Patent ID: 8616025

Claim:
A method of manufacturing glass, comprising: a melting step for melting a glass starting material and obtaining molten glass; a stirring step for stirring the molten glass obtained in the melting step; and a molding step for molding glass from the molten glass stirred in the stirring step; wherein in the method of manufacturing glass, the stirring step comprises a first stirring step in which the molten glass is stirred while being directed upward from below in the interior of a first stirring tank, and a second stirring step in which the molten glass that was stirred in the first stirring step is stirred while being directed downward from above in the interior of a second stirring tank; the first stirring tank is provided with a first chamber, a first stirrer for stirring the molten glass within the first chamber, and a first discharge pipe capable of discharging the molten glass from the bottom of the first chamber; the second stirring tank is provided with a second chamber, an outflow port configured to allow the molten glass to flow from the bottom of the second chamber into a downstream conduit, a second stirrer for stirring the molten glass within the second chamber, and a second discharge pipe capable of discharging the molten glass from the liquid level of the molten glass within the second chamber; the side of the first stirring tank in an upper part thereof is connected by a connecting pipe to the side of the second stirring tank in an upper part thereof; and the molten glass is transferred from the first stirring tank to the second stirring tank via the connecting pipe.