WO2025094598A1 - Feeder - Google Patents

Abstract

Side wall parts 6a, 6b of a feeder 3 include a first side wall part 6a and a second side wall part 6b positioned with a predetermined spacing therebetween. Ceiling parts 7a, 7b of the feeder 3 are each formed from a long fireproof member bridged between the first side wall part 6a and the second side wall part 6b. The ceiling parts 7a, 7b include a first ceiling part 7a and a second ceiling part 7b arranged so as to be adjacent to each other. A first protruding part 9 of the first ceiling part 7a overlaps a second protruding part 10 of the second ceiling part 7b in the vertical direction.

Description

Feeder

The present invention relates to a feeder capable of circulating molten glass.

For example, when supplying molten glass to bushings for forming glass fibers or molding bodies for forming sheet glass, it is necessary to keep the molten glass flowing inside the feeder warm and prevent its temperature from dropping. A widely used method for this purpose is to heat the molten glass using a heating means placed in the internal space of the feeder.

For example, Patent Document 1 discloses a feeder whose peripheral walls are made of refractory material and which has an electric heating element in its internal space. The internal space of this feeder has a bottom, a pair of side walls, and a ceiling that covers the upper parts of the side walls. The electric heating element is supported by the ceiling and is located near the side walls (see Figure 2 in the same document).

JP 2014-221700 A

The internal space of the feeder is at a high temperature due to heating by the electric heating element and the heat of the molten glass. As a result, the ceiling of the feeder will undergo creep deformation over time.

The electric heating element, which is supported by the ceiling, changes its position and posture when the ceiling deforms. This could cause the electric heating element to come into contact with the side wall of the feeder, potentially damaging the side wall and the electric heating element.

The present invention was made in consideration of the above circumstances, and its technical objective is to suppress creep deformation in the ceiling of the feeder.

(1) The present invention is intended to solve the above problems, and is a feeder for circulating molten glass therein, comprising a ceiling portion and a side wall portion supporting the ceiling portion, the side wall portion including a first side wall portion and a second side wall portion arranged at a predetermined interval, the ceiling portion being constructed of a long fireproof member spanning the first side wall portion and the second side wall portion, the ceiling portion including a first ceiling portion and a second ceiling portion arranged adjacent to each other, the first ceiling portion having a first protrusion portion, the second ceiling portion having a second protrusion portion, and the first protrusion portion and the second protrusion portion overlap in the vertical direction.

With this configuration, the first ceiling portion and the second ceiling portion can be integrated by stacking the first protruding portion of the first ceiling portion and the second protruding portion of the second ceiling portion in the vertical direction. This increases the second moment of area of the integrated ceiling portion, making it possible to suppress creep deformation of the first ceiling portion and the second ceiling portion.

(2) In the feeder described in (1) above, the first protrusion may have a first contact surface that faces the second protrusion in the vertical direction, and the second protrusion may have a second contact surface that contacts and overlaps the first contact surface in the vertical direction.

With this configuration, creep deformation of the first ceiling portion and the second ceiling portion can be effectively suppressed by bringing the first contact surface of the first protrusion associated with the first ceiling portion into contact with the second contact surface of the second protrusion associated with the second ceiling portion.

(3) The feeder described in (1) or (2) above may include an electric heating element that is supported on the ceiling and heats the molten glass.

This configuration can prevent damage to the electric heating element by suppressing creep deformation of the ceiling.

(4) In the feeder described in (3) above, the ceiling portion may have a through hole through which the electric heating element is inserted.

With this configuration, the electric heating element can be easily attached to the ceiling portion using the through holes formed in the ceiling portion.

(5) The feeder described in (4) above may include a fixing member that fixes the electric heating element inserted into the through hole to the ceiling portion.

This configuration allows the electric heating element to be securely fixed to the ceiling.

The present invention makes it possible to suppress creep deformation in the ceiling of the feeder.

FIG. 2 is a vertical cross-sectional view showing a glass fiber manufacturing apparatus. 2 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line II-II of FIG. 1. FIG. FIG. FIG. FIG. 11 is a cross-sectional view showing another example of the ceiling portion. FIG. 11 is a cross-sectional view showing another example of the ceiling portion. FIG. 11 is a cross-sectional view showing another example of the ceiling portion. 1 is a cross-sectional view illustrating creep deformation of a conventional ceiling portion. FIG.

Below, the form for implementing the present invention will be explained with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a vertical cross-sectional view showing an outline of a glass fiber manufacturing device equipped with a feeder according to the present invention.

The manufacturing device 1 includes a melting furnace 2 that melts glass raw material Gr to form molten glass Gm, and a feeder 3 that is connected downstream of the melting furnace 2 and circulates the molten glass Gm inside. The walls that define the melting space of the melting furnace 2 and the circulation space of the feeder 3 are made of a refractory material such as bricks.

At the upstream end of the melting furnace 2, an inlet 2a is provided for feeding glass raw material Gr, a mixture of silica sand, limestone, soda ash, cullet, etc., into the furnace. A raw material supply means (not shown), such as a screw feeder, is provided at the inlet 2a.

The melting furnace 2 is further provided with a heating device (not shown). As the heating device, for example, a gas burner arranged above the molten glass Gm, an electric heater, or an electric heating device such as an electrode immersed in the molten glass Gm can be used.

The glass raw material Gr fed from the inlet 2a is melted by heating using a heating device, and molten glass Gm is continuously formed. The molten glass Gm flows into the feeder 3 from the downstream end of the melting furnace 2. The melting furnace 2 may melt the glass raw material Gr using only gas combustion or only electrical heating, or may use a combination of gas combustion and electrical heating.

A number of bushings 4 made of platinum or a platinum alloy are provided at intervals in the longitudinal direction X of the feeder 3, i.e., the flow direction of the molten glass Gm, at the bottom of the feeder 3. Each bushing 4 is provided with a number of bushing nozzles (not shown). Each nozzle causes the molten glass Gm to flow down and form glass fibers Gf. The molten glass Gm that flows down from each nozzle is stretched downward and formed into glass fibers Gf (glass filaments) of a predetermined diameter. After a bundling agent is applied to the glass fibers Gf, multiple strands are bundled together to form glass strands.

As shown in FIG. 2, the feeder 3 includes a bottom 5, a pair of side walls 6a and 6b fixed to the upper part of the bottom 5, a ceiling 7 supported by the side walls 6a and 6b, and electric heating elements 8a and 8b supported by the ceiling 7 and serving as a heating device for heating the molten glass Gm.

The bottom 5, together with parts of the side walls 6a and 6b, forms a flow path through which the molten glass Gm flows along the longitudinal direction X of the feeder 3.

The pair of side walls 6a, 6b are arranged at a predetermined interval in the width direction Y of the feeder 3. The side walls 6a, 6b include a first wall portion located at one end of the feeder 3 in the width direction Y, and a second side wall portion 6b located at the other end of the feeder 3 in the width direction Y. Each side wall portion 6a, 6b has a support surface 6c that supports the ceiling portion 7.

As shown in Figures 2 to 4, the ceiling portion 7 is composed of a long fireproof member that spans the first side wall portion 6a and the second side wall portion 6b. Each ceiling portion 7 is configured in a plate shape, but is not limited to this shape. The length dimension L of the ceiling portion 7 is greater than the distance D between the inner surfaces of the pair of side wall portions 6a, 6b. As a result, one end of the ceiling portion 7 in the longitudinal direction is supported by the support surface 6c of the first side wall portion 6a, and the other end of the ceiling portion 7 in the longitudinal direction is supported by the support surface 6c of the second side wall portion 6b.

As shown in FIG. 5, the upper part of the feeder 3 is closed by arranging a number of ceiling sections 7 side by side. Hereinafter, of the number of ceiling sections 7, one of the two adjacent ceiling sections 7a, 7b will be referred to as the first ceiling section 7a, and the other will be referred to as the second ceiling section 7b.

As shown in Figures 3 to 5, each of the ceiling portions 7a, 7b has protrusions (hereinafter referred to as "width-direction protrusions") 9, 10 that protrude along the width direction W, and protrusions (hereinafter referred to as "vertical direction protrusions") 11, 12 that protrude along the vertical direction. The width direction W of the ceiling portions 7a, 7b is the same direction as the longitudinal direction X of the feeder 3.

Hereinafter, the widthwise protrusion 9 of the first ceiling portion 7a will be referred to as the "first widthwise protrusion," and the widthwise protrusion 10 of the second ceiling portion 7b will be referred to as the "second widthwise protrusion." In addition, the vertical protrusion 11 of the first ceiling portion 7a will be referred to as the "first vertical protrusion," and the vertical protrusion 12 of the second ceiling portion 7b will be referred to as the "second vertical protrusion."

As shown in FIG. 5, the first ceiling portion 7a and the second ceiling portion 7b are arranged side by side with their top and bottom orientations reversed. That is, the first ceiling portion 7a is arranged so that the first vertical protrusion 11 is located on the upper side and the first widthwise protrusion 9 is located on the lower side. Conversely, the second ceiling portion 7b is arranged so that the second widthwise protrusion 10 is located on the upper side and the second vertical protrusion 12 is located on the lower side.

The first width direction protrusion 9 is arranged so as to overlap the second width direction protrusion 10 in the vertical direction. Specifically, the first width direction protrusion 9 of the first ceiling portion 7a is arranged so as to be adjacent to the second vertical direction protrusion 12 of the second ceiling portion 7b. The first vertical direction protrusion 11 of the first ceiling portion 7a is arranged so as to be adjacent to the second width direction protrusion 10 of the second ceiling portion 7b.

The first width direction protrusion 9 includes a pair of protrusions that protrude from one side and the other side of the width direction W of the first ceiling portion 7a. Similarly, the second width direction protrusion 10 includes a pair of protrusions that protrude from one side and the other side of the width direction W of the second ceiling portion 7b.

The first widthwise protrusion 9 has a contact surface (hereinafter referred to as the "first contact surface") 9a that faces the second widthwise protrusion 10 in the vertical direction. The second widthwise protrusion 10 has a contact surface (hereinafter referred to as the "second contact surface") 10a that contacts and overlaps the first contact surface 9a in the vertical direction. Each contact surface 9a, 10a is configured as a flat surface that extends along the horizontal direction perpendicular to the vertical direction.

As shown in FIG. 5, the first widthwise protrusion 9 and the second widthwise protrusion 10 have side surfaces 9b, 10b that face the width direction W. The side surface 9b of the first widthwise protrusion 9 is arranged to face a portion of the second vertical protrusion 12 in the second ceiling portion 7b. On the other hand, the side surface 10b of the second widthwise protrusion 10 is arranged to face a portion of the first vertical protrusion 11 in the first ceiling portion 7a.

As shown in Figures 3 to 5, each of the vertical protrusions 11, 12 of each of the ceiling portions 7a, 7b has a top surface 11a, 12a and a side surface 11b, 12b. The side surface 11b of the first vertical protrusion 11 is arranged so as to contact the side surface 10b of the second width direction protrusion 10. The side surface 12b of the second vertical protrusion 12 is arranged so as to contact the side surface 9b of the first width direction protrusion 9.

In addition to the above configuration, in some of the multiple first ceiling portions 7a and second ceiling portions 7b arranged side by side, the side surfaces 11b, 12b of each vertical protrusion 11, 12 may be positioned away from the side surfaces 9b, 10b of the corresponding widthwise protrusions 9, 10. This forms a gap between the side surfaces that are positioned away from each other (see FIG. 5).

With the above configuration, when the first ceiling portion 7a and the second ceiling portion 7b expand due to heating, the amount of expansion can be absorbed by this gap. Even when a gap is formed in this way, the first contact surface 9a of the first ceiling portion 7a and the second contact surface 10a of the second ceiling portion 7b are in contact with each other, so that each ceiling portion 7a, 7b can airtightly close the upper portion of the feeder 3.

The electric heating elements 8a and 8b are resistance heating elements made of, for example, molybdenum disilicide ( _MoSi2 ) and generate heat when electricity is passed through them. As shown in Fig. 2, the electric heating elements 8a and 8b are U-shaped members having a bent portion 8c and two straight portions 8d arranged in parallel with each other via the bent portion 8c.

As shown in FIG. 2, the electric heating elements 8a and 8b are supported on the second ceiling portion 7b via a fixing member 13. However, the electric heating elements 8a and 8b may be supported on the first ceiling portion 7a. The electric heating elements 8a and 8b include a first electric heating element 8a supported on one end of the second ceiling portion 7b, and a second electric heating element 8b supported on the other end of the second ceiling portion 7b.

As shown in Figures 2, 4, and 5, the second ceiling portion 7b has a pair of through holes 14a, 14b through which the electric heating elements 8a, 8b are inserted. Each through hole 14a, 14b passes through the second ceiling portion 7b in the vertical direction (thickness direction). As shown in Figure 4, each through hole 14a, 14b is configured in a circular shape, but is not limited to this shape and may be configured in a square shape or other shapes.

The through holes 14a, 14b include a first through hole 14a formed on one end side of the second ceiling portion 7b and a second through hole 14b formed on the other end side of the second ceiling portion 7b. The first electric heating element 8a is inserted into the first through hole 14a, and the second electric heating element 8b is inserted into the second through hole 14b.

As shown in Figures 2 and 5, the fixing member 13 is placed on top of the second ceiling portion 7b. The fixing member 13 supports a part of the electric heating elements 8a, 8b outside the feeder 3. The fixing member 13 has a protrusion 13a that is inserted into the through holes 14a, 14b of the second ceiling portion 7b. The protrusion 13a functions as a guide for positioning the fixing member 13 relative to the through holes 14a, 14b of the second ceiling portion 7b.

To fix the electric heating elements 8a, 8b to the second ceiling portion 7b, the electric heating elements 8a, 8b inserted into the through holes 14a, 14b of the second ceiling portion 7b are attached to the fixing member 13, and then the protrusions 13a of the fixing member 13 are inserted into the through holes 14a, 14b of the second ceiling portion 7b. This positions the fixing member 13 in the through holes 14a, 14b of the second ceiling portion 7b, and the electric heating elements 8a, 8b are fixed to the second ceiling portion 7b. The fixing member 13 also airtightly closes the through holes 14a, 14b from the outside of the second ceiling portion 7b.

FIGS. 6 to 8 are cross-sectional views showing other examples of the ceiling portions 7a and 7b. In the example shown in FIG. 6, the first ceiling portion 7a and the second ceiling portion 7b are configured to have a trapezoidal shape in a cross-sectional view. The ceiling portion 7a has a first surface 7a1 and a second surface 7a2 facing in the vertical direction, and a third surface 7a3 and a fourth surface 7a4 formed between the first surface 7a1 and the second surface 7a2. Similarly, the ceiling portion 7b has a first surface 7b1 and a second surface 7b2 facing in the vertical direction, and a third surface 7b3 and a fourth surface 7b4 formed between the first surface 7b1 and the second surface 7b2.

The third surface 7a3 and the fourth surface 7a4 are inclined surfaces formed to form an obtuse angle with respect to the first surface 7a1 and an acute angle with respect to the second surface 7a2. Similarly, the third surface 7b3 and the fourth surface 7b4 are inclined surfaces formed to form an obtuse angle with respect to the first surface 7b1 and an acute angle with respect to the second surface 7b2. For example, the angle that the third surface 7a3 and the fourth surface 7a4 make with respect to the second surface 7a2 (or the angle that the third surface 7b3 and the fourth surface 7b4 make with respect to the second surface 7b2) (acute angle) is preferably 50° or more and 80° or less.

With the above configuration, the first width direction protrusion 9 is formed by the second surface 7a2, the third surface 7a3, and the fourth surface 7a4 of the first ceiling portion 7a. In addition, the second width direction protrusion 10 is formed by the second surface 7b2, the third surface 7b3, and the fourth surface 7b4 of the second ceiling portion 7b.

As shown in FIG. 6, when the second ceiling portion 7b is arranged upside down relative to the first ceiling portion 7a, the first width direction protrusion 9 of the first ceiling portion 7a and the second width direction protrusion 10 of the second ceiling portion 7b overlap in the up-down direction. That is, in this example, the third surface 7a3 and the fourth surface 7a4 of the first ceiling portion 7a become the first contact surface 9a, and the third surface 7b3 and the fourth surface 7b4 of the second ceiling portion 7b become the second contact surface 10a that comes into contact with the first contact surface 9a.

In the example shown in FIG. 7, each ceiling portion 7a, 7b is configured in a parallelogram shape in a cross-sectional view. The first ceiling portion 7a and the second ceiling portion 7b are the same shape and the same dimensions. Each ceiling portion 7a, 7b has a first surface 7a1, 7b1 and a second surface 7a2, 7b2 facing in the vertical direction, and a third surface 7a3, 7b3 and a fourth surface 7a4, 7b4 formed between the first surface 7a1, 7b1 and the second surface 7a2, 7b2.

The third surfaces 7a3, 7b3 are inclined surfaces formed to form an obtuse angle with respect to the first surfaces 7a1, 7b1 and an acute angle with respect to the second surfaces 7a2, 7b2. The fourth surfaces 7a4, 7b4 are inclined surfaces formed to form an acute angle with respect to the first surfaces 7a1, 7b1 and an obtuse angle with respect to the second surfaces 7a2, 7b2. For example, the angle that the third surfaces 7a3, 7b3 make with respect to the second surfaces 7a2, 7b2 (or the angle that the fourth surfaces 7a4, 7b4 make with respect to the first surfaces 7a1, 7b1) (acute angle) is preferably 50° or more and 80° or less.

The first surface 7a1 and the fourth surface 7a4 of the first ceiling portion 7a, and the second surface 7a2 and the third surface 7a3 form a first widthwise protrusion 9. The first surface 7b1 and the fourth surface 7b4 of the second ceiling portion 7b, and the second surface 7b2 and the third surface 7b3 form a second widthwise protrusion 10.

As shown in FIG. 7, the first widthwise protrusion 9 of the first ceiling portion 7a and the second widthwise protrusion 10 of the second ceiling portion 7b overlap in the vertical direction. That is, in this example, the third surface 7a3 and the fourth surface 7a4 of the first ceiling portion 7a are the first contact surface 9a, and the third surface 7b3 and the fourth surface 7b4 of the second ceiling portion 7b are the second contact surface 10a that contacts the first contact surface 9a.

In the example shown in FIG. 8, each ceiling portion 7a, 7b has a first surface 7a1, 7b1, a second surface 7a2, 7b2, a third surface 7a3, 7b3, and a fourth surface 7a4, 7b4. In this example, the first surface 7a1, 7b1 and the second surface 7a2, 7b2 are configured as flat surfaces, while the third surface 7a3, 7b3 and the fourth surface 7a4, 7b4 are configured as curved surfaces.

The third surfaces 7a3, 7b3 and the fourth surfaces 7a4, 7b4 have a recess 15 having a concave curved surface and a convex portion 16 having a convex curved surface. The curved surface of the recess 15 and the curved surface of the convex portion 16 are configured to be arc-shaped in cross section, but the shape of each curved surface is not limited to this embodiment. The recess 15 and the convex portion 16 are formed so as to be adjacent to each other in the vertical direction. One end of the curved surface of the recess 15 and one end of the curved surface of the convex portion 16 are continuously connected.

In this example, the convex portion 16 formed on the third surface 7a3 and the fourth surface 7a4 of the first ceiling portion 7a becomes the first width direction protrusion 9, and the convex portion 16 formed on the third surface 7b3 and the fourth surface 7b4 of the second ceiling portion 7b becomes the second width direction protrusion 10. Furthermore, a part of the convex portion 16 on the first ceiling portion 7a becomes the first contact surface 9a, and a part of the convex portion 16 on the second ceiling portion 7b becomes the second contact surface 10a.

In this example, the convex portion 16 of the first ceiling portion 7a enters the concave portion 15 of the second ceiling portion 7b, and the convex portion 16 of the second ceiling portion 7b enters the concave portion 15 of the first ceiling portion 7a, so that the first width direction protrusion 9 of the first ceiling portion 7a is positioned so as to overlap in the vertical direction with the second width direction protrusion 10 of the second ceiling portion 7b.

Below, we will explain the method for manufacturing glass fiber Gf using the manufacturing device 1 configured as above. This method includes a melting process, a supplying process, and a molding process.

In the melting process, glass raw material Gr is melted in a melting furnace 2 to form molten glass Gm. In the supplying process, the molten glass Gm is circulated inside a feeder 3 and supplied to a bushing 4 provided at the bottom of the feeder 3. In the forming process, the molten glass Gm is made to flow down from a bushing nozzle provided in the bushing 4 to form glass fiber Gf.

According to the feeder 3 according to the present embodiment described above, the first width direction protrusion 9 of the first ceiling portion 7a and the second width direction protrusion 10 of the second ceiling portion 7b can be stacked vertically to integrate the first ceiling portion 7a and the second ceiling portion 7b.

In this way, by integrating the first ceiling portion 7a and the second ceiling portion 7b, the second moment of area can be increased, making it possible to suppress creep deformation of each ceiling portion 7a, 7b.

Figure 9 is a cross-sectional view for explaining the mode of creep deformation in a conventional ceiling part. As shown in Figure 9, the conventional ceiling part 7A has a rectangular cross section, and adjacent ceiling parts 7A only contact each other at the end faces 7A1 in the width direction W. In other words, the contact surfaces of adjacent ceiling parts 7A are vertical, and they hardly exert force on each other. Therefore, adjacent ceiling parts 7A are not integrated and exist independently. In this case, since the cross-sectional area of each ceiling part 7A is small, the moment of inertia is also small, and creep deformation in the longitudinal direction is likely to occur. In addition, since adjacent ceiling parts 7A are not integrated but are independent, creep deformation is likely to occur in the middle part of each ceiling part 7A in the width direction W, as shown in Figure 9. When the ceiling part 7A is deformed in this way, the end faces 7A1 of the multiple ceiling parts 7A arranged side by side will be separated from each other. This state will promote creep deformation in the longitudinal direction of each ceiling part 7A.

In contrast, according to the feeder 3 of this embodiment, the first width direction protrusion 9 (first contact surface 9a) of the first ceiling portion 7a and the second width direction protrusion 10 (second contact surface 10a) of the second ceiling portion 7b are arranged so as to overlap one another. In other words, the contact surface between the first ceiling portion 7a and the second ceiling portion 7b includes a surface that is not vertical. This allows the first ceiling portion 7a and the second ceiling portion 7b to exert forces on each other and be integrated. Specifically, the first ceiling portion 7a receives the load of the second ceiling portion 7b, and conversely, the second ceiling portion 7b applies a load to the first ceiling portion 7a. This increases the second moment of area of the integrated ceiling portion 7, making it possible to suppress creep deformation of the first ceiling portion 7a and the second ceiling portion 7b. In addition, by integrating the ceiling portions 7a and 7b, creep deformation in the middle of the width direction W of each of the ceiling portions 7a and 7b can be suppressed. This also makes it possible to effectively suppress creep deformation in the longitudinal direction of each of the ceiling portions 7a and 7b in this embodiment.

In particular, the embodiments shown in Figures 3 to 5 and the embodiment shown in Figure 6 are preferable compared to the embodiments shown in Figures 7 and 8 in that regular repairs to the ceiling portion 7 are easier to perform. For example, when a defect such as creep deformation or damage occurs in the second ceiling portion 7b, it is possible to simply pull out the second ceiling portion 7b upward and replace it. Also, when a defect occurs in the first ceiling portion 7a, it is possible to pull out the first ceiling portion 7a by pulling out the adjacent second ceiling portion 7b. In this way, regular repairs can be performed on the ceiling portion 7 by moving only the defective part and the surrounding parts.

The present invention is not limited to the configuration of the above embodiment, nor is it limited to the above-mentioned effects. Various modifications of the present invention are possible without departing from the gist of the present invention.

In the above embodiment, the feeder 3 used to manufacture glass fiber Gf is exemplified, but the present invention is not limited to this configuration. The present invention can also be applied to the manufacture of various glass products, such as glass plates, glass tubes, and other glass articles.

In the above embodiment, electric heating elements 8a and 8b are used as an example of a heating device for the molten glass Gm in the feeder 3, but the present invention is not limited to this configuration. A gas burner or other device may be used as the heating device.

3 Feeder 6a First side wall portion 6b Second side wall portion 7 Ceiling portion 7a First ceiling portion 7b Second ceiling portion 8a First electric heating element 8b Second electric heating element 9 First width direction protruding portion 9a First contact surface 10 Second width direction protruding portion 10a Second contact surface 13 Fixing member 14a First through hole 14b Second through hole Gm Molten glass

Claims (5)

A feeder for circulating molten glass therethrough,
A ceiling portion and a side wall portion supporting the ceiling portion,
The side wall portion includes a first side wall portion and a second side wall portion arranged at a predetermined interval,
The ceiling portion is formed of an elongated fireproof member that spans the first side wall portion and the second side wall portion,
The ceiling portion includes a first ceiling portion and a second ceiling portion arranged adjacent to each other,
The first ceiling portion has a first protrusion,
The second ceiling portion has a second protruding portion,
A feeder characterized in that the first protruding portion and the second protruding portion overlap each other in the vertical direction. The first protruding portion has a first contact surface facing the second protruding portion in the up-down direction,
The feeder according to claim 1 , wherein the second protrusion has a second contact surface that is in contact with and overlaps the first contact surface in the vertical direction. The feeder according to claim 1 or 2, which is supported on the ceiling and includes an electric heating element for heating the molten glass. The feeder according to claim 3, wherein the ceiling portion has a through hole through which the electric heating element is inserted. The feeder according to claim 4 , further comprising a fixing member for fixing the electric heating element inserted into the through hole to the ceiling portion.

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