Glass microsphere heating forming device

Abstract

The application discloses a glass microsphere heating forming device, which comprises a raw material supply pipe, a core pipe arranged in the raw material supply pipe and connected with a first oxygen supply pipe, a nozzle part comprising a disc part corresponding to the upper end of the core pipe and a conical ring part corresponding to the raw material supply pipe, the inner side of the conical ring part being provided with a conical surface, a plurality of raw material injection holes with radial and axial components being formed in the conical surface and penetrating through the conical ring part, a plurality of first oxygen injection holes penetrating through the disc part in the axial direction, a heating pipe being connected with the upper end of the raw material supply pipe and formed with a combustion chamber, an outer pipe surrounding the heating pipe and the raw material supply pipe to form an annular oxygen supply channel connected with a second oxygen supply pipe, a plurality of second oxygen injection holes being formed in the pipe wall of the heating pipe corresponding to the combustion chamber in the circumferential direction, and a discharge port being formed in the upper end of the heating pipe.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This invention relates to the field of glass manufacturing technology, and in particular to a glass microsphere heating and forming apparatus. Background Technology

[0002] The basic process for manufacturing glass spheres is as follows: heating particulate raw materials (such as silica particles) by combustion of fuel gas to soften the surface of the raw materials and shape them into spheres, thereby forming glass spheres.

[0003] In the prior art, heating devices for manufacturing glass spheres typically include: a raw material supply pipe, a combustion chamber formed above the raw material supply pipe, a discharge port formed above the combustion chamber, an oxygen supply channel formed around the combustion chamber, the oxygen supply channel extending through the wall of the combustion chamber to form an oxygen supply port, and a gas supply channel for supplying fuel gas. To avoid using other gases as the driving force to push the particulate raw material upward, the raw material supply pipe is also used as a gas supply channel. Thus, the fuel gas and the particulate raw material are pre-mixed, and the pressure of the fuel gas is used to push the particulate raw material upward to transport it to the combustion chamber. At the same time, the fuel gas also enters the combustion chamber, while oxygen enters the combustion chamber laterally through the oxygen supply port and mixes with the fuel gas, thereby burning and heating the particulate raw material to spheroidize it.

[0004] The aforementioned devices are mostly suitable for manufacturing glass spheres with larger particle sizes, but they have the following drawbacks when manufacturing micro glass spheres with very small particle sizes:

[0005] A large number of very small raw material particles are ejected from the flat port of the raw material supply pipe. This results in an excessively high density of raw material particles in the ejection section. The excessively dense raw material particles exert a certain damping on the oxygen coming from the side, making it difficult for oxygen to enter the inner layer of the raw material particles and mix with the fuel gas. This leads to uneven sphericity of the raw material particles in the inner layer. Summary of the Invention

[0006] To address the aforementioned technical problems in the prior art, embodiments of the present invention provide a glass microsphere heating and forming apparatus.

[0007] To solve the above-mentioned technical problems, the technical solution adopted in the embodiments of the present invention is as follows:

[0008] A glass microsphere heating and forming apparatus, comprising:

[0009] In the raw material supply pipe, the gas carries particulate raw materials upwards;

[0010] A core tube is disposed in the raw material supply pipe and arranged coaxially with the raw material supply pipe, and the core tube is connected to the first oxygen supply pipe;

[0011] A nozzle assembly is mounted on the upper end of the core tube. The nozzle assembly includes a disc-shaped portion in the middle and a conical ring portion formed around the disc-shaped portion. The disc-shaped portion corresponds to the upper end of the core tube, and the conical ring portion corresponds to the raw material supply pipe. The inner side of the conical ring portion has a conical surface, and multiple rings of spray holes with radial and axial components are formed on the conical surface, penetrating the conical ring portion. Multiple rings of first oxygen spray holes with axial penetration are formed on the disc-shaped portion.

[0012] A heating tube is connected to the upper end of the raw material supply tube, and the section of the heating tube located above the nozzle component forms a combustion chamber.

[0013] An outer tube is sleeved around the heating tube and the raw material supply tube to form an annular oxygen supply channel with the heating tube and the raw material supply tube. The annular oxygen supply channel is connected to a second oxygen supply tube. A plurality of second oxygen injection holes are arranged circumferentially on the wall of the heating tube corresponding to the combustion chamber.

[0014] The discharge port extends from the upper end of the heating tube into the outer tube, and the discharge port is formed at the upper end of the heating tube.

[0015] Preferably, an annular rib is formed on the wall of the heating tube located above the combustion chamber. The annular rib has an upwardly inclined surface, and a plurality of circumferentially arranged third oxygen injection holes are formed on the inclined surface; wherein:

[0016] The third oxygen injection hole has axial, tangential and radial components;

[0017] An annular protrusion is formed on the outer wall of the heating tube between the second oxygen injection hole and the third oxygen injection hole, and the annular protrusion causes the annular oxygen supply channel to form an annular throttling part.

[0018] Preferably, the upper end of the outer tube is provided with an expansion groove, and the top of the expansion groove is provided with an exhaust port; wherein:

[0019] The upper end of the outer tube extends into the expansion groove, and the bottom of the expansion groove is lower than the upper end of the outer tube.

[0020] The bottom of the expansion tank forms a slope, and a discharge port is arranged in the low area of ​​the bottom of the expansion tank.

[0021] Preferably, a gas supply pipe is provided on the lower periphery of the raw material supply pipe to supply gas to the raw material supply pipe.

[0022] Preferably, the first oxygen supply pipe extends laterally through the raw material supply pipe into the core tube, and the second oxygen supply pipe extends laterally through the outer tube and communicates with the annular oxygen supply channel.

[0023] Preferably, the lower end of the core tube is sealed and located inside the raw material supply pipe, and the lower end of the raw material supply pipe is configured in a tapered shape.

[0024] Preferably, the annular ribs include a plurality of annular ribs, which are arranged axially at intervals, and each annular rib is provided with a plurality of third oxygen injection holes arranged circumferentially.

[0025] Preferably, the discharge port is configured as a conical opening.

[0026] Compared with the prior art, the beneficial effects of the glass microsphere heating and forming apparatus disclosed in this invention are:

[0027] The heating molding apparatus provided by this invention can fully combust the gas in both the inner and outer layers of the particulate material, thereby fully spherizing the particulate material.

[0028] The overview of various implementations or examples of the technology described in this invention is not a complete disclosure of the full scope or all features of the disclosed technology. Attached Figure Description

[0029] In drawings that are not necessarily drawn to scale, the same reference numerals may describe similar parts in different views. The same reference numerals with or without letter suffixes may indicate different instances of similar parts. The drawings generally illustrate various embodiments by way of example rather than limitation and, together with the description and claims, serve to explain embodiments of the invention. Where appropriate, the same reference numerals are used in all drawings to refer to the same or similar parts. Such embodiments are illustrative and not intended to be exhaustive or exclusive embodiments of the apparatus or method.

[0030] Figure 1 This is a schematic diagram of the glass microsphere heating and forming apparatus provided in an embodiment of the present invention.

[0031] Figure 2 for Figure 1 A magnified view of part A.

[0032] Figure label:

[0033] 10-Raw material supply pipe; 11-Gas supply pipe; 20-Core pipe; 21-First oxygen supply pipe; 22-Conical structure; 30-Nozzle assembly; 31-Disc-shaped part; 32-Conical ring part; 33-First oxygen injection hole; 34-Material injection hole; 40-Heating pipe; 41-Combustion chamber; 42-Second oxygen injection hole; 43-Annular protrusion; 44-Annular rib; 45-Third oxygen injection hole; 46-Outlet; 50-Outer pipe; 51-Annular oxygen supply channel; 511-Annular throttling part; 52-Second oxygen supply pipe; 60-Expansion tank; 61-Discharge port; 62-Exhaust port. Detailed Implementation

[0034] Unless otherwise defined, the technical or scientific terms used in this invention shall have the ordinary meaning understood by one of ordinary skill in the art to which this invention pertains. The terms "first," "second," and similar terms used in this invention do not indicate any order, quantity, or importance, but are merely used to distinguish different components. Terms such as "comprising" or "including" mean that the element or object preceding the word encompasses the elements or objects listed following the word and their equivalents, without excluding other elements or objects. Terms such as "connected" or "linked" are not limited to physical or mechanical connections, but can include electrical connections, whether direct or indirect. Terms such as "upper," "lower," "left," and "right" are used only to indicate relative positional relationships; when the absolute position of the described object changes, the relative positional relationship may also change accordingly.

[0035] To keep the following description of the embodiments of the present invention clear and concise, detailed descriptions of known functions and known components are omitted.

[0036] like Figure 1 and Figure 2 As shown, an embodiment of the present invention discloses a thermoforming apparatus for manufacturing glass spheres, which is particularly suitable for manufacturing glass microspheres with very small particle sizes. The heat released by the combustion of gas softens the particulate material and then shapes it into a spherical shape.

[0037] The device includes: a raw material supply pipe 10, a core pipe 20, a nozzle component 30, an outer pipe 50, a heating pipe 40, a gas supply pipe 11, a first oxygen supply pipe 21, a second oxygen supply pipe 52, and an expansion tank 60.

[0038] The raw material supply pipe 10 is arranged vertically. Particulate raw materials such as silica enter the raw material supply pipe 10 from the lower end of the raw material supply pipe 10. The gas supply pipe 11 is laterally connected to the lower part of the raw material supply pipe 10 to supply gas to the pipe hole in the lower part of the raw material supply pipe 10. On the one hand, the gas mixes with the particulate raw materials in the raw material supply pipe 10. On the other hand, the gas carries the particulate raw materials upward along the raw material supply pipe 10.

[0039] The core tube 20 is placed within and coaxial with the raw material supply pipe 10. The upper end of the core tube 20 is slightly lower than the upper end of the raw material supply pipe 10, and the lower end of the core tube 20 is configured as a sealed conical structure 22. Thus, the gas carrying particulate raw material enters the annular feeding channel between the core tube 20 and the raw material supply pipe 10 through the conical structure 22 at the lower end of the core tube 20. A first oxygen supply pipe 21 laterally passes through the raw material supply pipe 10 and connects to the core tube 20. This first oxygen supply pipe 21 supplies oxygen to the core tube 20. Because the lower end of the core tube 20 is sealed, the oxygen entering the core tube 20 moves upward along the core tube 20.

[0040] The nozzle component 30 is installed at the upper end of the core tube 20 and the raw material supply pipe 10. The nozzle component 30 has a disc-shaped part 31 and a conical ring part 32. The disc-shaped part 31 and the conical ring part 32 are integrally formed. The disc-shaped part 31 corresponds to the upper port of the core tube 20 for sealing the upper port of the core tube 20. The conical ring part 32 corresponds to the upper port of the annular feeding channel for sealing the upper port of the annular feeding channel. The disc-shaped portion 31 has multiple rings of first oxygen injection holes 33 that axially penetrate and extend through it. Oxygen within the core tube 20 moves axially upwards through these first oxygen injection holes 33. The inner side of the conical ring portion 32 has a conical surface with multiple rings of injection holes 34. These injection holes 34 penetrate the conical ring portion 32, thus communicating with the raw material supply channel. The injection holes 34 are perpendicular to the conical surface, and therefore have both radial and axial components. The combustion gas carrying particulate material in the annular supply channel is ejected through the injection holes 34, flowing obliquely upwards towards the center and mixing with the axially upward-flowing oxygen. Because the inner side of the conical ring portion 32 is a conical surface, the injection holes 34 on the conical surface are staggered. This layered injection allows the combustion gas in the inner layer of the particulate material to fully contact the oxygen, resulting in complete combustion of the inner combustion gas and thorough heating and spheroidization of the inner particulate material.

[0041] The heating tube 40 is connected to the upper end of the raw material supply tube 10. A combustion chamber 41 is formed in the heating tube 40 above the nozzle component 30 (the lower end of the heating tube 40). The gas carrying particulate raw material ejected from the injection hole 34 and the oxygen ejected from the first oxygen injection hole 33 burn in the combustion chamber 41.

[0042] The outer tube 50 is simultaneously fitted over the raw material supply tube 10 and the heating tube 40. The outer tube 50 defines an annular oxygen supply channel 51 between the raw material supply tube 10 and the heating tube 40. The upper and lower ends of the annular oxygen supply channel 51 are sealed. The second oxygen supply tube 52 passes laterally through the outer tube 50 and communicates with the annular oxygen supply channel 51. The second oxygen supply tube 52 supplies oxygen into the annular oxygen supply channel 51. This oxygen can come from the same gas source as the oxygen in the first oxygen supply tube 21, or it can come from a different gas source.

[0043] On the wall of the heating pipe 40 above the nozzle assembly 30, i.e., on the wall of the heating pipe 40 below the combustion chamber 41, a second oxygen injection hole 42 arranged circumferentially is provided. This second oxygen injection hole 42 communicates with the annular oxygen supply channel 51. The second oxygen injection hole 42 has radial and axial components. Thus, oxygen in the annular oxygen supply channel 51 is injected axially at an angle through the second oxygen injection hole 42 to mix with the combustion gas on the outer side of the particulate material. In this way, the combustion gas on both the outer and inner layers of the particulate material is fully mixed with oxygen, thereby ensuring that both the inner and outer layers of the particulate material are fully heated and sphericalized.

[0044] The heating tube 40 above the combustion chamber 41 has multiple annular ribs 44 arranged axially at intervals on its tube wall. Each annular rib 44 has an upward inclined surface, and multiple third oxygen injection holes 45 are arranged circumferentially on the inclined surface. The third oxygen injection holes 45 extend to the annular oxygen supply channel 51. The third oxygen injection holes 45 have radial, tangential and axial components. In this way, the oxygen in the annular oxygen supply channel 51 is ejected through the third oxygen injection holes 45 and moves spirally upward. This part of the oxygen is used to assist the spherical glass microspheres to continue to move upward, and also to prevent the glass microspheres from contacting and sticking to the tube wall of the heating tube 40.

[0045] An annular protrusion 43 is provided on the outer wall of the heating tube 40 between the third oxygen injection hole 45 and the second oxygen injection hole 42. The annular protrusion 43 occupies a portion of the cross section of the annular oxygen supply channel 51, thereby forming an annular throttling section 511 at this position to restrict the upward flow of oxygen. The annular throttling section 511 makes the pressure of oxygen below it greater than the pressure of oxygen above it, thereby causing oxygen from the second oxygen supply pipe 52 to preferentially be injected through the second oxygen injection hole 42 and participate in combustion.

[0046] The upper end of the heating tube 40 extends out of the outer tube 50. An expansion groove 60 is installed on the upper part of the heating tube 40. The expansion groove 60 has a radial dimension larger than the upper port of the heating tube 40. The upper port of the heating tube 40 extends into the expansion groove 60 and is higher than the bottom of the groove. This upper port forms a discharge port 46. The glass microspheres formed by combustion heating and spheroidization move upwards and enter the expansion groove 60 through the discharge port 46. Preferably, the discharge port 46 is configured as a conical opening to facilitate radial outward diffusion of the glass microspheres after they are ejected from the discharge port 46.

[0047] The top of the expansion tank 60 is provided with an exhaust port 62, through which the exhaust gas generated by combustion to propel the glass microspheres upward is discharged. The bottom of the expansion tank 60 is configured as a slope, and a discharge port 61 is provided in the lower part of the slope. The glass microspheres ejected from the discharge port 46 fall back to the bottom of the expansion tank 60 and are discharged from the discharge port 61.

[0048] Furthermore, although exemplary embodiments have been described in this invention, their scope includes any and all embodiments based on the invention that have equivalent elements, modifications, omissions, combinations (e.g., schemes involving intersections of various embodiments), adaptations, or alterations. Elements in the claims will be interpreted broadly based on the language used in the claims and are not limited to the examples described in this specification or during the implementation of this application, and such examples will be interpreted as non-exclusive. Therefore, this specification and examples are intended to be considered illustrative only, and the true scope and spirit are indicated by the full scope of the following claims and their equivalents.

[0049] The above description is intended to be illustrative and not restrictive. For example, the above examples (or one or more of them) can be used in combination with each other. Other embodiments can be used by those skilled in the art when reading the above description. Furthermore, in the above detailed description, various features may be grouped together to simplify the invention. This should not be construed as an intention that a disclosed feature, which is not claimed, is necessary for any claim. Rather, the subject matter of the invention may be less than all the features of the particular disclosed embodiments. Thus, the following claims are incorporated herein by reference as examples or embodiments, wherein each claim is independently considered as a separate embodiment, and these embodiments are contemplated as being able to be combined with each other in various combinations or arrangements. The scope of the invention should be determined by reference to the appended claims and the full scope of their equivalents.

[0050] The above embodiments are merely exemplary embodiments of the present invention and are not intended to limit the present invention. The scope of protection of the present invention is defined by the claims. Those skilled in the art can make various modifications or equivalent substitutions to the present invention within its spirit and scope of protection, and such modifications or equivalent substitutions should also be considered to fall within the scope of protection of the present invention.

Claims

1. A glass microsphere heating and forming device, characterized in that, include: In the raw material supply pipe, the gas carries particulate raw materials upwards; A core tube is disposed in the raw material supply pipe and arranged coaxially with the raw material supply pipe. The core tube is connected to the first oxygen supply pipe. The lower end of the core tube is sealed and located inside the raw material supply pipe. The lower end of the raw material supply pipe is configured as a conical structure with the tip of the conical structure pointing downwards. A nozzle assembly is mounted on the upper end of the core tube. The nozzle assembly includes a disc-shaped portion in the middle and a conical ring portion formed around the disc-shaped portion. The disc-shaped portion corresponds to the upper end of the core tube, and the conical ring portion corresponds to the raw material supply pipe. The inner side of the conical ring portion has a conical surface facing upward. Multiple conical spray holes with radial and axial components are formed on the conical surface, penetrating the conical ring portion. Multiple axially penetrating first oxygen spray holes are formed on the disc-shaped portion. A heating tube is connected to the upper end of the raw material supply tube, and the section of the heating tube located above the nozzle component forms a combustion chamber. An outer tube is sleeved around the heating tube and the raw material supply tube to form an annular oxygen supply channel with the heating tube and the raw material supply tube. The annular oxygen supply channel is connected to a second oxygen supply tube. A plurality of second oxygen injection holes are arranged circumferentially on the wall of the heating tube corresponding to the combustion chamber. The discharge port extends from the upper end of the heating tube into the outer tube, and the discharge port is formed at the upper end of the heating tube.

2. The glass microsphere heating and forming apparatus according to claim 1, characterized in that, An annular rib is formed on the wall of the heating tube located above the combustion chamber. The annular rib has an upwardly inclined surface, and a plurality of circumferentially arranged third oxygen injection holes are formed on the inclined surface; wherein: The third oxygen injection hole has axial, tangential and radial components; An annular protrusion is formed on the outer wall of the heating tube between the second oxygen injection hole and the third oxygen injection hole, and the annular protrusion causes the annular oxygen supply channel to form an annular throttling part.

3. The glass microsphere heating and forming apparatus according to claim 2, characterized in that, The upper end of the outer tube is equipped with an expansion groove, and the top of the expansion groove is provided with an exhaust port; wherein: The upper end of the outer tube extends into the expansion groove, and the bottom of the expansion groove is lower than the upper end of the outer tube. The bottom of the expansion tank forms a slope, and a discharge port is arranged in the low area of ​​the bottom of the expansion tank.

4. The glass microsphere heating and forming apparatus according to claim 1, characterized in that, A gas supply pipe is provided on the lower periphery of the raw material supply pipe to supply gas to the raw material supply pipe.

5. The glass microsphere heating and forming apparatus according to claim 1, characterized in that, The first oxygen supply pipe extends laterally through the raw material supply pipe and into the core tube, while the second oxygen supply pipe extends laterally through the outer tube and communicates with the annular oxygen supply channel.

6. The glass microsphere heating and forming apparatus according to claim 2, characterized in that, The annular ribs include multiple ribs, which are arranged axially at intervals, and each annular rib is provided with multiple third oxygen injection holes arranged circumferentially.

7. The glass microsphere heating and forming apparatus according to claim 3, characterized in that, The discharge port is configured as a conical opening.

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