Thickness control device for glass sheet material

Abstract

The utility model relates to a thickness control device for a glass sheet material. The thickness control device comprises a forming die, a discharging mechanism, a traction mechanism, a thickness detection mechanism and a control unit. The discharging mechanism is used for injecting glass material liquid into the forming mold, and the traction mechanism is used for pulling glass plate materials on the forming mold to the next station. The thickness detecting mechanism comprises a laser emitting device, an image collecting device and a signal processing unit, the laser emitting device and the image collecting device are arranged on the two opposite sides of the glass plate material respectively, and at least part of laser emitted by the laser emitting device can be emitted to the image collecting device through the glass plate material; the signal processing unit is used for acquiring the thickness of the glass plate according to the image acquired by the image acquisition device. The control unit is used for controlling the traction speed of the traction mechanism according to the thickness obtained by the signal processing unit. The thickness control device is simple in structure, convenient to control, low in setting cost and continuous and stable in operation.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present application relates to the field of automation control technology, and in particular to a thickness control device for glass sheets. Background Art

[0002] In the production of optical glass, it is usually necessary to flow the molten glass liquid through a platinum leaking tube into the forming mold, complete the solidification in the forming mold, and then transport it to the annealing equipment through the traction equipment for subsequent processes. In production, in addition to controlling the optical performance indicators and other parameters of the optical glass, the control of the appearance dimensions of the optical glass, such as thickness, is also an important indicator for quality monitoring. Among them, the distance between the glass liquid level in the forming mold and the platinum leaking tube, the traction speed of the traction equipment, and the temperature of the leaking tube will all affect the thickness of the glass sheet. In production, it is necessary to control the thickness of the glass sheet by controlling the above conditions. However, the current method of controlling the thickness of the glass sheet is relatively cumbersome, which can easily lead to increased production costs and reduced production efficiency. Summary of the invention

[0003] Based on this, it is necessary to provide a thickness control device for glass sheets to address the problem that the current method for controlling the thickness of glass sheets is relatively complicated.

[0004] A thickness control device for glass sheet material, comprising:

[0005] Forming mold;

[0006] A material discharge mechanism, used for injecting glass material liquid into the forming mold, wherein the glass material liquid can be solidified on the forming mold to form a glass sheet material;

[0007] A traction mechanism, used for traction of the glass sheet on the forming mold to the next station;

[0008] a thickness detection mechanism, comprising a laser emitting device, an image acquisition device and a signal processing unit, wherein the laser emitting device and the image acquisition device are respectively arranged on opposite sides of the glass plate, at least part of the laser emitted by the laser emitting device can be emitted to the image acquisition device through the glass plate, and the signal processing unit is used to obtain the thickness of the glass plate according to the image acquired by the image acquisition device; and

[0009] A control unit is used to control the traction speed of the traction mechanism according to the thickness obtained by the signal processing unit.

[0010] The thickness control device described above detects the thickness of the glass sheet material through a thickness detection mechanism, and thereby adjusts the traction speed of the traction mechanism in real time according to the thickness of the glass sheet material through a control unit, so as to achieve precise control of the thickness of the glass sheet material, and can improve the consistency of the thickness of the glass sheet material. At the same time, the image acquisition device acquires the laser image passing through the glass sheet material to obtain the thickness of the glass sheet material, which will not form physical contact with the glass sheet material, and will not easily affect the surface quality of the glass sheet material. The coordination between the image acquisition device and the laser emitting device will not be affected by the structural specifications of the molding mold or the glass sheet material, and can achieve continuous and stable thickness detection. The thickness control device described above has a simple structure of the thickness detection mechanism, a simple control method, low setting cost, and continuous and stable operation.

[0011] In one of the embodiments, the light outlet of the laser emitting device is opposite to the photosensitive surface of the image acquisition device, and the axis of the light outlet and the photosensitive surface is substantially perpendicular to the thickness direction of the glass sheet.

[0012] In one of the embodiments, the dimension of the laser beam emitted by the laser emitting device in the thickness direction of the glass sheet is larger than the thickness dimension of the glass sheet, the image captured by the image acquisition device includes a brightness change area and a brightness uniform area, and the signal processing unit is used to obtain the width of the brightness change area.

[0013] In one of the embodiments, the forming mold and the traction mechanism are spaced apart from each other, the glass sheet is at least partially suspended between the forming mold and the traction mechanism, and the laser emitting device and the image acquisition device are both opposite to the suspended portion of the glass sheet.

[0014] In one embodiment, the traction mechanism includes a driving roller, a driven roller and a conveyor belt. In the traction direction, the driven roller and the driving roller are arranged at intervals. The conveyor belt rolls with the driving roller and the driven roller and is used to pull the glass sheet. The control unit is used to adjust the rotation speed of the driving roller according to the thickness obtained by the signal processing unit.

[0015] In one of the embodiments, the traction mechanism further includes a driving element, and the driving element is used to drive the active roller to rotate, and the control unit is used to adjust the output power of the driving element according to the thickness obtained by the signal processing unit.

[0016] In one embodiment, the driving element includes a variable frequency motor, the control unit includes a frequency converter, the control unit is electrically connected to the driving element, and can adjust the output frequency according to the thickness obtained by the signal processing unit.

[0017] In one embodiment, the feeding surface of the conveyor belt is substantially flush with the discharge surface of the molding die, and the light outlet of the laser emitting device and the photosensitive surface of the image acquisition device are arranged corresponding to the plane where the feeding surface and the discharge surface are located.

[0018] In one of the embodiments, it is characterized in that the laser emitting device includes a laser emitting element and a collimating element, and the collimating element is arranged on the light emitting side of the laser emitting element.

[0019] In one of the embodiments, the discharge mechanism includes a temperature control unit and a discharge pipe, the discharge port of the discharge pipe is opposite to the forming mold, and the temperature control unit is used to control the temperature of the glass liquid in the discharge pipe. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0020] Figure 1 Schematic diagram of the structure of a thickness control device for glass sheets in some embodiments.

[0021] Reference numerals:

[0022] 10. Thickness control device; 11. Discharging mechanism; 111. Discharging pipe; 12. Forming mold; 121. Bottom plate; 122. Baffle plate; 123. Side plate; 13. Traction mechanism; 131. Active roller; 132. Driven roller; 133. Conveyor belt; 14. Thickness detection mechanism; 141. Laser emitting device; 142. Image acquisition device; 143. Signal processing unit; 20. Glass sheet; 21. Front; 22. Side. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0023] In order to make the above-mentioned purposes, features and advantages of the present application more obvious and easy to understand, the specific implementation methods of the present application are described in detail below in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. In the following description, many specific details are set forth to facilitate a full understanding of the present application. However, the present application can be implemented in many other ways different from those described herein, and those skilled in the art can make similar improvements without violating the connotation of the present application, so the present application is not limited by the specific embodiments disclosed below.

[0024] In the description of the present application, it should be understood that if the terms "center", "longitudinal", "lateral", "length", "width", "thickness", "up", "down", "front", "back", "left", "right", "vertical", "horizontal", "top", "bottom", "inside", "outside", "clockwise", "counterclockwise", "axial", "radial", "circumferential", etc. appear, the orientation or position relationship indicated by these terms is based on the orientation or position relationship shown in the accompanying drawings, which is only for the convenience of describing the present application and simplifying the description, and does not indicate or imply that the device or element referred to must have a specific orientation, be constructed and operated in a specific orientation, and therefore cannot be understood as a limitation on the present application.

[0025] In addition, if the terms "first" or "second" appear, these terms are used for descriptive purposes only and should not be understood as indicating or implying relative importance or implicitly indicating the number of technical features indicated. Therefore, a feature defined as "first" or "second" may explicitly or implicitly include at least one of the features. In the description of this application, if the term "plurality" appears, the meaning of "plurality" is at least two, such as two, three, etc., unless otherwise clearly and specifically defined.

[0026] In this application, unless otherwise clearly specified and limited, if the terms "installed", "connected", "connected", "fixed" and the like appear, these terms should be understood in a broad sense. For example, it can be a fixed connection, a detachable connection, or an integrated connection; it can be a mechanical connection or an electrical connection; it can be a direct connection or an indirect connection through an intermediate medium, it can be the internal connection of two elements or the interaction relationship between two elements, unless otherwise clearly defined. For ordinary technicians in this field, the specific meanings of the above terms in this application can be understood according to the specific circumstances.

[0027] In the present application, unless otherwise clearly specified and limited, if there is a description that a first feature is "above" or "below" a second feature, etc., or similar descriptions appear, it may mean that the first and second features are in direct contact, or that the first and second features are in indirect contact through an intermediate medium. Moreover, the first feature being "above", "above" and "above" the second feature may mean that the first feature is directly above or obliquely above the second feature, or simply means that the first feature is higher in level than the second feature. The first feature being "below", "below" and "below" the second feature may mean that the first feature is directly below or obliquely below the second feature, or simply means that the first feature is lower in level than the second feature.

[0028] It should be noted that if an element is referred to as being "fixed to" or "disposed on" another element, it may be directly on the other element or there may be a central element. If an element is considered to be "connected to" another element, it may be directly connected to the other element or there may be a central element at the same time. If any, the terms "vertical", "horizontal", "upper", "lower", "left", "right" and similar expressions used in this application are for illustrative purposes only and do not represent the only implementation method.

[0029] See also Figure 1 , Figure 1 The schematic diagram of the structure of the thickness control device 10 for the glass sheet 20 in some embodiments of the present application is shown. The thickness control device 10 provided in the present application can be used in the production process of any applicable type of optical glass, for example, to detect and adjust the thickness of the glass sheet 20 in real time in the production process of the optical glass, so as to reduce the thickness fluctuation of the glass sheet 20 and improve the consistency of the product.

[0030] In some embodiments, the thickness control device 10 for the glass sheet 20 includes a discharge mechanism 11, a forming mold 12 and a traction mechanism 13. The discharge mechanism 11 is used to inject molten glass liquid into the forming mold 12. The forming mold 12 can solidify the glass liquid into a glass sheet 20. The traction mechanism 13 is used to pull the glass sheet 20 on the forming mold 12 to the next workstation, for example, to an annealing mechanism for annealing.

[0031] In some embodiments, the discharge mechanism 11 includes a temperature control unit (not shown) and a discharge pipe 111. The light outlet of the discharge pipe 111 is opposite to the forming mold 12, and the glass liquid in the discharge pipe 111 can be injected into the forming mold 12. The discharge pipe 111 includes but is not limited to a platinum tube, etc. The temperature control unit is used to control the temperature of each section of the discharge pipe 111 to control the viscosity of the glass liquid in the discharge pipe 111, so as to avoid the thickness fluctuation of the glass plate 20 caused by the change of viscosity.

[0032] In some embodiments, the forming mold 12 includes a bottom plate 121, a baffle 122, and two side plates 123, the two side plates 123 are arranged on the bottom plate 121, and the baffle 122 is connected to the two side plates 123. The discharge pipe 111 injects the glass liquid into the bottom plate 121, and the glass liquid is solidified and formed into a glass plate 20 in the space surrounded by the baffle 122, the bottom plate 121 and the side plates 123. The material of each component of the forming mold 12 includes but is not limited to any applicable heat-resistant metal and / or non-metallic material, as long as it can meet the heat resistance requirements and the shaping requirements of the glass plate 20. It should be noted that the distance between the discharge port of the discharge pipe 111 and the glass liquid level in the forming mold 12 will also affect the thickness of the glass plate 20. During the production process, the distance between the discharge pipe 111 and the glass liquid level can be adjusted by manual visual inspection or by an automatic control mechanism to reduce the influence of the distance on the thickness fluctuation of the glass plate 20.

[0033] In some embodiments, the traction mechanism 13 includes an active roller 131, a driven roller 132, a conveyor belt 133, and a driving element (not shown in the figure). The driven roller 132 and the active roller 131 are arranged at intervals in the traction direction and can rotate around an axis perpendicular to the traction direction. The conveyor belt 133 is in rolling cooperation with the active roller 131 and the driven roller 132. The driving element is used to drive the active roller 131 to rotate. The glass sheet 20 can partially contact the feeding surface of the conveyor belt 133. When the driving element drives the active roller 131 to rotate, it can drive the conveyor belt 133 to move, thereby achieving traction of the glass sheet 20.

[0034] Further, in some embodiments, the thickness control device 10 further includes a thickness detection mechanism 14 and a control unit (not shown). The thickness detection mechanism 14 includes a laser emitting device 141, an image acquisition device 142, and a signal processing unit 143. The laser emitting device 141 is used to emit any applicable laser beam such as an infrared laser, and the image acquisition device 142 includes but is not limited to any applicable sensor capable of acquiring laser images such as a charge coupled device (CCD) or a complementary metal oxide semiconductor device (CMOS Sensor). The laser emitting device 141 and the image acquisition device 142 are arranged opposite to each other, and during the production process, the laser emitting device 141 and the image acquisition device 142 are respectively arranged on opposite sides of the glass plate 20, and at least part of the laser emitted by the laser emitting device 141 can be emitted to the image acquisition device 142 through the glass plate 20, and the image acquisition device 142 is used to acquire laser images. The signal processing unit 143 is communicatively connected to the image acquisition device 142 and the control unit. The signal processing unit 143 is used to obtain the thickness of the glass sheet 20 based on the image acquired by the image acquisition device 142. The signal processing unit 143 includes but is not limited to being a central processing unit of the thickness control device 10, or a chip in the thickness detection mechanism 14 specifically used for obtaining the thickness.

[0035] The control unit is used to control the traction speed of the traction mechanism 13 according to the thickness obtained by the signal processing unit 143, that is, to control the movement speed of the conveyor belt 133. The control unit can control the rotation speed of the active roller 131 by controlling the output power of the driving element, thereby achieving the effect of controlling the traction speed of the traction mechanism 13. For example, when the thickness of the glass sheet material 20 obtained by the signal processing unit 143 is greater than the quality specification, the control unit controls the traction speed of the traction mechanism 13 to increase so as to reduce the thickness of the glass sheet material 20. When the thickness of the glass sheet material 20 obtained by the signal processing unit 143 is less than the quality specification, the control unit controls the traction speed of the traction mechanism 13 to decrease so as to increase the thickness of the glass sheet material 20.

[0036] The thickness control device 10 detects the thickness of the glass sheet 20 through the thickness detection mechanism 14, and adjusts the traction speed of the traction mechanism 13 in real time according to the thickness of the glass sheet 20 through the control unit, so as to achieve precise control of the thickness of the glass sheet 20, reduce thickness fluctuations, and thus help improve the consistency of the thickness of the glass sheet 20. At the same time, the image acquisition device 142 acquires the laser image passing through the glass sheet 20 to obtain the thickness of the glass sheet 20, which will not form physical contact with the glass sheet 20 and will not easily affect the surface quality of the glass sheet 20. The cooperation between the image acquisition device 142 and the laser emitting device 141 will not be affected by the structural specifications of the molding mold 12 or the glass sheet 20, and can achieve continuous and stable thickness detection. The thickness control device 10 has a simple structure of the thickness detection mechanism 14, a simple control method, low setting cost, and continuous and stable operation. Of course, during the production process, the thickness control device 10 also needs to cooperate with the temperature control unit, manual visual inspection, etc. to control the temperature of the glass liquid in the discharge pipe 111 and the fluctuation range of the distance between the discharge port and the glass liquid surface to avoid other factors affecting the thickness of the glass sheet 20. The control of the traction speed by the thickness control device 10 can effectively reduce the thickness fluctuation range, for example, the daily thickness fluctuation range of the glass sheet 20 can be controlled within 0.5 mm, thereby effectively improving the consistency of the product.

[0037] In some embodiments, the light outlet of the laser emitting device 141 is directly opposite to the photosensitive surface of the image acquisition device 142, and the axis of the photosensitive surface of the light outlet is substantially perpendicular to the thickness direction of the glass plate 20. For example, the glass plate 20 may be substantially in the shape of a rectangular parallelepiped, and have two oppositely disposed front faces 21 and two oppositely disposed side faces 22, the front faces 21 and the side faces 22 are both substantially parallel to the traction direction and the length direction of the glass plate 20, and the side faces 22 are connected to the two front faces 21, and one of the front faces 21 is opposite to the feeding surface. The laser emitting device 141 and the image acquisition device 142 are respectively disposed on the side where the two side faces 22 of the glass plate 20 are located, and the light outlet of the laser emitting device 141 and the photosensitive surface of the image acquisition device 142 may be directly opposite to the two side faces 22, respectively. At least part of the laser emitted by the laser emitting device 141 can enter the glass plate 20 from one of the side faces 22 of the glass plate 20, and after passing through the inside of the glass plate 20, it can be emitted from the other side face 22 to the image acquisition device 142.

[0038] It can be understood that when the traction mechanism 13 is not running and there is no glass plate 20 between the optical path of the laser emitting device 141 and the image acquisition device 142, the laser beam incident on the image acquisition device 142 is not blocked by the glass plate 20, and the brightness of the collected image changes evenly. In the production process, there is a glass plate 20 between the optical path of the laser emitting device 141 and the image acquisition device 142, and part of the laser beam passes through the glass plate 20 and then incident on the image acquisition device 142. The laser beam passing through the glass plate 20 will have uneven brightness changes, such as alternating between light and dark, due to being blocked by the material of the glass plate 20, while the laser beam that does not pass through the glass plate 20 has uniform brightness. Therefore, the image collected by the image acquisition device 142 includes a brightness change area and a uniform brightness area, wherein the brightness change area corresponds to the side 22 of the glass plate 20, and the signal processing unit 143 obtains the width of the brightness change area in the image, and can obtain the thickness of the glass plate 20.

[0039] Of course, to ensure that the image acquisition device 142 can acquire images with brightness variation areas and uniform brightness areas, so as to completely obtain the thickness of the glass plate material 20, the size of the laser beam emitted by the laser emitting device 141 in the thickness direction of the glass plate material 20 should be larger than the thickness of the glass plate material 20. For example, the size of the laser beam emitted by the laser emitting device 141 can be set to be larger than the thickness of glass plates 20 of various specifications, so that when glass plates 20 of different specifications are replaced, continuous and stable thickness detection can be achieved, without adjusting the thickness detection mechanism 14, making thickness control easier.

[0040] In some embodiments, the laser emitting device 141 includes a laser emitting element and a collimating element. The collimating element is disposed on the light emitting side of the laser emitting element. The collimating element may be a cylindrical lens or any other suitable lens or lenses. The collimating element can collimate and shape the laser emitted by the laser emitting element to form a parallel beam that is emitted to the glass sheet 2020, which is beneficial to improving the accuracy of thickness detection.

[0041] In some embodiments, the forming mold 12 and the traction mechanism 13 are spaced apart from each other, the glass sheet 20 is at least partially suspended between the forming mold 12 and the traction mechanism 13, and the laser emitting device 141 and the image acquisition device 142 are both opposite to the suspended portion of the glass sheet 20. Therefore, the optical path of the thickness detection mechanism 14 will not be affected by the forming mold 12 and the traction mechanism 13, which can improve the accuracy of thickness detection. At the same time, at least one of the laser emitting device 141 and the image acquisition device 142 can be at least partially arranged in the gap between the forming mold 12 and the traction mechanism 13. The laser emitting device 141 and / or the image acquisition device 142 are arranged by the gap between the forming mold 12 and the traction mechanism 13, which is also conducive to compressing the overall occupied space of the thickness control device 10.

[0042] In some embodiments, the control unit adjusts the output power of the driving element according to the thickness obtained by the signal processing unit 143 to adjust the rotation speed of the active roller 131, thereby adjusting the movement speed of the conveyor belt 133 to achieve the adjustment of the traction speed. For example, in some embodiments, the driving element can be a variable frequency motor, the control unit can be a frequency converter, the frequency converter is electrically connected to the driving element, the output power of the driving element can change with the output frequency of the control unit, and the control unit is configured to be able to adjust the output frequency according to the thickness obtained by the signal processing unit 143, thereby adjusting the traction speed of the traction mechanism 13, thereby achieving the effect of controlling the thickness of the glass sheet 20.

[0043] In some embodiments, the feeding surface of the conveyor belt 133 is substantially flush with the discharge surface of the forming mold 12, wherein the discharge surface can be understood as the surface of the bottom plate 121 of the forming mold 12 opposite to the discharge port of the discharge pipe 111. The light outlet of the laser emitting device 141 and the photosensitive surface of the image acquisition device 142 are arranged corresponding to the plane where the feeding surface and the discharge surface are located. In this way, it can be ensured that at least part of the laser emitted by the laser emitting device 141 can pass through the glass plate 20 and reach the image acquisition device 142, so as to smoothly detect the thickness of the glass plate 20 and improve the performance stability of the thickness control device 10.

[0044] The technical features of the above-described embodiments may be arbitrarily combined. To make the description concise, not all possible combinations of the technical features in the above-described embodiments are described. However, as long as there is no contradiction in the combination of these technical features, they should be considered to be within the scope of this specification.

[0045] The above-described embodiments only express several implementation methods of the present application, and the descriptions thereof are relatively specific and detailed, but they cannot be construed as limiting the scope of the patent application. It should be pointed out that, for a person of ordinary skill in the art, several variations and improvements can be made without departing from the concept of the present application, and these all belong to the protection scope of the present application. Therefore, the protection scope of the patent application shall be subject to the attached claims.

Claims

1. A thickness control device for glass sheet material, characterized in that: include: Forming mold; A material discharge mechanism, used for injecting glass material liquid into the forming mold, wherein the glass material liquid can be solidified on the forming mold to form a glass sheet material; A traction mechanism, used for traction of the glass sheet on the forming mold to the next station; a thickness detection mechanism, comprising a laser emitting device, an image acquisition device and a signal processing unit, wherein the laser emitting device and the image acquisition device are respectively arranged on opposite sides of the glass plate, at least part of the laser emitted by the laser emitting device can be emitted to the image acquisition device through the glass plate, and the signal processing unit is used to obtain the thickness of the glass plate according to the image acquired by the image acquisition device; and A control unit is used to control the traction speed of the traction mechanism according to the thickness obtained by the signal processing unit.

2. The thickness control device according to claim 1, characterized in that: The light outlet of the laser emitting device is opposite to the photosensitive surface of the image acquisition device, and the axis of the light outlet and the photosensitive surface is substantially perpendicular to the thickness direction of the glass plate material.

3. The thickness control device according to claim 1, characterized in that: The dimension of the laser beam emitted by the laser emitting device in the thickness direction of the glass plate is larger than the thickness dimension of the glass plate. The image captured by the image acquisition device includes a brightness change area and a brightness uniform area. The signal processing unit is used to obtain the width of the brightness change area.

4. The thickness control device according to claim 1, characterized in that: The forming mold and the traction mechanism are spaced apart from each other, the glass sheet is at least partially suspended between the forming mold and the traction mechanism, and the laser emitting device and the image acquisition device are both opposite to the suspended portion of the glass sheet.

5. The thickness control device according to claim 1, characterized in that: The traction mechanism includes a driving roller, a driven roller and a conveyor belt. In the traction direction, the driven roller and the driving roller are arranged at intervals. The conveyor belt rolls with the driving roller and the driven roller and is used to pull the glass sheet. The control unit is used to adjust the rotation speed of the driving roller according to the thickness obtained by the signal processing unit.

6. The thickness control device according to claim 5, characterized in that: The traction mechanism further includes a driving element, and the driving element is used to drive the active roller to rotate. The control unit is used to adjust the output power of the driving element according to the thickness obtained by the signal processing unit.

7. The thickness control device according to claim 6, characterized in that: The driving element includes a variable frequency motor, the control unit includes a frequency converter, the control unit is electrically connected to the driving element, and can adjust the output frequency according to the thickness obtained by the signal processing unit.

8. The thickness control device according to claim 5, characterized in that: The feeding surface of the conveyor belt is substantially flush with the discharging surface of the molding die, and the light outlet of the laser emitting device and the photosensitive surface of the image acquisition device are arranged corresponding to the plane where the feeding surface and the discharging surface are located.

9. The thickness control device according to any one of claims 1 to 8, characterized in that: The laser emitting device comprises a laser emitting element and a collimating element, and the collimating element is arranged on the light emitting side of the laser emitting element.

10. The thickness control device according to any one of claims 1 to 8, characterized in that: The discharge mechanism comprises a temperature control unit and a discharge pipe, the discharge port of the discharge pipe is opposite to the forming mold, and the temperature control unit is used to control the temperature of the glass material liquid in the discharge pipe.

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