Patent ID: 6848274

Claim:
An apparatus for forming glass elements, comprising: a moving shaft and a fixed shaft, said moving shaft and said fixed shaft being disposed in a vertical positional relation to each other; heat insulating cylinders, said heat insulating cylinders being attached to the moving and fixed shafts; top and bottom die assemblies, said top and bottom die assemblies being attached respectively to each of the heat insulating cylinders, the top die assembly comprising a top core mold, a top mold die which supports the top core mold, and a top die plate, the bottom die assembly comprising a bottom core mold, a bottom mold die which supports the bottom core mold, and a bottom die plate, a glass material being interposed between the top and bottom core molds; a first fastening member, said first fastening member fastening the bottom mold die and the bottom die plate of the bottom die assembly together; a second fastening member, said second fastening member fastening the bottom die plate of the bottom die assembly and the heat insulating cylinder together; a third fastening member, said third fastening member fastening the top mold die and the top die plate of the top die assembly together; a fourth fastening member, said fourth fastening member fastening the top die plate of the top die assembly and the heat insulating cylinder together; and a heat insulating spacer, wherein the heat insulating spacer is interposed between each heat insulating cylinder and each shaft, each heat insulating cylinder is made of silicon carbide and each heat insulating spacer is made of silicon nitride, wherein each of said first, second, third and fourth fastening members are made of a material selected from the group consisting of carbon and molybdenum.