Preparation method of quartz glass device and quartz glass device

Abstract

The invention provides a preparation method of a quartz glass device and the quartz glass device, and the method comprises the steps: carrying out the etching treatment of all or part of the surface of an arc-shaped surface of a first mold in a split mold through an alkaline solution, so as to form a preset pattern on the arc-shaped surface; the preparation method comprises the following steps: firstly, carrying out mold assembly on a first mold in split molds and a second mold in the split molds, and then carrying out injection molding and demolding operation on the split molds after mold assembly to obtain the quartz glass device, the preparation method is simple in process and low in cost, the preset pattern of the quartz glass device prepared by the method is controllable, and the production efficiency is improved. And the consistency of the preset pattern is good.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present application relates to the technical field of optical devices, and in particular to a method for preparing a quartz glass device and a quartz glass device. Background Art

[0002] Currently, to meet the diverse lighting needs of vehicles, cars generally require both low-beam and high-beam headlights. However, due to regulations requiring different light spot shapes for low-beam and high-beam headlights, the two utilize different light source modules with different structures. Furthermore, the power requirements for low-beam and high-beam headlights differ, necessitating separate configurations for low-beam and high-beam headlights. This results in a complex structure, inconvenience, and a large space occupation.

[0003] Currently, low and high beams are integrated, especially in the now mainstream adaptive headlights (ADB). This switching between high and low beams is achieved through a dimming module. The dual-beam headlight lens is a key component. To achieve uniform spot brightness, improve light energy utilization, and create a good road lighting effect, a pitted structure is often applied to a localized area of the dual-beam headlight lens surface. However, existing methods for preparing quartz glass components produce headlight lenses with poorly consistent pitted structures, and the process is difficult and expensive. Summary of the Invention

[0004] The embodiments of the present application provide a method for preparing a quartz glass device and a quartz glass device to at least partially alleviate the above-mentioned problems.

[0005] The implementation method of this application is achieved through the following technical solutions.

[0006] In one aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a method for preparing a quartz glass device, comprising the following steps: providing a split mold, the split mold comprising at least a first mold and a second mold, the first mold having a curved surface;

[0007] Etching the entire or a portion of the arcuate surface of the first mold with an alkaline solution to form a predetermined pattern on the arcuate surface, and assembling the first mold with the predetermined pattern formed on the arcuate surface and the second mold;

[0008] Prepare silica sol;

[0009] Injecting silica sol into the assembled split mold, letting it stand, and demolding after the silica sol is completely gelled to obtain a wet gel;

[0010] Drying the wet gel to obtain a xerogel;

[0011] The xerogel was sintered to obtain a quartz glass device.

[0012] In some embodiments, the pH value of the alkaline solution is 8-12.

[0013] In some embodiments, before providing the split mold and etching all or part of the curved surface of the first mold with an alkaline solution, the method further includes masking or coating a portion of the curved surface of the first mold.

[0014] In some embodiments, silica sol is prepared as follows: deionized water is added to fumed silica particles and uniformly dispersed to obtain a dispersion having a solid content of 20% to 45%; the dispersion is filtered and the pH of the dispersion is adjusted to 1.3 to 3.5; alkoxysilane is added to the dispersion and stirred until hydrolyzed to form a sol solution; and the pH of the sol solution is adjusted to 2.5 to 6 to obtain silica sol.

[0015] In some embodiments, the split mold is prepared by:

[0016] Providing a master mold of a quartz glass device, the master mold comprising at least one smooth arc-shaped surface;

[0017] The mother mold is molded with silicone to obtain a silicone mold; the silicone mold is split to obtain a split mold.

[0018] In some embodiments, the size of the master mold is 2 to 2.5 times the size of the quartz glass device.

[0019] In some embodiments, performing silicone molding on the master mold to obtain a silicone mold comprises:

[0020] Bonding the master mold to the carrier platform to obtain a master mold assembly;

[0021] Bonding the master mold assembly to the inverted mold fixture;

[0022] Inject silicone into the mold fixture and demould it when the silicone solidifies to obtain a silicone mold.

[0023] In some embodiments, when all or part of the curved surface of the first mold is etched with an alkaline solution, the etching time is 4 hours to 72 hours.

[0024] In some embodiments, the sintering temperature during sintering of the xerogel is 1020°C to 1280°C.

[0025] On the other hand, an embodiment of the present application further provides a quartz glass device, which is prepared by the above-mentioned method for preparing a quartz glass device.

[0026] The method for preparing a quartz glass device provided in an embodiment of the present application comprises etching all or part of the curved surface of a first mold in a split mold using an alkaline solution to form a preset pattern on the curved surface, then assembling the first mold and the second mold in the split mold together, and then performing injection molding and demolding operations on the assembled split mold to obtain the quartz glass device. This method has a simple process and low cost. The preset pattern of the quartz glass device prepared by this method is controllable and has good consistency. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0027] In order to more clearly illustrate the technical solutions in the embodiments of the present application, the following briefly introduces the drawings required for use in the description of the embodiments. Obviously, the drawings described below are only some embodiments of the present invention. For those skilled in the art, other drawings can be obtained based on these drawings without creative work.

[0028] Figure 1 A flow chart of a method for preparing a quartz glass device provided in one embodiment of the present application is shown. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0029] In order to enable those skilled in the art to better understand the solutions of the present invention, the technical solutions in the embodiments of the present invention will be clearly and completely described below in conjunction with the drawings in the embodiments of the present invention. Obviously, the described embodiments are only part of the embodiments of the present invention, not all of the embodiments. Based on the embodiments of the present invention, all other embodiments obtained by those skilled in the art without making creative work are within the scope of protection of the present invention.

[0030] The technical solutions in the embodiments of the present application will be described clearly and completely below in conjunction with the accompanying drawings in the embodiments of the present application.

[0031] Currently, in order to meet the different needs of automotive lighting, cars generally need to be equipped with low beams and high beams. However, due to different regulations on the shape of the low beam and high beam light spots, the low beam and high beam use different light source modules and structures. In addition, the light source power requirements of low beam and high beam are different, so the low beam and high beam on the car need to be set separately, which makes the structure complex, inconvenient to use, and occupies a large space. Integrating low beams and high beams together, especially the current mainstream adaptive headlights (ADB), uses a dimming module to achieve switching between high and low beams. The dual-beam headlight lens is the main core component. In order to achieve uniform brightness of the light spot, improve the utilization of light energy and create a good paving lighting effect. In the application of car lights, a pitting structure is usually set in a local area of the dual-beam headlight lens surface.

[0032] The current manufacturing process primarily uses sandblasting to treat the surface of the desired pockmarked areas. Water-mixed corundum is sprayed onto the surface at high pressure, creating subtle irregularities on the glass surface. This scatters light, creating a uniform light distribution. However, the sandblasted diffuser surface is relatively rough, resulting in a large scattering angle, poor controllability, and poor scattering consistency.

[0033] The second method is to use a glass etching process. The etching process involves immersing the glass in a prepared acidic liquid (or applying an acidic paste) to corrode the glass surface with strong acid. At the same time, the hydrogen fluoride ammonia in the strong acid solution causes crystals to form on the glass surface. Therefore, the surface of the scattering sheet produced by the etching glass process is extremely smooth. However, the etching process is technically difficult, and the degree of corrosion is difficult to control. If it is not properly controlled, undesirable problems such as "mottling" and failure to form crystals will occur. Secondly, the etching process will produce wastewater discharge, polluting the environment. Like the sandblasting process, there are also product consistency issues.

[0034] Based on the above technical problems, this application proposes a method for preparing a quartz glass device 1, please refer to Figure 1 , Figure 1 A flow chart of a method 1 for preparing a quartz glass device according to an embodiment of the present application is shown. The method 1 for preparing a quartz glass device can be applied to the preparation of automobile headlights. The method 1 for preparing a quartz glass device can include the following steps:

[0035] Step S110: providing a split mold, the split mold comprising at least a first mold and a second mold, the first mold having a concave arc surface.

[0036] In this embodiment, the shape of the first mold can be the same as or roughly similar to the shape of the automobile headlight lens, and serve as a basic mold. The embodiment of the present application does not limit the specific structure and quantity of other molds in the split mold except the first mold. For example, in this embodiment, the split mold can be composed only of the first mold and the second mold, and the second mold is a flat structure. The second mold and the first mold can be combined to form a split mold.

[0037] In one embodiment, the split mold can be prepared as follows:

[0038] First, a master mold for a quartz glass device is provided. The master mold can be made of a pre-processed or injection-molded material such as copper, aluminum, polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA), or polycarbonate (PC). The master mold includes at least one smooth, curved surface that forms a portion of the shape of the quartz glass device. The quartz glass device can be, for example, a spherical lens, an aspheric lens, a cylindrical lens, a Fresnel lens, or a fly-eye lens. In one embodiment, the master mold is 2 to 2.5 times the size of the quartz glass device. This prevents shrinkage of the master mold during subsequent processing, preventing the quartz glass device from being of the desired size. Of course, the size of the master mold can be adjusted based on the different raw materials used and the shrinkage rate of the wet or dry gel.

[0039] Specifically, in this embodiment, the master mold can be composed of a hemispherical first sub-mold and a rectangular second sub-mold. The first sub-mold can have a smooth plane and a smooth curved surface, and the second sub-mold can have a smooth plane. The smooth plane of the first sub-mold can be fitted with the smooth plane of the second sub-mold, for example, by using double-sided tape for bonding.

[0040] After the above-mentioned master mold is bonded, the bonded master mold can be bonded again to the bottom of the inverted mold jig. The embodiment of the present application does not limit the specific structure and material of the inverted mold jig. For example, it can be a hollow rectangular structure, and the bonded master mold can be bonded to the inner surface of the bottom of the above-mentioned hollow rectangular structure.

[0041] Then the mother mold is cast into silicone to obtain a silicone mold.

[0042] Specifically, silicone can be added to the aforementioned mold jig, and then the bubbles can be removed, allowing the silicone to solidify at room temperature to form a silicone mold. The specific method of removing bubbles is not limited in this embodiment of the application. For example, the mold jig after silicone injection can be placed in a vacuum box and vacuumed using a vacuum pump to remove bubbles.

[0043] Then the silicone mold is split to obtain a split mold.

[0044] Based on the above, the specific operation of splitting the silicone mold can be to take out the cured silicone mold together with the mother mold from the outer frame of the mold jig, and then cut the silicone mold to separate the silicone mold and the mother mold. After taking out the mother mold, the split mold can be obtained. The silicone mold and the mother mold need to be separated, so the silicone mold needs to be cut into at least two parts, one of which is the first mold and the other part is the second mold.

[0045] Step S120: etching all or part of the curved surface of the first mold using an alkaline solution to form a preset pattern on the curved surface, and assembling the first mold with the preset pattern formed on the curved surface and the second mold.

[0046] As mentioned above, since the first mold serves as the basic mold, the arc surface of the first mold can be etched with an alkaline solution according to the actual structure of the automobile headlight lens required to form a preset pattern on the arc surface. It can be understood that the above-mentioned preset pattern can be set by the user according to actual conditions. For example, in the present embodiment, the above-mentioned preset pattern can be pitting. It should be noted that the pitting here refers to a pattern composed of multiple dots or shapes similar to dots on the first mold. In terms of visual effect, it is a densely packed dot. For the sake of convenience, the preset pattern is pitting as an example. When the preset pattern is formed on the arc surface, the first mold and the second mold can be assembled together. For example, the arc mouth of the first mold can point to the second mold and fit with the second mold to complete the assembly of the first mold and the second mold.

[0047] Specifically, in this embodiment, the alkaline solution can be prepared by adding one or more of potassium hydroxide (KOH), sodium hydroxide (NaOH), and ammonia water into pure water to form an alkaline solution.

[0048] Specifically, the above-mentioned etching operation can be to immerse the entire or partial surface of the curved surface of the first mold in an alkaline solution for etching. It can be understood that etching is a technology that uses chemical reactions or physical impacts to remove part of the material. Specifically, the etching process in this embodiment uses chemical reactions and immerses the first mold in an alkaline solution. This is a processing method that uses alkaline solutions to chemically react with the surface of the material. This etching method has low cost, does not require a high temperature environment, and is easy to operate. It should be noted that in this embodiment, before the entire or partial surface of the curved surface of the first mold is etched with an alkaline solution, a mask or coating process can be performed on a partial area of the curved surface of the first mold. In this way, during the immersion process, only the areas of the curved surface of the first mold that are not masked or coated are etched, thereby obtaining a preset pattern.

[0049] It is understandable that the mass concentration of the alkaline solution is proportional to the density of the preset pattern pits, and the immersion time is proportional to the size of the preset pattern pits. The density of the pits here refers to the spacing between the multiple dots that constitute the pits or patterns similar to dots. If the spacing is larger, the density is smaller, and if the spacing is smaller, the density is larger. The size of the pits refers to the size of the multiple dots that constitute the pits or patterns similar to dots. In other words, the mass concentration and immersion time of the above-mentioned alkaline solution can affect the size and density of the preset pattern pits, wherein the greater the mass concentration of the alkaline solution, the denser the etched pits, and conversely, the smaller the mass concentration of the alkaline solution, the sparser the etched pits. The longer the immersion time in the alkaline solution, the larger the pits, and conversely, the shorter the immersion time in the alkaline solution, the smaller the pits.

[0050] Furthermore, in some embodiments, the pH value of the alkaline solution is 8 to 12 and / or the mass concentration of the alkaline solution is in the range of 10% to 80%. It is understood that the pH value represents the OH content in the solution. - The concentration of ions is the mass concentration of the alkaline solution. This range is the optimal process condition. If the pH value exceeds the above range, the etching progress during the etching process of the curved surface of the first mold is difficult to control, which in turn makes it difficult to control the shape of the preset pattern to be formed. Specifically, if the pH value of the alkaline solution is too low, the etching efficiency will be too slow. If the pH value of the alkaline solution is too high, the etching efficiency will be too fast. For example, in some embodiments, the pH value can be 8, 9, 9.5, 10.5 or 12, etc. Preferably, in this embodiment, the pH value is 9.5, which can make it easier to control the progress of etching.

[0051] Specifically, if the pH value is less than 8, the alkaline solution will be weak in alkalinity, making it difficult to etch the curved surface of the first mold; if the pH value is greater than 12, the alkaline solution will be too alkaline. At this time, when etching the curved surface of the first mold, the entire etching may be excessive, making it difficult to form a preset pattern.

[0052] In addition, in some embodiments, the immersion time of the curved surface of the first mold in the alkaline solution can be 4h to 72h. For example, in some embodiments, the immersion time can be 4h, 10h, 18h, 24h, 30h or 72h, etc. If the immersion time is less than 4h, it will lead to insufficient immersion time, which will cause the diameter of the preset pattern pits to be too small or difficult to form pits; if the immersion time is greater than 72h, it will lead to too long immersion time, which will cause the diameter of the preset pattern pits to be too large, which will cause the distance between two adjacent pits to be too small or directly contact, making it difficult to form the preset pattern pits.

[0053] Step S130: preparing silica sol;

[0054] As mentioned above, silica sol is a colloidal silica dispersion in a liquid. Its main components are silica particles and water. The silica particles are the primary component of silica sol, dispersed in the liquid in a colloidal form. Water serves as the solvent for silica sol, dispersing the silica particles and imparting a certain degree of fluidity to the silica sol. Therefore, silica sol can be used as a starting material for quartz glass devices.

[0055] In some embodiments, silica sol can be prepared as follows:

[0056] Deionized water is added to the fumed silica particles and uniformly dispersed to obtain a dispersion having a solid content of 20% to 45%. It should be noted that if the solid content is too high, the sol will gel prematurely and a stable sol cannot be formed. If the solid content is too low, the sol will not be able to gel. Preferably, the above-mentioned solid content can be 20% to 25%, for example, 22%, 24%, etc.

[0057] The dispersion is filtered to remove impurities and large aggregated particles. It should be noted that large particles here refer to particles with a particle size greater than 10 μm. Large particles tend to precipitate in the solution, which in turn affects the surface quality of the quartz glass device. Furthermore, the embodiments of this application do not limit the filtration method. For example, a vacuum pump + filter element-based filtration device can be used to filter the dispersion.

[0058] The pH value in the dispersion is adjusted to 1.3 to 3.5. The embodiments of the present application do not limit the specific method of adjusting the pH value. For example, dilute hydrochloric acid may be added to the above-mentioned dispersion to achieve the purpose of adjusting the pH value. Furthermore, after adding the dilute hydrochloric acid, the dispersion may be stirred. The stirring time may be 10 to 120 minutes. If the stirring time is too short, the reaction of the configured solution may be incomplete. If the stirring time is too long, the stability of the configured solution may be reduced, and even precipitates may appear. In this embodiment, the stirring time is preferably 30 to 60 minutes, for example, 40 minutes, 45 minutes, or 50 minutes.

[0059] An alkoxysilane is added to the dispersion and stirred until hydrolyzed to form a sol solution. The alkoxysilane can be selected from at least one of ethyl orthosilicate or methyl orthosilicate. Stirring can evenly mix the components and promote the hydrolysis reaction. It is understood that the specific stirring method is not limited in the present embodiment, and for example, the stirring method described above can be configured. After stirring for a certain period of time, the alkoxysilane can be hydrolyzed to form a sol solution.

[0060] Furthermore, in this embodiment, the stirring time can be 60 minutes to 300 minutes. If the stirring time is too short, the reaction of the prepared solution may not be complete; if the stirring time is too long, the stability of the prepared solution may decrease, or even precipitate may form. In this embodiment, the stirring time is preferably 90 minutes to 180 minutes, for example, 100 minutes, 140 minutes, or 160 minutes.

[0061] The silica sol can be obtained by adjusting the pH of the sol solution to 2.5-6. The embodiment of the present application also does not limit the specific method of adjusting the pH. For example, the pH can be adjusted by adding diluted ammonia water to the aforementioned sol solution.

[0062] It is understandable that if the pH range is exceeded, the sol will immediately convert into gel, so it is necessary to control the gelation time by adjusting the pH. Preferably, in this embodiment, the pH can be adjusted to between 3.5 and 4.5, for example, 3.7, 4.3, etc.

[0063] Step S140: injecting silica sol into the assembled split mold, letting it stand, and demolding after the silica sol is completely gelled to obtain a wet gel.

[0064] As mentioned above, in this step, the resting time can be 8 hours to 36 hours. If the resting time is too short, the silica sol may not be completely gelled. The embodiment of the present application does not limit the specific demoulding method. For example, it can be directly removed from the injection port.

[0065] Step S150: drying the wet gel to obtain a xerogel;

[0066] As previously mentioned, since the wet gel cannot be directly sintered, it is necessary to dry the wet gel to obtain a dry gel for subsequent processing. The embodiments of the present application are not limited to the specific method of the above-mentioned drying process. For example, the wet gel block can be placed in a constant temperature drying oven for drying. Constant temperature drying can initially remove some of the water in the wet gel to facilitate subsequent processing.

[0067] Step S160: sintering the xerogel to obtain a quartz glass device.

[0068] As mentioned above, the embodiments of the present application do not limit the specific method of sintering the xerogel. For example, the xerogel can be placed in a tube furnace and sintered to 1020°C to 1280°C to obtain a quartz glass device. It should be noted that the above temperature range is an optimized sintering temperature based on the aggregation state of the material and the physical properties of the material itself. If this temperature range is exceeded, a transparent product cannot be obtained.

[0069] In addition, the present application also proposes a quartz glass device, which can be prepared using the preparation method of the quartz glass device of any of the above embodiments.

[0070] The method for preparing a quartz glass device provided in an embodiment of the present application comprises etching all or part of the curved surface of a first mold in a split mold using an alkaline solution to form a preset pattern on the curved surface, then assembling the first mold and the second mold in the split mold together, and then performing injection molding and demolding operations on the assembled split mold to obtain the quartz glass device. This method has a simple process and low cost. The preset pattern of the quartz glass device prepared by this method is controllable and has good consistency.

[0071] In this disclosure, unless otherwise specified or limited, terms such as "mounted" and "connected" should be interpreted broadly. For example, they can refer to fixed connections, detachable connections, integral connections, or transmission connections; they can be direct connections or indirect connections through an intermediary. Those skilled in the art will understand the specific meanings of these terms in this disclosure based on the specific circumstances.

[0072] In addition, the terms "first", "second", etc. are only used to distinguish the description and cannot be understood as a specific reference or special structure. The description of the term "some embodiments" means that the specific features, structures, materials or characteristics described in conjunction with the embodiment or example are included in at least one embodiment or example of the present invention. In the present invention, the schematic representation of the above terms does not necessarily refer to the same embodiment or example. Moreover, the specific features, structures, materials or characteristics described can be combined in a suitable manner in any one or more embodiments or examples. In addition, those skilled in the art can combine and combine the different embodiments or examples described in the present invention and the features of the different embodiments or examples, unless they are contradictory.

[0073] The above embodiments are only used to illustrate the technical solutions of the present invention, rather than to limit them. Although the present invention has been described in detail with reference to the aforementioned embodiments, those skilled in the art should understand that they can still modify the technical solutions described in the aforementioned embodiments, or make equivalent replacements for some of the technical features therein. These modifications or replacements do not deviate the essence of the corresponding technical solutions from the spirit and scope of the technical solutions of the various embodiments of the present invention, and should all be included in the scope of protection of the present invention.

Claims

1. A method for preparing a quartz glass device, characterized in that: The following steps are involved: Providing a split mold, the split mold comprising at least a first mold and a second mold, wherein the first mold has a curved surface; Etching all or part of the curved surface of the first mold using an alkaline solution to form a preset pattern on the curved surface, and assembling the first mold with the preset pattern formed on the curved surface and the second mold; Prepare silica sol; injecting silica sol into the assembled split mold, allowing it to stand, and demolding after the silica sol is completely gelled to obtain a wet gel; Drying the wet gel to obtain a xerogel; The xerogel is sintered to obtain a quartz glass device.

2. The method for preparing a quartz glass device according to claim 1, wherein: The pH value of the alkaline solution is 8-12.

3. The method for preparing a quartz glass device according to claim 2, wherein: Before etching all or part of the curved surface of the first mold using an alkaline solution, the method further includes: A masking or coating process is performed on a partial area of the arcuate surface of the first mold.

4. The method for preparing a quartz glass device according to claim 1, wherein: The silica sol is prepared in the following manner: Deionized water is added to fumed silica particles and uniformly dispersed to obtain a dispersion with a solid content of 20% to 45%; the dispersion is filtered and the pH of the dispersion is adjusted to 1.3 to 3.5; alkoxysilane is added to the dispersion and stirred until hydrolyzed to form a sol solution; and the pH of the sol solution is adjusted to 2.5 to 6 to obtain a silica sol.

5. The method for preparing a quartz glass device according to claim 1, wherein: The split mold is prepared by the following method: Providing a master mold of a quartz glass device, wherein the master mold includes at least one smooth arc-shaped surface; The mother mold is subjected to silicone molding to obtain a silicone mold; the silicone mold is subjected to splitting processing to obtain a split mold.

6. The method for preparing a quartz glass device according to claim 5, wherein: The size of the master mold is 2 to 2.5 times the size of the quartz glass component.

7. The method for preparing a quartz glass device according to claim 4, wherein: The step of performing silicone molding on the master mold to obtain a silicone mold comprises: Bonding the master mold to a carrier platform to obtain a master mold assembly; Bonding the master mold assembly to a reverse mold fixture; The mold is injected with silica gel, and the mold is removed after the silica gel solidifies to obtain a silica gel mold.

8. The method for preparing a quartz glass device according to claim 1, wherein: When all or part of the curved surface of the first mold is etched with an alkaline solution, the etching time is 4 hours to 72 hours.

9. The method for preparing a quartz glass device according to claim 1, wherein: The sintering temperature when sintering the dry gel is 1020°C to 1280°C.

10. A quartz glass device, characterized in that: The quartz glass device is prepared by the preparation method of a quartz glass device according to any one of claims 1 to 9.

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