Strengthened glass enclosures and method

Abstract

Disclosed are methods for making an enclosure having a three-dimensionally shaped glass wall portion comprising an initial step of shaping a glass charge into a preform having a preform cross-section corresponding in shape to a smaller cross-sectional shape for the three-dimensional glass wall portion. At least a surface portion of the preform is then finished if necessary to remove any visible optical surface defects therefrom and/or to meet geometric tolerances, and the preform is drawn along an elongation axis perpendicular to the preform cross-section to reduce or draw down the preform in size to the smaller cross-sectional shape for the three dimensional glass wall portion. The smaller cross-sectional shape or sections thereof are then tempered to provide a strengthened glass wall portion having a compressively stressed surface layer thereon.

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.