the body portion, its rigidity is high and has a structure that is difficult to deform. For this reason, even when it is a case where the flange parts of a some glass conveyance pipe are made to oppose, it becomes possible to perform the connection operation|work of a glass conveyance pipe easily, without deforming the said flange part.

In the glass conveying device of the above configuration, a plurality of the upstream cooling passages are formed inside the flange portion, and the plurality of the upstream cooling passages extend along the circumferential direction of the flange portion, and the plan It may be formed at intervals in the radial direction of the branch. In this way, by forming the plurality of upstream cooling passages inside the flange portion, it becomes possible to uniformly cool the entire range of the flange portion.

ADVANTAGE OF THE INVENTION According to this invention, suitable cooling can be performed using gas as a refrigerant|coolant.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS It is a side view which shows the whole structure of a glass manufacturing apparatus.
It is a perspective view which shows the edge part of a glass conveyance pipe.
It is sectional drawing which shows the principal part of a glass conveyance pipe.
4 is an enlarged cross-sectional view showing a main part of a glass conveying tube.
It is a perspective view which shows the edge part of the glass conveyance tube which concerns on another embodiment.
It is sectional drawing which shows the principal part of a glass conveyance pipe.
7 is an enlarged cross-sectional view showing a main part of a glass transfer tube.

EMBODIMENT OF THE INVENTION Hereinafter, the form for implementing this invention is demonstrated, referring drawings.

1 shows an apparatus for manufacturing a glass article. This manufacturing apparatus sequentially from an upstream side has a dissolution tank 1, a clarification tank 2, a homogenization tank (agitation tank) 3, a pot 4, a molded body 5, and each of these components Glass supply paths 6a to 6d connecting (1 to 5) are provided. In addition, the manufacturing apparatus is equipped with the cutting device (not shown) which cut|disconnects the plate glass GR after the slow cooling furnace (not shown) which slowly cools the plate glass GR (glass article) shape|molded by the molded object 5, and slow cooling. .

The dissolution tank 1 is a container for performing the dissolution process which melt|dissolves the thrown-in glass-making feedstock and obtains molten glass GM. The dissolution tank 1 is connected to the clarification tank 2 by the glass supply path 6a.

The clarification tank 2 is a container for performing the clarification process degas|defoamed by action|actions, such as a clarifier, conveying molten glass GM. The clarification tank 2 is connected to the homogenization tank 3 by the glass supply path 6b.

The homogenization tank 3 is a tubular container with a bottom for performing the process (homogenization process) of stirring and homogenizing the clarified molten glass GM. The homogenization tank 3 is provided with a stirrer 3a with stirring blades. The homogenization tank 3 is connected to the port 4 by a glass supply path 6c.

The pot 4 is a container for performing the state adjustment process of adjusting the molten glass GM to the state suitable for shaping|molding. The port 4 is illustrated as a volume for viscosity adjustment and flow rate adjustment of the molten glass GM. The port 4 is connected to the molded body 5 by a glass supply path 6d.

The molded object 5 shape|molds the molten glass GM into plate shape by the overflow down-draw method. Specifically, the molded body 5 has a substantially wedge-shaped cross-sectional shape (cross-sectional shape orthogonal to the paper in FIG. 1), and an overflow groove (not shown) is formed in the upper portion of the molded body 5 .

The molded object 5 overflows the molten glass GM from the overflow groove, and makes it flow down along the side wall surfaces (side surface located on the front and back side of the paper surface) of the both sides of the molded object 5. As shown in FIG. The molded object 5 fuses the molten glass GM which flowed down in the lower part of a side wall surface. Thereby, the strip|belt-shaped plate glass GR is shape|molded. The strip|belt-shaped plate glass GR becomes plate glass of a desired dimension by being cut|disconnected by a cutting device after passing through a slow cooling furnace.

The plate glass obtained in this way is 0.01-10 mm thick, for example, and is used for flat panel displays, such as a liquid crystal display and organic electroluminescent display, organic electroluminescent illumination, board|substrates, such as a solar cell, and a protective cover. The molded object 5 may perform another down-draw method, such as a slot down-draw method, and may use the shaping|molding apparatus using a float method instead of the molded object 5. As shown in FIG. The glass article manufactured by the manufacturing apparatus is not limited to the plate glass GR, The thing which has various shapes other than a glass tube is included. For example, when forming a glass tube, instead of the molded object 5, the shaping|molding apparatus using the short-thread method is arrange|positioned.

As a composition of plate glass, silicate glass and silica glass are used, Preferably borosilicate glass, soda-lime glass, aluminosilicate glass, and chemically strengthened glass are used, Most preferably, alkali-free glass is used. Here, an alkali free glass is glass in which the alkali component (alkali metal oxide) is not contained substantially, Specifically, it is glass whose weight ratio of an alkali component is 3000 ppm or less. The weight ratio of the alkali component is preferably 1000 ppm or less, more preferably 500 ppm or less, and most preferably 300 ppm or less.

The glass supply paths 6a-6d function as a glass conveying apparatus which conveys molten glass GM. The glass supply paths 6a to 6d include a glass conveying pipe 7 provided with a heating device and a cooling device (see Fig. 2). The glass supply passages 6a to 6d are constituted by one glass transfer pipe 7 or by connecting a plurality of glass transfer tubes 7 . The whole glass conveyance pipe 7 is coat|covered with heat insulating materials, such as a brick, which are not shown in figure.

As shown in FIG. 2, the glass conveying pipe 7 is a heating device with the body part 8, the flange part 9 formed in the outer peripheral part (outer peripheral surface) of this body part 8, and the flange part 9. An electrode part 10 functioning as a , and a cooling device 11 for cooling the flange part 9 and the electrode part 10 are provided.

The body portion 8 is made of platinum or a platinum alloy in a tubular shape (for example, a cylindrical shape). The main-body part 8 conveys the said molten glass GM from one end side (upstream side) to the other end side (downstream side) by letting the molten glass GM pass inside.

The flange part 9 is comprised in the disk shape, and is formed so that the whole periphery of the main body part 8 may be enclosed. The flange part 9 is comprised (welded) integrally with the body part 8 so that it may become concentric with the body part 8. As shown in FIG. Although the flange part 9 is formed in the longitudinal direction edge part of the main body part 8 in this embodiment, it may be formed in the middle part of the main body part 8. As shown in FIG.

The flange portion 9 includes a first flange portion 9a and a second flange portion 9b integrally fixed to the outer periphery of the first flange portion 9a.

The first flange portion 9a is made of platinum or a platinum alloy. The first flange portion 9a is integrally formed with respect to each end of the body portion 8 . The second flange portion 9b is formed in an annular shape (eg, annular shape) by nickel or a nickel alloy. The 2nd flange part 9b is comprised integrally with the said 1st flange part 9a by joining the inner peripheral part and the outer peripheral part of the 1st flange part 9a by welding.

The electrode part 10 is formed in a plate shape by nickel or a nickel alloy. The electrode part 10 of this embodiment is integrally formed in the upper part of the flange part 9 (2nd flange part 9b). A power supply (not shown) is connected to the electrode unit 10 . Moreover, you may form the electrode part 10 in the lower part or side part of the flange part 9 (2nd flange part 9b).

As shown in Fig. 3, the cooling device 11 has cooling passages 12 and 13 through which a refrigerant R composed of a gas such as air passes. The cooling passages 12 and 13 include an upstream cooling passage 12 formed in the flange portion 9 and a downstream cooling passage 13 formed in the electrode portion 10 .

The upstream cooling passage 12 is formed inside the second flange portion 9b. The upstream cooling passage 12 includes a first cooling passage 12a and a second cooling passage 12b. Each cooling flow path 12a, 12b has two arc-shaped flow path and a flow path connecting them. The two arc-shaped flow paths extend along the circumferential direction of the flange part 9, and have arc-shaped flow paths juxtaposed at intervals in the radial direction of the said flange part 9. As shown in FIG. The number of the upstream cooling flow paths 12 and the number of arc-shaped flow paths included therein are not limited to this embodiment, and can be appropriately set according to the dimension of the flange part 9. As shown in FIG. Moreover, you may provide the inlet 14 and the outlet 15 mentioned later in each of the arc-shaped flow path, without connecting several arc-shaped flow path. In this case, a part of the outlet 15 may be discharged to the outside of the system without supplying the refrigerant R to the downstream cooling passage 13 .

Each of the cooling passages 12a and 12b has an inlet 14 and an outlet 15 of the refrigerant R. The inlet 14 of each cooling flow path 12a, 12b is formed in the upper part of the 2nd flange part 9b. The position of the inlet 14 is not limited to this embodiment, and it may be formed in the side part or the lower part of the 2nd flange part 9b. A cooling pipe 16 for transferring the refrigerant R is connected to the inlet 14 of each of the cooling passages 12a and 12b.

The outlet 15 of the 1st cooling flow path 12a and the 2nd cooling flow path 12b is formed in the upper part of the 2nd flange part 9b, and is comprised as the injection port which injects the refrigerant|coolant R upward. The outlets 15 of the first cooling passage 12a and the second cooling passage 12b are formed to supply the refrigerant R to the downstream cooling passage 13 .

The downstream cooling flow path 13 has a flow path constituent member 17 fixed to the electrode part 10 . The flow path constituting member 17 has a first wall portion 18 opposed to the body portion 8 , and a second wall portion 19 and a third wall portion 20 integrally formed with the first wall portion 18 . .

The first wall portion 18 has a width substantially equal to the width of the electrode portion 10 , and has a long shape along the longitudinal direction of the electrode portion 10 . The first wall portion 18 has an inlet 21 for introducing external air into the downstream cooling passage 13 . The inlet 21 is formed on the lower side of the first wall portion 18 . Although the inlet 21 is constituted by a rectangular opening penetrating the first wall portion 18, the shape of the inlet 21 is not limited to this embodiment.

The second wall portion 19 and the third wall portion 20 are integrally formed at the end of the first wall portion 18 in the width direction, and have the same length as the first wall portion 18 . The 2nd wall part 19 and the 3rd wall part 20 protrude toward the electrode part 10 from the width direction edge part of the 1st wall part 18. As shown in FIG. The ends of the second wall portion 19 and the third wall portion 20 are fixed to the body portion 8 by welding. Thereby, the space through which the refrigerant R passes, ie, the downstream cooling passage 13, is formed by the main body 8 and the first wall 18 to the third wall 20. . The downstream cooling flow path 13 is configured as a long flow path along the vertical direction so as to raise the refrigerant R from the lower end side to the upper end side thereof.

The outlets 15 of the first cooling passage 12a and the second cooling passage 12b formed in the flange portion 9 are in the downstream cooling passage 13 (the electrode portion 10 and the flow passage constituting member ( 17) is located in the space surrounded by

The flow passage cross-sectional area of the downstream cooling passage 13 is set to be larger than the passage cross-sectional area of the upstream cooling passage 12 . Specifically, the flow passage cross-sectional area of the downstream cooling passage 13 is greater than the sum of the opening areas of the outlets 15 in the first cooling passage 12a and the second cooling passage 12b in the upstream cooling passage 12 . set large. In addition, the downstream cooling passage 13 has an outlet 22 for the refrigerant R in its upper portion (downstream end).

Hereinafter, the method of manufacturing plate glass using the manufacturing apparatus of the said structure is demonstrated. In this method, the raw material glass is melted in the melting tank 1 (melting step), and after obtaining the molten glass GM, the clarification step by the clarification tank 2, the homogenization tank ( The homogenization process by 3) and the state adjustment process by the pot 4 are implemented. After that, this molten glass GM is transferred to the molded object 5, and plate glass GR is shape|molded from molten glass GM by a shaping|molding process. After that, the plate glass GR is formed in a predetermined dimension through the slow cooling process by a slow cooling furnace, and the cutting process by a cutting device.

When transferring the molten glass GM to the glass conveying device (glass supply paths 6a to 6d), to manage the temperature of the molten glass GM flowing in the body portion 8 of the glass conveying pipe 7 For this, a voltage is applied to the electrode part 10 to heat the body part 8 . In this case, the cooling device 11 supplies the refrigerant R to the upstream cooling passage 12 . The upstream cooling passage 12 cools the flange portion 9 by flowing the refrigerant R supplied from the cooling pipe 16 from the inlet 14 to the outlet 15 .

As shown in FIG. 4 , the refrigerant R injected from the outlet 15 through the first cooling passage 12a and the second cooling passage 12b is supplied to the downstream cooling passage 13 . The refrigerant R discharged upward from the outlet 15 passes through the downstream cooling passage 13 and is discharged from the outlet 22 . At that time, the gas around the inlet 21 is drawn into the flow of the refrigerant R, is introduced into the downstream cooling passage 13, and passes through the downstream cooling passage 13 together with the refrigerant R. It is discharged from the outlet 22 . The temperature of the refrigerant R is higher than the temperature outside the downstream cooling passage 13 by passing through the flange portion 9 . For this reason, the inside of the downstream cooling passage 13 through which the refrigerant R flows in becomes low pressure, and the outside of the downstream cooling passage 13 becomes high pressure. Even with this pressure difference, the air existing outside the downstream cooling passage 13 flows into the downstream cooling passage 13 from the inlet 21 .

According to the glass conveying apparatus according to the present embodiment described above, the refrigerant in the upstream side cooling passage 12 formed inside the flange portion 9 and the downstream cooling passage 13 formed in the electrode portion 10 is a gas. By passing (R), the flange part 9 and the electrode part 10 can be suitably cooled. In addition, the refrigerant R is injected from the outlet 15 (injection port) of the upstream cooling passage 12 to pass through the downstream cooling passage 13 , and air existing outside the downstream cooling passage 13 . By introducing into the downstream cooling passage 13 from the inlet 21 , the electrode portion 10 can be cooled more suitably.

In a conventional water-cooled cooling device, a facility for supplying and distributing water is required, which increases the facility cost. Also, if a leak occurs, there is a risk of serious accidents. On the other hand, according to the glass conveying apparatus according to the present embodiment, since gas is used as the refrigerant, only the apparatus for supplying the refrigerant may be sufficient, and the facility for recovering the discharged refrigerant becomes unnecessary, and the facility cost can be significantly reduced. there is. It can also prevent serious accidents caused by water leakage.

5-7 show another embodiment of a glass conveying apparatus. In this embodiment, the configuration of the inlet 21 along the cooling passages 12 and 13 is different from the above embodiment.

That is, the flow path structural member 17 is fixed to the electrode part 10 with the lower end of each wall part 18-20 separated from the upper part of the flange part 9. As shown in FIG. Thereby, a clearance gap is formed between the lower end of the flow path structural member 17 and the upper part of the flange part 9. As shown in FIG. In the present embodiment, this gap serves as an inlet 21 for introducing air existing outside the downstream cooling passage 13 into the downstream cooling passage 13 . The electrode part 10 is suitably cooled by introducing an external gas into the downstream cooling passage 13 from the inlet 21 (interpole) formed between the upstream cooling passage 12 and the downstream cooling passage 13 . can do.

In addition, this invention is not limited to the structure of the said embodiment, nor is it limited to the above-mentioned effect. Various changes are possible in this invention in the range which does not deviate from the summary of this invention.

In the said embodiment, although the example which applied this invention to the glass conveyance pipe 7 contained in glass supply path 6a-6d was shown, this invention is not limited to this structure. The present invention can be applied to other components such as the clarification tank (2), the homogenization tank (3), the port (4).

Although the example in which the introduction port 21 of the flow path structural member 17 was formed in the 1st wall part 18 in the said embodiment was shown, this invention is not limited to this structure. The inlet 21 may be formed in one or both of the second wall portion 19 and the third wall portion 20 .

Although the example in which the flow path structural member 17 was provided in the electrode part 10 and the downstream cooling flow path 13 was comprised was shown in the said embodiment, this invention is not limited to this structure. By fixing the flow path structural member 17 to the flange portion 9 , the upstream cooling passage 12 and the downstream cooling passage 13 may be formed in the flange portion 9 . From the viewpoint of accurately cooling the flange portion 9 and the electrode portion 10, as in the above embodiment, the upstream cooling passage 12 is formed in the flange portion 9 and the downstream cooling passage 13 is It is preferable to install in the electrode part (10).

The glass supply paths 6a-6d and the clarification tank 2 can be comprised by desired length by connecting the some glass conveyance pipe|tube 7. As shown in FIG. In this case, the flange parts 9 comrades of the adjacent glass transport pipe 7 are made to oppose, and the said glass transport pipe 7 can be connected in the state which interposed the heat insulating member etc. between the flange parts 9. The flange portion 9 has an upstream cooling flow passage 12 formed therein so that the thickness thereof is larger than that of the conventional one, and thus the rigidity is increased. Therefore, when connecting the some glass conveyance pipe 7, a connection operation can be performed easily, preventing the deformation|transformation of the flange part 9. As shown in FIG. Moreover, it is preferable to set it as 20-50 mm, for example, and, as for the thickness dimension of the flange part 9, it is more preferable to set it as 30-50 mm.

7: Glass Conveying Pipe
8: body part
9: Flange
10: electrode part
11: cooling device
12: Upstream side cooling flow path
13: downstream cooling flow path
14: inlet
15: outlet
21: inlet
R: refrigerant

Claims (6)

A glass conveying device comprising: a glass conveying pipe for conveying molten glass; and a cooling device using gas as a refrigerant;
The glass transport tube has a tubular body portion, a flange portion, and an electrode portion,
The cooling device includes a cooling passage through which the refrigerant flows in order to cool the flange portion and/or the electrode portion,
The cooling passage is a glass conveying device, characterized in that the injection port for supplying the refrigerant, and an inlet located downstream of the injection port for introducing an external gas. The method of claim 1,
The cooling passage includes an upstream cooling passage formed in the flange portion and a downstream cooling passage formed in the electrode portion,
The upstream cooling passage includes an inlet through which the refrigerant flows, and an outlet through which the refrigerant flowing in from the inlet flows out,
The said outlet is the said injection port which injects the said refrigerant|coolant toward the said downstream cooling flow path, The glass conveying apparatus. 3. The method of claim 2,
The inlet is a gap formed between the upstream cooling passage and the downstream cooling passage, the glass conveying device. 4. The method of claim 2 or 3,
The upstream cooling passage is a glass conveying device formed inside the flange portion. 5. The method of claim 4,
The flange portion is formed at the end of the body portion,
The said glass conveying pipe makes the said flange parts oppose each other, The glass conveying apparatus containing the some said glass conveying pipe connected to each other. 6. The method according to claim 4 or 5,
A plurality of upstream cooling passages are formed in the flange portion,
The plurality of upstream cooling passages extend along the circumferential direction of the flange portion, and are formed at intervals in the radial direction of the flange portion.

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