Method for monitoring glass melting furnace, method for controlling introduction of raw material, and device for controlling introduction of raw material

A glass melting furnace batch charging control device for controlling a charging amount of glass batch material on the basis of a molten state of glass batch material charged into a melting bath of a glass melting furnace by a first batch charger and a second batch charger, the molten state being determined on the basis of a distribution state of unmolten glass batch material in a first partial region of the melting bath that is disposed adjacent the first batch charger and in a second batch charger that is disposed adjacent the second batch charger, the device comprising:

• image-capturing means for capturing an image of a liquid surface of the melting bath from a position above the melting bath;
• area measuring means for setting first and second regions to be measured in an image obtained by the image-capturing means, the first region to be measured lying in the first partial region and the second region to be measured lying in the second partial region, and for measuring occupying ratios of areas occupied by unmolten glass batch material in the first and second regions to be measured;
• determination means for recognizing a distribution state of the unmolten glass batch material in the first and second partial regions from measured values obtained by the area measuring means, and for determining whether a quality of the molten state of the glass batch material is favorable or not;
• and
• control means for controlling an amount of glass batch material to be charged into the melting bath by the first and second batch chargers on the basis of the determination result made by the determination means.