JP6274042B2 - Glass material manufacturing method and glass material manufacturing apparatus - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a glass material manufacturing method and a glass material manufacturing apparatus.

  In recent years, research on a containerless floating method has been made as a method for producing a glass material. For example, in Patent Document 1, a barium titanium ferroelectric sample suspended in a gas floating furnace is irradiated with a laser beam, heated and melted, and then cooled, whereby the barium titanium ferroelectric sample is cooled to glass. Is described. In the conventional method of melting glass using a container, crystals may precipitate when the molten glass comes into contact with the wall surface of the container, but in the containerless floating method, crystals caused by contact with the wall surface of the container The progress of conversion can be suppressed. For this reason, even a material that could not be vitrified by a conventional manufacturing method using a container may be vitrified by a containerless floating method. Therefore, the containerless floating method is a method that should be noted as a method capable of producing a glass material having a novel composition.

JP 2006-248801 A

  The problem of the containerless floating method is to improve the homogeneity of the glass material. Therefore, in the method described in Patent Document 1, laser light is radiated to a wide range of glass raw material blocks using a plurality of lasers.

  However, depending on the irradiation state of the laser, temperature unevenness may occur in the glass raw material lump, and the glass component may volatilize or undissolved material may be generated. Moreover, the molten glass in a floating state obtained by melting the glass raw material lump may be undesirably vibrated or swung, and crystals may be precipitated by contacting the mold. As described above, in the method described in Patent Document 1, it is difficult to obtain a sufficiently homogeneous glass because undissolved substances and crystals may be precipitated and undesired volatilization may occur.

  A main object of the present invention is to provide a method capable of producing a glass material having excellent homogeneity by a containerless floating method.

  In the method for producing a glass material according to the present invention, a glass material lump is floated and held above the molding surface by ejecting gas from a gas ejection hole opened on the molding surface of the mold. A glass material is obtained by cooling the molten glass after the molten glass is heated and melted by irradiation with a laser beam to obtain the molten glass. A control gas is jetted onto the glass raw material lump along a direction different from the jetting direction of the floating gas for floating the glass raw material lump or molten glass. By doing in this way, at least one of the position and attitude | position of a glass raw material lump or a molten glass can be controlled. Thereby, a laser beam can be uniformly irradiated with respect to a glass raw material lump. Moreover, it can suppress that a molten glass contacts a shaping | molding surface. As a result, a glass material having excellent homogeneity can be produced.

  From the viewpoint of uniformly irradiating the surface of the glass raw material lump with laser light, it is preferable to eject control gas in the step of melting the glass raw material lump.

  From the viewpoint of suppressing the precipitation of crystals due to contact between the molten glass and the mold, it is preferable to eject control gas in the step of cooling the molten glass.

  In the method for producing a glass material according to the present invention, the glass raw material block may be rotated, vibrated or oscillated by ejecting a control gas to the glass raw material block. In this case, the surface of the glass raw material lump can be uniformly irradiated with laser light.

  In the method for producing a glass material according to the present invention, the displacement of the molten glass may be regulated by ejecting a control gas to the molten glass. In this case, it can suppress effectively that a molten glass contacts a shaping | molding die.

  In the method for producing a glass material according to the present invention, the control gas may be ejected along the horizontal direction or obliquely upward from the glass raw material lump or the molten glass.

  The apparatus for producing a glass material according to the present invention includes a glass raw material lump in a state where the glass raw material lump is suspended and held above the molding surface by ejecting gas from a gas ejection hole opened on the molding surface of the mold. It is an apparatus which manufactures a glass material by cooling molten glass after heat-melting by irradiating a laser beam to obtain molten glass. The apparatus for producing a glass material according to the present invention includes a control gas ejection unit that ejects a control gas to the glass raw material along a direction different from a gas ejection direction for suspending the glass raw material. In the glass material manufacturing apparatus according to the present invention, at least one of the position and posture of the glass raw material lump or molten glass can be controlled. For this reason, a laser beam can be uniformly irradiated with respect to a glass raw material lump. Moreover, it can suppress that a molten glass contacts a shaping | molding surface. Therefore, a glass material having excellent homogeneity can be produced.

  ADVANTAGE OF THE INVENTION According to this invention, the method which can manufacture the glass material which has the outstanding homogeneity by the containerless floating method can be provided.

It is typical sectional drawing of the manufacturing apparatus of the glass material which concerns on 1st Embodiment. It is a schematic plan view of a part of the molding surface in the first embodiment. It is a schematic plan view showing a part of the glass material manufacturing apparatus according to the first embodiment. It is a schematic plan view showing a part of the glass material manufacturing apparatus according to the second embodiment. It is a schematic plan view showing a part of the manufacturing apparatus of the glass material which concerns on a modification. It is typical sectional drawing of the manufacturing apparatus of the glass material which concerns on 3rd Embodiment. It is typical sectional drawing of the manufacturing apparatus of the glass material which concerns on 4th Embodiment. It is a typical top view showing a part of glass material manufacturing apparatus concerning a 4th embodiment. It is typical sectional drawing of the manufacturing apparatus of the glass material which concerns on 5th Embodiment.

  Hereinafter, the preferable form which implemented this invention is demonstrated. However, the following embodiment is merely an example. The present invention is not limited to the following embodiments.

  Moreover, in each drawing referred in embodiment etc., the member which has a substantially the same function shall be referred with the same code | symbol. The drawings referred to in the embodiments and the like are schematically described. A ratio of dimensions of an object drawn in a drawing may be different from a ratio of dimensions of an actual object. The dimensional ratio of the object may be different between the drawings. The specific dimensional ratio of the object should be determined in consideration of the following description.

  In the following embodiments, a normal glass material, for example, a glass material that does not contain a network-forming oxide, such as a glass material that does not vitrify by a melting method using a container, is preferably manufactured. Can do. Specifically, for example, barium titanate glass material, lanthanum-niobium composite oxide glass material, lanthanum-niobium-aluminum composite oxide glass material, lanthanum-niobium-tantalum composite oxide glass material, lanthanum- A tungsten composite oxide glass material or the like can be suitably produced.

(First embodiment)
FIG. 1 is a schematic cross-sectional view of a glass material manufacturing apparatus 1 according to the first embodiment. As shown in FIG. 1, the glass material manufacturing apparatus 1 includes a mold 10. The molding die 10 includes a curved molding surface 10a. Specifically, the molding surface 10a has a spherical shape.

  The molding die 10 has a floating gas ejection hole 10b opened in the molding surface 10a. As shown in FIG. 2, in the first embodiment, a plurality of floating gas ejection holes 10b are provided. Specifically, the plurality of floating gas ejection holes 10b are arranged radially from the center of the molding surface 10a.

  In addition, the shaping | molding die 10 may be comprised with the porous body which has an open cell. In that case, the floating gas ejection hole 10b is constituted by continuous bubbles.

  The floating gas ejection hole 10b is connected to a gas supply mechanism 11 such as a gas cylinder. Gas is supplied from the gas supply mechanism 11 to the molding surface 10a through the floating gas ejection hole 10b.

  The type of gas is not particularly limited. The gas may be, for example, air or oxygen, or an inert gas such as nitrogen gas, argon gas, or helium gas.

  When manufacturing a glass material using the manufacturing apparatus 1, first, the glass raw material lump 12 is arrange | positioned on the molding surface 10a. The glass raw material lump 12 may be, for example, a glass material raw material powder integrated by press molding or the like. The glass raw material lump 12 may be a sintered body that is sintered after integrating the raw material powder of the glass material by press molding or the like. Moreover, the glass raw material lump 12 may be an aggregate of crystals having a composition equivalent to the target glass composition.

  The shape of the glass raw material lump 12 is not particularly limited. The glass raw material block 12 may be, for example, a lens shape, a spherical shape, a cylindrical shape, a polygonal column shape, a rectangular parallelepiped shape, an elliptical shape, or the like.

  Next, the glass raw material block 12 is floated on the molding surface 10a by ejecting gas from the floating gas ejection hole 10b. That is, the glass raw material block 12 is held in the air in a state where the glass raw material block 12 is not in contact with the molding surface 10a. In this state, the glass material block 12 is irradiated with laser light from the laser irradiation device 13. Thereby, the glass raw material lump 12 is heated and melted to obtain molten glass. Thereafter, the glass material can be obtained by cooling the molten glass. The ejection of the floating gas is continued until the temperature of the glass material is at least the softening point or less, preferably the glass transition point or less, and the glass raw material mass 12, molten glass or glass material and the molding surface 10a are in contact with each other. Is preferably suppressed.

  As shown in FIG.1 and FIG.3, the shaping | molding die 10 is equipped with the control gas ejection hole 10c which comprises the control gas ejection part. The control gas ejection hole 10c extends in a direction different from the direction in which the floating gas ejection hole 10b extends. Specifically, the floating gas ejection hole 10b extends along the vertical direction, while the control gas ejection hole 10c extends along the horizontal direction. The control gas ejection hole 10c is provided so as to open toward the glass raw material block 12 floating on the molding surface 10a.

  In the first embodiment, the control gas is ejected from the control gas ejection hole 10c in a state where the glass raw material block 12 is suspended and held. As described above, the extending direction of the control gas ejection hole 10c and the extending direction of the floating gas ejection hole 10b are different from each other. For this reason, the ejection direction of the control gas ejected from the control gas ejection hole 10c is different from the ejection direction of the floating gas ejected from the floating gas ejection hole 10b. At least one of the position and posture of the floating glass raw material block 12 or molten glass is controlled by the control gas ejected from the control gas ejection hole 10c.

  By adopting the above configuration, it becomes possible to optimize the irradiation state of the laser light, and it is possible to suppress the undissolved matter and crystals from being precipitated and the occurrence of undesired volatilization. Therefore, a homogeneous glass material can be manufactured. More specifically, depending on the irradiation state of the laser beam on the glass raw material lump, temperature unevenness may occur in the glass raw material lump. When a part of the glass raw material lump is overheated, undesired volatilization occurs, and problems such as striae and compositional deviation may occur. On the other hand, when the temperature of a part of the glass raw material lump is too low, undissolved material may be generated in the manufactured glass material. In addition, when the molten glass in a floating state vibrates undesirably or swings and comes into contact with the mold, crystals may precipitate on the glass material to be manufactured. Therefore, as described above, in the first embodiment, the control gas is ejected to the glass raw material block 12 or the molten glass. Thereby, at least one of the position and attitude | position of the glass raw material lump 12 or molten glass in a floating state is controllable.

  Specifically, in the step of melting the glass raw material lump 12, the glass raw material lump 12 is rotated or oscillated or oscillated within the range not contacting the mold 10 by ejecting a control gas. be able to. Thereby, the laser beam can be uniformly irradiated on the surface of the glass raw material block 12. Therefore, the glass raw material lump 12 is easily heated uniformly. As a result, it is possible to suppress undesired volatilization due to part of the glass raw material mass 12 becoming too high, or generation of undissolved matter due to part of the glass raw material mass 12 becoming too low.

  Moreover, in the process of cooling the molten glass obtained by melting the glass raw material block 12, the displacement of the molten glass can be regulated by ejecting the control gas. Thereby, a contact with molten glass and the shaping | molding die 10 can be suppressed. As a result, it can suppress that a crystal | crystallization precipitates on the glass material manufactured.

  In addition, from the viewpoint of more effectively suppressing the displacement of the molten glass, it is preferable to eject the control gas so that the molten glass rotates, and the axis of the molten glass passing through the molten glass (for example, the vertical direction) More preferably, the control gas is ejected so as to rotate about the axis).

  Hereinafter, other examples of preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described. In the following description, members having substantially the same functions as those of the first embodiment are referred to by the same reference numerals, and description thereof is omitted.

(Second Embodiment)
FIG. 4 is a schematic plan view showing a part of the glass material manufacturing apparatus according to the second embodiment.

  As shown in FIG. 3, in the first embodiment, an example in which only one control gas ejection hole 10c is provided has been described. However, the present invention is not limited to this configuration.

  As shown in FIG. 4, the second embodiment is different from the first embodiment in that a plurality of control gas ejection holes 10c are provided. Specifically, the plurality of control gas ejection holes 10c are provided radially from the center of the molding surface 10a in plan view. The plurality of control gas ejection holes 10c are provided at substantially equal intervals along the circumferential direction. By providing the plurality of control gas ejection holes 10c in this manner, the displacement of the molten glass can be more effectively regulated. Therefore, the contact between the molten glass and the mold 10 can be more effectively regulated.

  Further, by providing a plurality of control gas ejection holes 10c along the circumferential direction, the rotation, vibration or swing of the glass raw material block 12 can be promoted. Thereby, the surface of the glass raw material lump 12 can be irradiated with laser light more uniformly.

  From the viewpoint of further promoting the rotation of the glass raw material mass 12, as shown in FIG. 5, the control gas ejection hole 10c extends in a direction different from the radial direction of the molding surface 10a in the molding die 10. It is preferable to provide the gas ejection hole 10c.

(Third embodiment)
FIG. 6 is a schematic cross-sectional view of a glass material manufacturing apparatus according to the third embodiment.

  In the first and second embodiments, the example in which the control gas is ejected along the horizontal direction has been described. However, the present invention is not limited to this.

  As shown in FIG. 6, in the third embodiment, the control gas ejection nozzle 10 d having the control gas ejection hole 10 c extends obliquely downward toward the center of the molding surface 10 a in the molding die 10. This is different from the first and second embodiments. For this reason, the control gas is ejected toward the glass raw material block 12 obliquely from above. In this case, the glass raw material lump 12 can be rotated around, for example, a horizontal axis.

  When the glass raw material lump 12 is not rotated, the upper surface of the glass raw material lump 12 is heated, while the lower surface is cooled by the floating gas ejected from the floating gas ejection hole 10b. Likely to happen. Therefore, there is a possibility that undesired volatilization and undissolved substances may occur. On the other hand, in 3rd Embodiment, since the glass raw material lump 12 is rotated centering on the axis of a horizontal direction, it can suppress that temperature nonuniformity arises in the glass raw material lump 12. FIG.

(Fourth embodiment)
FIG. 7 is a schematic cross-sectional view of a glass material manufacturing apparatus according to the fourth embodiment. FIG. 8 is a schematic plan view showing a part of the glass material manufacturing apparatus according to the fourth embodiment.

  In the fourth embodiment, a plurality of control gas ejection nozzles 10d having control gas ejection holes 10c are arranged at substantially equal intervals along the circumferential direction. Each control gas ejection nozzle 10d extends along the vertical direction. For this reason, the control gas is ejected along a direction (downward) opposite to the ejection direction (upward) of the floating gas. The plurality of control gas ejection nozzles 10d are arranged so that the control gas ejected from each control gas ejection nozzle 10d is in contact with the side surface of the glass raw material mass 12, so that the glass raw material mass 12 is melted. The displacement of the obtained molten glass can be regulated effectively.

(Fifth embodiment)
FIG. 9 is a schematic cross-sectional view of a glass material manufacturing apparatus according to the fifth embodiment.

  In the first to fourth embodiments, the example in which the plurality of floating gas ejection holes 10b are opened in the molding surface 10a has been described. However, the present invention is not limited to this configuration. For example, one floating gas ejection hole 10b opened in the center of the molding surface 10a may be provided as in the glass material manufacturing apparatus shown in FIG. Even with one floating gas ejection hole 10 b, the glass raw material mass 12 or the molten glass is formed on the molding surface 10 a of the mold 10 by the floating gas ejected from the floating gas ejection hole 10 b connected to the gas supply mechanism 11. Can be held above.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Manufacturing apparatus 10 Mold 10a Molding surface 10b Floating gas ejection hole 10c Control gas ejection hole 10d Control gas ejection nozzle 11 Gas supply mechanism 12 Glass raw material lump 13 Laser irradiation apparatus

Claims (9)

The glass raw material lump is heated and melted by irradiating the glass raw material lump with a laser beam in a state where the glass raw material lump is suspended and held above the forming surface by jetting gas from the gas ejection hole opened on the molding surface of the mold. After obtaining molten glass, including a step of obtaining a glass material by cooling the molten glass,
A method for producing a glass material, wherein a control gas is ejected to the glass raw material lump or the molten glass along a direction different from a blowing direction of a floating gas for floating the glass raw material lump or the molten glass.   The method for producing a glass material according to claim 1, wherein the control gas is ejected in the step of melting the glass raw material block.   The method for producing a glass material according to claim 1, wherein the control gas is ejected in the step of cooling the molten glass.   The at least one of the position and attitude | position of the said glass raw material lump or molten glass is controlled by injecting the said control gas with respect to the said glass raw material lump or the said molten glass. The manufacturing method of the glass material of description.   The manufacturing method of the glass material of Claim 4 which rotates the said glass raw material lump by ejecting the said control gas with respect to the said glass raw material lump.   The manufacturing method of the glass material of Claim 4 which vibrates or rocks the said glass raw material lump by ejecting the said control gas with respect to the said glass raw material lump.   The manufacturing method of the glass material of Claim 4 which regulates the displacement of the said molten glass by ejecting the said control gas with respect to the said molten glass.   The method for producing a glass material according to any one of claims 1 to 7, wherein the control gas is ejected along the horizontal direction or obliquely from above the glass raw material lump or the molten glass. The glass raw material lump is heated and melted by irradiating the glass raw material lump with a laser beam in a state where the glass raw material lump is suspended and held above the forming surface by jetting gas from the gas ejection hole opened on the molding surface of the mold. After the molten glass is obtained, an apparatus for producing a glass material by cooling the molten glass,
A glass material comprising a control gas jetting part for jetting a control gas to the glass raw material lump along a direction different from a jetting direction of a floating gas for floating the glass raw material lump or the molten glass. manufacturing device.

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