Nihon Yamamura Glass Co., Ltd.

Melvin Lim Si

Mitsuo Ueda

Satoshi Sugimoto

Kenichi Gomyo

The present invention provides a quality control method and a quality control apparatus for use in the formation of a glass product. A feeder mechanism cuts a column-like molten glass pushed out through an orifice thereof into a glass gob and allows each glass gob to fall with gravity from the orifice. A predetermined glass product is formed from the glass gob after delivering the fallen glass gob to a predetermined position. According to the present invention, the glass gob produced by the feeder mechanism is observed by a plurality of optical observing means spaced apart from each other during a falling process of the glass gob, and three-dimensional coordinates data of the entire surface of the glass gob is generated. Measurement data relating to at least one of a volume, a weight, a surface shape, a length, a thickness, an angle in a falling direction, and a cut surface shape of the glass gob is produced based on the three-dimensional coordinates data. The presence or absence of a defect in the quality of the glass gob is detected by comparing the measurement data with quality standard data of a normal glass gob. A causal relationship between at least one of the operational factors of the feeder mechanism and the quality defect is determined depending on the type of quality defect identified.

Growing community of inventors

Hyogo, Japan

Melvin Lim Si