JP2007070135A - Method of manufacturing thin sheet glass - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a method of manufacturing thin sheet glass which can make a thin sheet glass inconspicuous in striae to improve its commercial value, and makes the thin sheet glass possible to be used for a strict optical examination by suppressing the change of optical refractive index even if it is used for optical measurement. <P>SOLUTION: In the method of manufacturing the thin sheet glass, a molten glass is stretched to have a columnar shape to prepare a columnar glass rod G2, and after the columnar glass rod G2 is solidified, the columnar glass rod G2 is cut in a thin thickness in a direction approximately orthogonal to its axis L to produce a semiprocessed thin sheet glass G3, and the surface of the semiprocessed thin sheet glass G3 is polished to manufacture the thin sheet glass G. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2007,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a method for producing a thin glass, and more particularly to a method suitable for producing a thin glass used for optical measurement such as a bottom plate of a well or a preparation in a biochemical container.

  Conventionally, such a thin glass has been produced by a very common float method in the production of glass (since it is a very common production method, there is no appropriate patent document referring to the float method).

Therefore, in the conventional thin glass, as well known in the art, a striped pattern called “stria” remains almost along the surface of the thin glass, which reduces the commercial value of the thin glass. It was one of the causes.
Furthermore, in thin glass used for optical measurement, a portion where the refractive index of light slightly changes due to striae remaining almost along the surface of the glass appears. There is a problem in using it for optical measurement, and there is room for improvement in this respect.

  The present invention pays attention to such a conventional problem, and its purpose is to make the existence of striae inconspicuous and improve the commercial value, and even when used for optical measurement. Another object of the present invention is to provide a method for producing a thin glass capable of suppressing a change in the refractive index of light and performing strict optical measurement.

  The first characteristic configuration of the present invention is that a molten glass is stretched into a columnar shape to produce a columnar glass rod, and after the columnar glass rod is solidified, the columnar glass rod is cut with a thin thickness in a direction substantially perpendicular to the axis. Then, a semi-finished thin glass is produced, and the surface of the semi-finished thin glass is polished to produce a thin glass.

According to the first characteristic configuration of the present invention, first, the molten glass is stretched into a columnar shape to produce a columnar glass rod, so that even if striae exist, it occurs along the axis of the columnar glass rod. Become.
Then, after the columnar glass rod is solidified, the columnar glass rod is cut into a thin thickness in a direction substantially perpendicular to the axial center to produce a semi-finished thin glass, and the surface of the semi-finished thin glass is polished and thinned. Since glass is manufactured, in the thin glass as the final product, even if striae exist, it remains along the thickness direction of the thin glass.
Therefore, compared with the conventional thin glass in which striae remain in a striped pattern substantially along the surface of the glass, the existence of striae is hardly noticeable, and a thin glass with high commercial value can be manufactured. Since the striae are along the thickness direction of the glass, a change in the refractive index of light is suppressed and a thin glass suitable for optical measurement can be produced.

  A second characteristic configuration of the present invention is that the thin glass is a thin glass for optical measurement.

  According to the second characteristic configuration of the present invention, since the thin glass is a thin glass for optical measurement, it is manufactured by this manufacturing method by suppressing the change in the refractive index of light as described above. It is possible to perform very precise optical measurement using the thin glass plate.

Embodiments of a method for producing a thin glass according to the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.
The thin glass G which is the object of this manufacturing method is used as a bottom plate of the well 6 in a biochemical container 5 which is usually called “microplate”, as shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, for example. In general, it has a thickness of about 0.1 mm to 1.0 mm, preferably about 0.1 mm to 0.2 mm.
Such a biochemical container 5 is used to optically measure the cells through the bottom plate after culturing the cells in the well 6. Therefore, the thin glass G as the bottom plate is a thin glass for optical measurement. Served as.

In order to manufacture the thin glass G, for example, as shown in FIG. 1, a continuous glass melting apparatus 1 is used, a glass raw material is melted in a melting chamber 2 of the glass melting apparatus 1, and the molten glass is obtained. G1 is extended while being drawn out from a forming hole 4 having a circular cross section provided at the bottom of the clarification chamber 3, and a cylindrical glass rod G2 is produced as shown in FIG.
In the columnar glass rod G2 produced by stretching in a columnar shape as described above, when striae exist, striae occur along the axis L of the columnar glass rod G2.

Next, after the cylindrical glass rod G2 is solidified, the cylindrical glass rod G2 is cut with a thin thickness in a direction substantially perpendicular to the axis L by a cutting means (not shown) such as a diamond cutter. Product thin glass G3 is produced.
Thereafter, the surface of the semi-finished thin glass G3 is polished by a polishing means (not shown) to produce a thin glass G as a final product. In the thin glass G as a final product, a pulse is formed along the thickness direction. Reason will remain.
And the thin glass G manufactured in this way is used as a bottom plate of the well 6 in the biochemical container 5 as described above.

[Another embodiment]
In the previous embodiment, an example in which the molten glass G1 is stretched to produce the cylindrical glass rod G2 has been shown. However, depending on the purpose of use of the thin glass G that is the final product, for example, square, rectangular, elliptical For example, columnar glass rods having various cross-sectional shapes can be produced.
The thin glass G, which is the final product, is not limited to the bottom plate of the well 6 in the biochemical vessel 5, but can be used as a thin glass for various optical measurements including, for example, preparations. .

Explanatory drawing which shows the manufacturing process of thin glass Explanatory drawing which shows the manufacturing process of thin glass Perspective view of biochemical container using thin glass Explanatory drawing showing the state of use of thin glass

Explanation of symbols

G Thin glass G1 Molten glass G2 Columnar glass rod G3 Semi-finished thin glass L L Axis of columnar glass rod

Claims (2)

  The molten glass is stretched into a columnar shape to produce a columnar glass rod, and after the columnar glass rod is solidified, the columnar glass rod is cut with a thin thickness in a direction substantially perpendicular to the axis to produce a semi-finished thin glass plate, A method for producing a thin glass by polishing the surface of the semi-finished thin glass to produce a thin glass.   The method for producing a thin glass according to claim 1, wherein the thin glass is a thin glass for optical measurement.

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