JP2008105929A - Molten glass delivery pipe, glass production apparatus, glass molding production method, and optical element production method - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a molten glass delivery pipe which prevents molten glass from undergoing compositional dispersion during flow therethrough and is therefore useful for the production of high-quality glass, a glass production apparatus equipped with such molten glass delivery pipe, and a glass molding or optical element production method using such molten glass delivery pipe. <P>SOLUTION: On the inner circumferential surface of a molten glass delivery pipe which constitutes at least part of a passage which guides and delivers molten glass from a container, an irregular shape agitating the molten glass during flow therethrough, more particularly, an irregular shape comprising a spirally and longitudinally formed recessed groove and/or a spirally and longitudinally formed protruded streak is formed. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2008,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention is directed to a glass outflow pipe for guiding molten glass out of a predetermined container and flowing out, a glass manufacturing apparatus equipped with such a glass outflow pipe, and a glass molded body using such a glass outflow pipe, The present invention relates to a method for manufacturing an optical element.

As a method of mass-producing high-quality glass such as optical glass, for example, as described in Patent Document 1, the glass raw material is melted at a high temperature, and the obtained molten glass is discharged from a glass outflow pipe. A method of forming is known.
JP2000-7360

By the way, in recent years, the demand for high refractive index glass and low dispersion glass has been increasing as high value-added optical element materials. In addition, the precision press molding method that can form optical function surfaces of optical elements such as aspherical lenses, which require enormous labor and cost in the conventional polishing method, is gaining attention. Along with this, the demand for optical glass having low-temperature softening properties for application to precision press molding is also increasing.
These glasses are called new-type glasses and have the property of low viscosity when flowing out of the molten glass. Also, when producing these glasses, crucibles, tanks, etc. that accumulate molten glass A glass outflow pipe is connected to this container, and the molten glass accumulated in the container is guided by this glass outflow pipe and formed into a glass molded body having a predetermined shape while flowing out at a constant flow rate.

However, the molten glass accumulated in the container is stirred and homogenized by a stirring rod or the like, and then flows into the glass outflow pipe. However, the flow rate of the molten glass flowing through the glass outflow pipe is as large as the center of the pipe. The closer it is to the inner peripheral surface, the smaller it becomes. In the low-viscosity glass as described above, this flow velocity distribution tends to be larger.
Therefore, of the molten glass that flows into the glass outflow pipe from the container at the same time, the one that flows along the flow path at the center of the pipe has a longer transit time in the pipe than the one that flows along the flow path near the inner peripheral surface of the pipe. Becomes shorter. Therefore, the molten glass which flows out simultaneously from the outlet of the glass outflow pipe does not flow into the glass outflow pipe at the same time.

  Thus, even if the molten glass accumulated in the container is homogenized, the inside of the glass outflow pipe is melted by the difference in the flow rate of the molten glass near the center of the glass outflow pipe and the inner peripheral surface of the glass outflow pipe. As the glass flows, the glass composition of the molten glass flowing out from the glass outflow pipe varies. Although the variation in the glass composition is slight, it becomes a variation in the refractive index and appears as a striae in the molded glass molded body or optical element. In a glass such as optical glass that requires a very high homogeneity, the occurrence of this striae greatly deteriorates the quality.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and is a glass outflow pipe useful for the production of high-quality glass, a glass manufacturing apparatus equipped with such a glass outflow pipe, and such a glass outflow pipe. An object of the present invention is to provide a method for producing a glass molded body and an optical element using the above.

  The glass outflow pipe according to the present invention is a glass outflow pipe that forms at least a part of a flow path for guiding and flowing out the molten glass from a container in which the molten glass is accumulated, and the molten glass flows inside. The concavo-convex shape to be agitated is provided on the inner peripheral surface.

  According to the glass outflow pipe according to the present invention having such a configuration, the molten glass that is outflowed is always homogenized, and when manufacturing a glass molded body or an optical element, the glass composition such as striae is not uniform. Problems caused can be effectively avoided.

Moreover, the glass outflow pipe which concerns on this invention can be set as the structure which the said uneven | corrugated shape consists of a ditch | groove and / or a protruding item | line which were formed helically along the longitudinal direction.
With such a configuration, it is possible to impart resistance to the molten glass flowing in the flow path so that the molten glass flows in a spiral shape and is stirred.
Here, the convex line means a convex part extending along the inner peripheral surface of the pipe.

  Further, the glass outflow pipe according to the present invention is a glass outflow pipe that forms at least a part of a flow path for guiding the molten glass out of the container in which the molten glass is accumulated, and is spiral along the longitudinal direction. It is good also as a structure by which the uneven | corrugated shape which consists of the ditch | groove and / or protruding line | wire which were formed in is provided in the inner peripheral surface.

Further, in the glass outflow pipe according to the present invention, in at least two adjacent predetermined ranges, the concave groove and / or ridge formed in one range is the concave groove and / or formed in the other range. It can be set as the structure made into the spiral structure rotated in a reverse direction with respect to a protruding item | line.
With such a configuration, the molten glass that flows out can be made more homogeneous.

In addition, the glass outflow pipe according to the present invention may be configured such that the cross-sectional area in the cross section perpendicular to the longitudinal direction is substantially constant in the range where the uneven shape is provided.
If it is set as such a structure, it can prevent that providing uneven | corrugated shape does not become a hindrance at the time of adjusting the temperature of the flow path which guide | induces and flows out molten glass. For example, when the pipe temperature is adjusted by energizing the pipe to generate Joule heat, if the cross-sectional area of the pipe in the above cross section is substantially constant, the electrical resistance is constant along the longitudinal direction of the pipe, Along the longitudinal direction, Joule heat generated by energization can be made constant, which is convenient for adjusting the temperature of the pipe. In addition, when the pipe is subjected to high-frequency induction heating, if uniform high-frequency induction heating is performed, the heat generation of the pipe can be made constant along the longitudinal direction. Therefore, it becomes easy to adjust the temperature of the pipe.

  Moreover, the glass manufacturing apparatus according to the present invention is a glass manufacturing apparatus comprising a container for accumulating molten glass and a flow path for guiding and flowing out the molten glass accumulated in the container, and at least a part of the flow path. The glass outflow pipe as described above is used.

  According to the glass manufacturing apparatus according to the present invention having such a configuration, it is possible to manufacture high-quality glass free from defects caused by non-uniform glass composition such as striae.

  In addition, the method for producing a glass molded body according to the present invention is a method for producing a glass molded body in which molten glass accumulated in a container is heated and melted to flow out of the container and molded into the glass molded body. In this case, the glass outflow pipe as described above is used in at least a part of the flow path for flowing out the molten glass from the container.

  According to the method for producing a glass molded body according to the present invention as described above, it is possible to produce a high-quality glass molded body free from defects caused by non-uniform glass composition such as striae, and A high-quality optical element can be manufactured using such a glass molded body.

  In addition, the method for producing a glass molded body according to the present invention more specifically, a preform for precision press molding in the process of separating a molten glass lump from the molten glass that has flowed out and cooling and solidifying the molten glass lump. A method of forming the molten glass into a mold by molding it into a mold, separating the molten glass lump from the molten glass that has flowed out, and press-molding the molten glass lump to form a glass It can be set as the method of shape | molding to a body.

  In addition, the method for producing a glass molded body according to the present invention includes a method for precision press molding a preform for precision press molding produced by the method as described above, and a method for producing a glass molded body produced by the method as described above. Thus, at least grinding and polishing are performed to obtain an optical element.

  According to the method of manufacturing an optical element according to the present invention as described above, it is possible to manufacture a high-quality optical element free from defects caused by nonuniform glass composition such as striae.

  As described above, according to the present invention, the molten glass can be stirred and homogenized by flowing in the flow path for guiding the molten glass to flow out from the container in which the molten glass is accumulated. Therefore, a homogeneous molten glass can be flowed out. As a result, it is possible to produce a high-quality glass molded body, and it is also possible to produce a high-quality optical element by using such a glass molded article.

  Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

[Glass outflow pipe, glass manufacturing equipment]
First, an embodiment of a glass outflow pipe and a glass manufacturing apparatus according to the present invention will be described.
In addition, FIG. 1 is explanatory drawing which shows notionally the glass manufacturing apparatus in this embodiment.

  In the illustrated example, the glass manufacturing apparatus 100 heats and melts a raw material prepared by mixing various compounds called batch raw materials to vitrify the glass, and a clarification bath 20 that refines the molten glass obtained in the melting bath 10. And a working tank 30 for stirring and homogenizing the clarified molten glass with a stirring rod 31 and the like, and an outflow pipe 40 as a flow path for guiding and flowing out the molten glass accumulated in the working tank 30.

  In this embodiment, the glass manufacturing apparatus 100 should just be equipped with the container which accumulate | stores molten glass, and the flow path which guide | induces and flows out the molten glass accumulate | stored in this container, and the structure of a specific part is as follows. Any known glass manufacturing apparatus can be used as appropriate. For example, a vitrified cullet raw material is prepared, put into a predetermined container, heated, melted, clarified and stirred in one container, and the molten glass is introduced into such a container to flow out. The road may be connected.

The outflow pipe 40 is connected to a container in which the molten glass is accumulated and serves as a flow path for guiding and outflowing the molten glass. At least a part of the inner peripheral surface of the outflow pipe 40 flows through the outflow pipe 40. Is provided with a concavo-convex shape to be agitated. Such a concavo-convex shape can be, for example, a concave groove or a ridge formed in a spiral shape along the longitudinal direction, and the concave groove and the ridge formed in a spiral shape are the same in the outflow pipe 40. It may be mixed on the inner peripheral surface.
In addition, a convex line means the convex part extended along a pipe internal peripheral surface as mentioned above.

  The spiral grooves and ridges formed on the inner peripheral surface of the outflow pipe 40 give resistance to the molten glass flowing in the outflow pipe 40, and the molten glass flows in the outflow pipe 40 in a spiral shape and stirred. If it can be made, it will not be restricted to what was formed continuously along the longitudinal direction. Even if it is formed discontinuously along the longitudinal direction at regular intervals or irregular intervals, it may be spiral as a whole. Furthermore, such a ditch | groove and a protruding item | line may be formed in multiple numbers along the inner peripheral surface of the outflow pipe 40, or may be a thing in which one spiral was formed independently.

  Further, when forming a spiral groove or ridge on the inner peripheral surface of the outflow pipe 40, a pipe having a relatively large inner diameter can be formed by machining such as grinding. Moreover, when forming a protruding item | line, it is good also by driving in the member for forming a protruding item | line from the outer peripheral surface of the outflow pipe 40 helically.

On the other hand, when it is necessary to make the inner diameter of the outflow pipe 40 relatively small, the following processing means can be taken.
First, the outflow pipe 40 can be a small-diameter pipe made of platinum or a platinum alloy as a material. The generally available platinum-made thin pipe has an inner circumference. A plurality of ridges 41 as shown in FIG. 2C are linearly formed on the surface along the longitudinal direction. Such ridges 41 are considered to be generated as wrinkles when a pipe having a diameter larger than a desired inner diameter is squeezed with a roller or the like to form a narrow-diameter pipe. Then, after such a pipe is heated and blunted, as shown in FIG. 2 (a), twisting is performed to twist the pipe 40 at a desired angle around the central axis in the direction of the arrow t. When applied, the protrusions 41 on the inner peripheral surface of the pipe 40 also follow and are twisted in a spiral shape as shown in FIG.

  Here, FIGS. 2A to 2C are explanatory views conceptually showing the outflow pipe 40 before twisting, and FIG. 2B is a cross-sectional view taken along the line AA in FIG. FIG. 2 and FIG. 2C are cross-sectional views taken along the line BB in FIG. Moreover, FIG.2 (d) is explanatory drawing which shows notionally the outflow pipe 40 after giving a twist process, and has shown the cross section corresponded to the BB cross section of FIG.2 (b).

By forming a spiral groove or protrusion on the inner peripheral surface of the outflow pipe 40, the molten glass flowing in the outflow pipe 40 is spirally swirled as shown by an arrow a in FIG. It is thought that a spiral flow occurs. At the same time, in the molten glass flowing along the inner peripheral surface, the flow along the inner peripheral surface is obstructed by the ridge 41, and a turbulent flow as shown by an arrow b in FIG. 3 is generated. It is done.
As a result, the molten glass flowing near the center of the outflow pipe 40 and the molten glass flowing near the inner peripheral surface of the outflow pipe 40 are sufficiently stirred, so that the homogeneous molten glass can always flow out from the outflow pipe 40. become able to.
FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram conceptually showing a state where the molten glass flowing in the outflow pipe 40 is agitated.

Further, in order to allow a more homogeneous molten glass to flow out from the outflow pipe 40, in at least two predetermined ranges adjacent to the outflow pipe 40, concave grooves and ridges formed in one range are formed in the other range. It is preferable to have a spiral structure that rotates in the opposite direction with respect to the concave grooves and ridges.
For this purpose, after a constant range of the outflow pipe 40 is dulled and twisted as described above, the other ranges may be twisted in the opposite direction. Further, the outflow pipe 40 having a predetermined length may be joined by twisting in the opposite direction by welding or the like.

In the present embodiment, the inner diameter of the outflow pipe 40 is not particularly limited, but in the case of a low-viscosity molten glass, the outflow amount is often controlled by reducing the pipe inner diameter. For this reason, a pipe having an inner diameter of φ4 mm or less is suitable, and a pipe of φ3 mm or less is more preferred. The lower limit of the inner diameter is not particularly limited as long as a stable flow of the molten glass is obtained, but φ1 mm may be used as a guide, and in many cases, φ1.5 mm.
Here, even if there are concave grooves or ridges on the pipe inner peripheral surface, the cross-sectional shape of the pipe inner peripheral surface cut perpendicular to the central axis of the pipe is substantially circular. In this case, the diameter of a virtual circle passing through the tops of the plurality of ridges in the cross section is called an inner diameter. Further, when the diameter of a virtual circle passing through the bottoms of the plurality of concave grooves in the cross section is φ _o and the inner diameter is φ, (φ _o −φ) / φ is 0.01 to 0.25. It is preferable to increase the stirring effect of the molten glass flowing inside. In addition, when the above structure is imparted to the pipe by twisting, it is preferable that the maximum thickness of the pipe in the portion provided with the concave groove and / or the ridge is 2 mm or less from the viewpoint of easy twisting. More preferably, it is 5 mm or less. The lower limit of the maximum wall thickness is preferably 0.5 mm, more preferably 1 mm.

  High homogeneity is required when the molten glass flows out from the outflow pipe 40. Therefore, it is preferable that the molten glass is sufficiently stirred in the outflow pipe 40 immediately before the molten glass flows out from the outflow pipe 40. From such a viewpoint, it is preferable that the portion where the spirally formed concave grooves and ridges are provided is a portion close to the outlet of the outflow pipe 40.

Moreover, it is preferable that the length of the range which provides the concave groove | channel and convex line | wire which were formed in spiral is 100 mm or more so that molten glass can fully be stirred. However, since it is not necessary to perform such processing over the entire length of the outflow pipe 40, while checking the presence or absence of striae of the molded glass, the length of the portion provided with the spirally formed concave grooves and ridges, What is necessary is just to adjust suitably the twist condition twisted helically.
As a guideline of the range in which the spirally formed grooves and ridges are provided, the length of the range is preferably 300 to 600 mm, and more preferably 350 to 550 mm.

In addition, when the molten glass flows out from the outflow pipe 40, in order to adjust the outflow amount, the outflow pipe 40 is heated by an appropriate means such as an electric heating method or a high-frequency induction heating method to adjust the viscosity of the molten glass. It is generally done. In order to facilitate temperature adjustment at this time, it is preferable that the cross-sectional area of the cross section along the longitudinal direction of the outflow pipe 40 is substantially constant. The reason is as described above.
In this embodiment, instead of simply reducing the inner diameter of the outflow pipe 40 to cause turbulence in the flow of the molten glass, the molten glass is provided with an uneven shape such as a concave groove or a ridge formed in a spiral shape. The cross-sectional area of the cross section along the longitudinal direction of the outflow pipe 40 can be made substantially constant even in the range where such an uneven shape is provided. Does not interfere with temperature adjustment.

Furthermore, the glass manufacturing apparatus 100 forms the molten glass that has flowed out from the outflow pipe 40 to form a predetermined glass formed body, or an annealing apparatus that anneals the formed glass formed body, although not particularly shown. Etc. can be configured.
In the example shown in the figure, the molding apparatus 50 includes a plurality of receiving molds 51 on a support base 52, and receives the molten glass flowing out from the outflow pipe 40 into the receiving mold 51 to form a glass molded body having a predetermined shape. However, the configuration of the molding apparatus 50 is not limited to this, and may be replaced with a mold or the like as described later.

[Method for producing glass molded body]
Next, an embodiment of a method for manufacturing a glass molded body according to the present invention, in which a glass molded body is manufactured by the glass manufacturing apparatus as described above, will be described.

  In this embodiment, for example, in the process of separating a molten glass lump from the molten glass flowing out from the outflow pipe 40 and cooling and solidifying, a precision press-molding preform as a glass molded body formed into a predetermined shape is used. To manufacture.

  The precision press-molding preform is obtained by pre-molding glass having a weight substantially equal to the weight of a precision press-molded product such as an optical element into a shape suitable for precision press molding. Such precision press-molding preforms include various known films having a function for allowing the glass forming the preforms to sufficiently spread in the press-molding mold during precision press-molding, and improving mold release properties. For this purpose, various known films can be formed on the entire surface of the preform.

  In order to manufacture a precision press-molding preform, first, a constant flow rate from the outflow pipe 40 heated to a predetermined temperature by a heating method such as an electric heating method, a high-frequency induction heating method, or any combination of these heating methods. The molten glass flows out continuously. And the molten glass lump of the weight for 1 preform is isolate | separated from the molten glass which flowed out.

  In separating the molten glass lump, it is preferable to avoid the use of a cutting blade so that a cutting trace does not remain. For this purpose, for example, molten glass is dropped from the outflow pipe 40 onto the receiving mold 51 of the molding apparatus 50, or the molten glass lump having the target weight is supported while the tip of the flowing molten glass is supported on the receiving mold 51. What is necessary is just to drop | descent the receiving mold 51 at the timing which can be isolate | separated, and to isolate | separate a molten glass lump from the front-end | tip of a molten glass using the surface tension of a molten glass.

The separated molten glass block is formed into a desired shape before the glass cools and solidifies on the receiving mold 51. At that time, an inert gas such as nitrogen that blows upward in the vertical direction to prevent wrinkles on the surface of the preform (glass molded body) and damage in the glass cooling process called can cracking. Thus, it is preferable to mold the molten glass lump on the receiving mold 51. The preform formed into a predetermined shape and cooled to a temperature range that does not deform even when an external force is applied is removed from the receiving mold 51 and annealed.
Instead of forming a molten glass lump using a receiving die, the following method may be used. A molten glass droplet is dropped from a glass outflow pipe and dropped onto the liquid surface to form a glass droplet in the liquid. Alternatively, molten glass droplets are dropped as described above, and the falling glass droplets are formed in the air. The glass formed during the fall falls to the liquid surface and dies, and the glass molded body is recovered from the liquid. These glass molded bodies may be used as preforms as they are, or the surfaces thereof may be polished into preforms. Before polishing, it is desirable to anneal in order to reduce strain in the glass.

  Moreover, in this embodiment, when manufacturing a glass forming body, the molten glass which flows out can be cast in a casting_mold | template, and it can also be set as the glass forming body of the predetermined shape according to a casting_mold | template.

In this case, first, the molten glass flows out from the outflow pipe 40 and is poured into a mold disposed below the outflow pipe 40. As the mold, for example, a flat bottom portion and a side wall standing upright so as to surround the bottom portion can be used, and one side wall provided with an opening can be used. Then, the mold is placed and fixed so that the center of the bottom surface is located vertically below the outflow pipe 40 and the bottom surface is horizontal, and molten glass is poured from the outflow pipe 40. Next, the molten glass poured into the mold is allowed to stand so as to have a uniform thickness in the region surrounded by the side walls. After cooling, the solidified glass is annealed by pulling it horizontally from the opening provided in the side wall at a constant speed.
In this way, an optically homogeneous plate-like glass molding having a certain width and thickness can be obtained.

Moreover, as a casting_mold | template, what has a cylindrical through-hole and is arrange | positioned and fixed to the downward direction of the outflow pipe 40 so that the central axis of a through-hole may correspond with a perpendicular direction may be used.
In this case, a constant flow rate of molten glass is poured from the outflow pipe 40 into the through hole of the mold, and the filled molten glass is allowed to stand. After cooling, the solidified glass is annealed by being drawn vertically downward from the lower end opening of the through hole at a constant speed.
In this way, an optically homogeneous cylindrical rod-shaped glass molded body can be obtained.

The plate-shaped glass molded body and the cylindrical rod-shaped glass molded body formed as described above are divided into a plurality of glass pieces by cutting or cleaving, and by grinding and polishing these glass pieces, Can be finished into heavy precision press-molding preforms.
Moreover, the glass piece cut | disconnected or cut by barrel grinding | polishing etc. can also be finished into the glass gob for press molding of the target weight.

  Furthermore, in this embodiment, the molten glass lump separated from the molten glass flowing out can be press-molded to form a glass molded body having a predetermined shape.

In this case, the lower mold constituting the press mold is placed under the outflow pipe 40 and the lower end of the outflowing molten glass is received on the lower mold forming surface. Then, at a predetermined position between the lower mold and the outflow pipe 40, the molten glass is cut with a heat-resistant cutting blade called a shear to obtain a molten glass lump having a desired weight on the lower mold forming surface. Next, with the molten glass lump being placed, the lower die is retracted from below the outflow pipe 40 and is press-formed into a predetermined shape using a press-forming die including an upper die facing the lower die. After molding, the upper mold is retracted upward, and the upper surface of the press-molded product is released from the upper mold molding surface. After the press-molded product is cooled to a temperature at which it is not deformed by an external force on the lower mold forming surface, the press-molded product is taken out from the lower mold and annealed. At this time, in order to continuously produce a press-formed product (glass molded body), the above operation may be repeated using a plurality of lower molds.
Such press molding can be performed in the atmosphere, and in order to prevent high-temperature glass from fusing to the press mold, a powder release agent, for example, boron nitride powder is used in the press mold. It is preferable to spray-coat on the molding surface.

[Method for Manufacturing Optical Element]
Next, an embodiment of a method for manufacturing an optical element according to the present invention will be described.

In the present embodiment, a desired optical element is manufactured by precision press molding the preform for precision press molding obtained as described above.
Precision press molding is also called mold optics molding. In an optical element, a surface that transmits, refracts, diffracts, or reflects a light beam is an optical functional surface (for example, an aspheric surface of an aspheric lens or a spherical surface of a spherical lens. According to precision press molding, the optical functional surface can be formed by press molding by precisely transferring the molding surface of the press mold to glass. For this reason, it is not necessary to add machining such as grinding and polishing to finish the optical functional surface.
Such precision press molding is suitable for the production of optical elements such as lenses, lens arrays, diffraction gratings, and prisms, and is particularly suitable as a method for producing aspherical lenses with high productivity.

  As a press mold used for precision press molding, a known mold, for example, a mold having a release film on a molding surface of a heat-resistant ceramic mold such as silicon carbide, zirconia, or alumina can be used. Among these, a press mold made of silicon carbide is preferable. As the release film, a carbon-containing film or the like can be used, but a carbon film is particularly preferable from the viewpoint of durability and cost.

  In precision press molding, in order to keep the molding surface of the press mold in a good state, the atmosphere during molding is preferably a non-oxidizing gas. As the non-oxidizing gas, nitrogen, a mixed gas of nitrogen and hydrogen, and the like are preferable. The precision press-molded optical element is taken out from the press mold and annealed as necessary. When the molded product is an optical element such as a lens, centering may be performed as necessary, or an optical thin film may be coated on the surface.

  The above method writes data to an information recording medium such as various lenses constituting an imaging optical system such as a digital still camera, a digital video camera, and a mobile phone camera, various lenses constituting a projection optical system such as a projector, and an optical disk. It is suitable for manufacturing various lenses constituting an optical system for reading data from the medium.

Furthermore, the glass molded body formed by casting the molten glass flowing out into a mold can be finished into a precision press-molding preform as described above, and can be finished into a press-molding glass gob having a target weight. A blank having a shape approximated to the optical element to be obtained except that the glass gob for press molding is heated, softened, and press-molded by a press mold to have a processing margin removed by grinding and polishing. The desired optical element may be manufactured from the annealed blank by a known grinding and polishing method.
Moreover, a plate-shaped glass molded body or a cylindrical rod-shaped glass molded body is cut or cut into a glass block of a desired size, and this can be ground and polished to produce a desired optical element. An optical element can also be produced by grinding and polishing a glass molded body obtained by press-molding a molten glass lump separated from the molten glass.
Such an aspect in which the optical functional surface is finished by grinding and polishing is suitable for manufacturing optical elements such as spherical lenses, prisms, and filters.

  In the present invention, the type of glass to be produced is not particularly limited, but when the optical properties such as refractive index are determined with high accuracy and high homogeneity is required, that is, optical glass or glass for optical filters. Is particularly preferred.

The optical glass is suitable for the production of a glass having low viscosity at the time of outflow and easily causing striae, for example, a glass having a SiO ₂ content of 0 to 20% by mass on the oxide basis. SiO ₂ is a component that increases the viscosity of the glass, but glass containing a large amount of SiO ₂ is difficult to increase the refractive index. In recent years, high-refractive-index optical glass with high demand is required to suppress the SiO ₂ content, and the viscosity of the glass at the time of outflow is lowered. According to the present invention, the molten glass is homogenized by flowing in the outflow pipe 40 even if it is a low viscosity glass, so that the striae is eliminated and reduced from the manufactured glass molded body and optical element. Can do.

Specific examples of the optical glass include SiO ₂ -containing glass, B ₂ O ₃ and La ₂ O ₃ -containing glass, phosphate glass, and fluorophosphate glass.
In the following, more detailed glass compositions will be listed, but these component amounts are all expressed by mass%.

The SiO2-containing _{glass, SiO 2: 1~20%, B} 2 O 3: 0~65%, Li 2 O: 0~12%, Na 2 O: 0~12%, K 2 O: 0~12% , MgO: 0~30%, CaO: 0~30%, SrO: 0~30%, BaO: 0~30%, ZnO: 0~40%, La 2 O 3: 0~50%, Gd 2 O 3 _{: 0~40%, Y 2 O 3} : 0~20%, ZrO 2: 0~15%, TiO 2: 0~20%, Ta 2 O 5: 0~30%, WO 3: 0~20%, A glass containing Nb ₂ O ₅ : 0 to 30% can be exemplified.
Among these glasses, those suitable for precision press molding are glasses having a total content of Li ₂ O and ZnO of 1% or more, and glass having a glass transition temperature of 610 ° C. or less is preferable.

The glass containing B ₂ O ₃ and _{La 2 O 3, SiO 2:} 0~20%, B 2 O 3: 1~65%, Li 2 O: 0~12%, Na 2 O: 0~12 %, K ₂ O: 0-12%, MgO: 0-30%, CaO: 0-30%, SrO: 0-30%, BaO: 0-30%, ZnO: 0-40%, La ₂ O _{3 : 1~50%, Gd 2 O 3} : 0~40%, Y 2 O 3: 0~20%, ZrO 2: 0~15%, TiO 2: 0~40%, Ta 2 O 5: 0~30 %, WO ₃ : 0 to 20%, Nb ₂ O ₅ : 0 to 45%, Bi ₂ O ₃ : 0 to 45%.
Among these glasses, those suitable for precision press molding are glasses having a total content of Li ₂ O and ZnO of 1% or more, and glass having a glass transition temperature of 630 ° C. or less is preferable.

Examples of the phosphoric acid _{glass, P 2 O 5: 1~50%} , SiO 2: 0~20%, B 2 O 3: 0~35%, Li 2 O: 0~12%, Na 2 O: 0~12 %, K ₂ O: 0-12%, MgO: 0-30%, CaO: 0-30%, SrO: 0-30%, BaO: 0-30%, ZnO: 0-40%, La ₂ O _{3 : 0~20%, Gd 2 O 3} : 0~20%, Y 2 O 3: 0~20%, ZrO 2: 0~15%, TiO 2: 0~30%, Ta 2 O 5: 0~20 %, WO ₃ : 0 to 20%, Nb ₂ O ₅ : 0 to 45%, Bi ₂ O ₃ : 0 to 45%.
In this glass, the amount of Li ₂ O is preferably 0.1% or more from the viewpoint of lowering the glass transition temperature and lowering the temperature during press molding.

As fluorophosphate glass, in terms of cation%, P ⁵⁺ : 5 to 50%, Al ³⁺ : 0.1 to 30%, Mg ²⁺ : 0 to 20%, Ca ²⁺ : 0 to 25%, Sr ²⁺ : 0 -30%, Ba2 ⁺ : 0-30%, Li ⁺ : 0-30%, Na ⁺ : 0-10%, K ⁺ : 0-10%, Y3 ⁺ : 0-10%, La3 ⁺ : 0-5 %, Gd ³⁺ : 0 to 5%, the content of F ⁻ with respect to the total amount of F ⁻ and O ²⁻ , that is, the molar ratio F ⁻ / (F ⁻ + O ²⁻ ) is 0.25 to 0.95. The glass which is can be illustrated. This fluorophosphate glass is suitable for realizing low dispersion characteristics.

Moreover, copper-containing fluorophosphate glass can be illustrated as another fluorophosphate glass. This glass has a filter function by near-infrared absorption, and becomes a material for an optical element having a color sensitivity correction function of a semiconductor imaging element such as a CCD or CMOS. As the glass having the same function, a copper-containing phosphate glass can be exemplified, but from the viewpoint of weather resistance, the copper-containing fluorophosphate glass is superior to the copper-containing phosphate glass. When the melting temperature is too high, Cu ²⁺ in the glass is reduced to Cu ⁺ in the copper-containing glass constituting the color sensitivity correcting element of the semiconductor imaging device having a near infrared absorption function, so that the color sensitivity correcting function is lowered. To do. Since the melting temperature increases as the amount of SiO ₂ increases, it is more preferable that the copper-containing glass does not contain SiO 2.

In each of the above glasses, the amount of SiO ₂ is 0 to 20%, and the preferred range of the content of SiO ₂ is as described above.
The glass phosphate, fluorophosphate glass is more preferably free of SiO _2.

  Next, the present invention will be described in detail with specific examples.

[Example 1]
(Glass manufacturing equipment)
A platinum pipe is passed through a die hole having an inner diameter smaller than its outer diameter, the pipe diameter is reduced so that the inner diameter becomes 2.0 mm, and a parallel extending along the length direction of the pipe is formed on the inner peripheral surface. A plurality of irregularities were provided. Next, the pipe was twisted 5 times over a length of 250 mm, and then a 5-twist twist was applied in the direction opposite to the above rotation direction to a 250 mm long portion adjacent to the twisted portion.
In this way, a pipe having an inner diameter of 2.0 mm having a spiral irregular shape on the inner peripheral surface over a length of 500 mm was produced, and the obtained pipe was used as a melting tank, a clarification tank, a working tank, a melting tank and a clarification tank. In the glass manufacturing apparatus provided with the connection pipe which connects a tank, and the connection pipe which connects a clarification tank and a work tank, it attached to the bottom part of the work tank, and was attached to the lower end of the outflow pipe extended in the perpendicular downward direction by welding.

  Note that a glass raw material, for example, an unvitrified raw material called a batch raw material or a vitrified raw material called a cullet raw material is charged into the melting tank, and is heated and melted. After the glass raw material has completely turned into molten glass by melting, the molten glass is poured into the clarification tank by opening a connecting pipe between the melting tank and the clarification tank. In the clarification tank, a defoaming process is performed in which the temperature of the molten glass is further raised to remove the foam inside. The molten glass degassed in the clarification tank is sent to the work tank, lowered to a temperature suitable for outflow, and stirred and homogenized. leak.

(Preparation of molten glass)
As a glass component, it contains B ₂ O ₃ , SiO ₂ , La ₂ O ₃ , Li ₂ O, ZnO, etc., an optical index having a refractive index nd of 1.6935, an Abbe number νd of 53.2, and a glass transition temperature of 520 ° C. Glass raw materials prepared so as to obtain glass were put into a melting tank. Then, the molten glass obtained by heating, melting, clarifying and stirring the charged glass raw material was accumulated in the working layer.

(Molding process)
The temperature in the vicinity of the pipe outlet was adjusted to around 940 ° C., the molten glass in the working tank was allowed to flow out, and preforms for precision press molding were formed one after another. Preform molding is a method in which a desired amount of molten glass lump is separated from the tip of the flowing molten glass flow, and this is received by a recess of a mold, and the molten glass lump is cooled and solidified in a process of forming into a preform. went.
A number of gas jets were provided in the recesses of the mold, and gas was jetted from these jets. The molten glass lump floats on the concave portion due to the wind pressure generated by the jetting gas, and is molded into a preform while maintaining a non-contact state with the mold. According to such an operation, it is possible to stably produce a preform having a smooth surface by preventing thermal fusion between the glass block and the mold.

  In this way, preforms were produced over several days, but no striae was observed in the produced preforms.

[Example 2]
As a glass component, it contains B ₂ O ₃ , SiO ₂ , La ₂ O ₃ , Li ₂ O, ZnO, Nb ₂ O _5, etc., refractive index nd is 1.8061, Abbe number νd is 40.7, glass transition temperature A preform for precision press molding was formed one after another in the same manner as in Example 1 except that a glass raw material prepared so that an optical glass of 560 ° C. was obtained was used.
Although preforms were produced over several days, no striae was observed in the produced preforms.

[Example 3]
A preform was molded in the same manner as in Example 1 and Example 2 except that the pipe inner diameter was 2.5 mm.
Although preforms were produced over several days, no striae were observed in the two types of glass.

(Manufacture of optical elements)
The preforms obtained in Examples 1 to 3 were precision press molded to obtain aspherical lenses. Specifically, after a preform is set between the lower mold and the upper mold constituting the press mold, the glass is heated together with the press mold in a nitrogen atmosphere so that the temperature inside the press mold is 10 ^The temperature was raised to a temperature showing a viscosity of ⁸ to 10 ¹⁰ dPa · s, and while maintaining this temperature, the upper mold was lowered and the preform set in the mold was pressed. The press pressure was 8 MPa, and the press time was 30 seconds.
After the pressing, the pressing pressure is released, and the glass molded product that has been press-molded is gradually cooled to a temperature at which the viscosity of the glass reaches 10 ¹² dPa · s or more while still in contact with the lower mold and the upper mold, The glass molded product was taken out from the mold after rapid cooling to room temperature to obtain an aspheric lens. The obtained aspherical lens was a lens having extremely high surface accuracy.

The aspherical lens thus obtained was washed with a detergent, sufficiently rinsed and then dried to obtain a clean lens. When the obtained lens was observed, no spiders were observed on the surface, and defects such as devitrification and striae were not observed inside.
The cleaned aspheric lens may be provided with an antireflection film as necessary.

[Example 4]
In the same glass apparatus as in Example 1, a mold was placed in place of the molding die below the outflow port of the glass outflow pipe, and molten glass was continuously poured into the mold to form a sheet glass.
In molding, an optical glass containing B ₂ O ₃ , SiO ₂ , La ₂ O _{3 and the} like as a glass component, having a refractive index nd of 1.8830 and an Abbe number νd of 40.80 is prepared. Used glass raw materials.

(Molding process)
As the casting mold, a structure having a structure like a dust collector in which a flat bottom portion is surrounded by a side wall from three directions and a side in one direction is opened is used. Two of the three side walls are parallel to each other and regulate the width of the glass sheet. The molten glass is poured from above the mold into an intermediate position between the side walls parallel to each other. The poured molten glass spreads along the bottom surface and spreads to the part surrounded by the side wall. Then, it is solidified by taking heat away from the mold, and is drawn out from the opening on the side of the mold in the horizontal direction at a constant speed. By maintaining the casting speed of the molten glass and the drawing speed of the molded plate glass at a constant ratio, the molten glass liquid level in the mold is maintained constant, and a plate glass having a constant thickness can be formed.
When the plate glass pulled out from the mold was placed on a mesh belt and carried into a continuous annealing furnace and annealed, and the plate glass obtained from the annealing furnace was cut off to obtain a plate glass, no striae was observed in the plate glass.

In addition, the obtained plate glass is cut into a square shape to produce glass pieces called cut pieces. After these cut pieces are barrel-polished, boron nitride powder is uniformly applied to the surface, heated and softened to form lenses. Press-molded to an approximate shape. The obtained press-molded product was annealed, ground and polished to produce a spherical lens.
The lens may be manufactured by grinding and polishing the cut piece.

[Example 5]
The mold having a dust-like structure in Example 4 was replaced with a mold having a through-hole structure in which cylindrical through-holes were provided, and rod-shaped glass was formed using the same glass raw material as in Example 4.

(Molding process)
The molten glass which flowed continuously from the outlet was poured into the mold through-hole at a constant flow rate so that the through-hole provided in the mold was oriented in the vertical direction. The poured molten glass spreads in the through-holes, and the mold is deprived of heat and cooled and solidified. The solidified cylindrical glass rod is pulled out from the opening below the through-hole at a constant speed, and cooled while bringing the temperature difference between the inside and the surface of the glass rod closer. The lower end of the glass rod thus obtained was cut off and annealed. No striae was observed in the obtained glass rod.

Further, the obtained glass rod was cut perpendicular to the central axis, barrel-polished, and boron nitride powder was uniformly coated, heated and softened on the surface, and press-molded into a shape approximated to a lens. The obtained press-molded product was annealed, ground and polished to produce a spherical lens.
A spherical lens may be made by grinding and polishing a glass piece obtained by cutting a glass rod perpendicularly to the central axis.

[Comparative Example 1]
Except for using pipes that do not twist, preforms were molded in the same manner as in Example 1 and Example 2, and both types of glass had striae once a day. I have a preform.

[Comparative Example 2]
Using the same pipe inner diameter as in Example 3, but using a pipe that is not twisted, the preform was molded in the same manner as in Example 1. When two types of glass were used once a day, A striae preform has been made.

  While the present invention has been described with reference to the preferred embodiment, it is needless to say that the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and various modifications can be made within the scope of the present invention. .

  For example, in the above-described embodiment, the concave and convex shape formed in a spiral shape along the longitudinal direction is given as the concave and convex shape that is stirred by the molten glass flowing in the outflow pipe 40. Instead of the irregular shape, the inner diameter of the outflow pipe 40 may be a shape that repeatedly expands and contracts periodically along its longitudinal direction. When the molten glass flows from the part where the inner diameter is enlarged to the part where it is reduced, the glass flowing along the inner peripheral surface changes the flow toward the center of the pipe, and local turbulence is generated, and the molten glass is agitated. Conceivable.

In this case, the distance between the enlarged portion of the inner diameter and the reduced portion, the inner diameter of the enlarged portion, the inner diameter of the reduced portion, the length of the portion where the inner diameter is enlarged, and the reduced portion are provided are formed by flowing the molten glass and forming the glass. You can decide that the striae disappear while watching the reason.
However, if the cross-sectional area in the cross section perpendicular to the longitudinal direction of the outflow pipe 40 varies, as described above, there is a risk that the temperature adjustment of the outflow pipe 40 may be hindered. It is preferable to apply in a range that does not occur.

  The present invention uses a high quality glass molded body, a glass outflow pipe suitable for manufacturing an optical element, a glass manufacturing apparatus equipped with such a glass outflow pipe, and further uses such a glass outflow pipe. A method for producing a glass molded body and an optical element is provided.

It is explanatory drawing which shows notionally embodiment of the glass manufacturing apparatus which concerns on this embodiment. It is explanatory drawing which shows notionally embodiment of the glass outflow pipe which concerns on this embodiment. It is explanatory drawing which shows notionally the mode that the molten glass which flows through the inside of a glass outflow pipe is stirred.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Melting tank 20 Clarification tank 30 Working tank 40 Outflow pipe 41 Projection 50 Forming apparatus 100 Glass manufacturing apparatus

Claims (12)

A glass outflow pipe forming at least a part of a flow path for guiding and flowing out the molten glass from a container in which the molten glass is accumulated;
The glass outflow pipe is characterized in that a concave and convex shape that is agitated by flowing the molten glass inside is provided on an inner peripheral surface.   2. The glass outflow pipe according to claim 1, wherein the uneven shape includes a concave groove and / or a convex line formed in a spiral shape along a longitudinal direction. A glass outflow pipe forming at least a part of a flow path for guiding and flowing out the molten glass from a container in which the molten glass is accumulated;
A glass outflow pipe, characterized in that a concave and convex shape formed of a concave groove and / or a convex strip formed in a spiral shape along the longitudinal direction is provided on the inner peripheral surface.   In at least two adjacent predetermined ranges, the groove and / or ridge formed in one range rotates in the opposite direction with respect to the groove and / or ridge formed in the other range. The glass outlet pipe according to any one of claims 2 to 3, wherein the glass outlet pipe has a spiral structure.   5. The glass outflow pipe according to claim 1, wherein a cross-sectional area in a cross section perpendicular to the longitudinal direction is substantially constant in a range where the uneven shape is provided. In a glass manufacturing apparatus comprising a container for accumulating molten glass and a flow path for guiding and flowing out the molten glass accumulated in the container,
The glass manufacturing apparatus using the glass outflow pipe of any one of Claims 1-5 for at least one part of the said flow path. It is a method for producing a glass molded body, in which molten glass accumulated in a container is heated and melted, and the glass raw material flows out of the container and is molded into a glass molded body,
The glass outflow pipe according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein the glass outflow pipe according to any one of claims 1 to 5 is used in at least a part of a flow path through which the molten glass flows out of the container.   The method for producing a glass molded body according to claim 7, wherein the molten glass lump is separated from the molten glass that has flowed out, and is formed into a precision press-molding preform in the process of cooling and solidifying the molten glass lump. .   The method for producing a glass molded body according to claim 7, wherein the molten glass that has flowed out is cast into a mold to form a glass molded body.   The method for producing a glass molded body according to claim 7, wherein the molten glass lump is separated from the molten glass that has flowed out, and the molten glass lump is press-molded to form a glass molded body.   A method for producing an optical element, comprising: precision press-molding a preform for precision press molding produced by the method according to claim 8.   A method for producing an optical element, wherein the glass molded body produced by the method according to claim 9 or 10 is subjected to at least grinding and polishing to obtain an optical element.

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