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US 2016/0107916 A1Published application
Methods and apparatus for producing a glass ribbon
AssigneeCorning Incorporated
InventorAndrew Voss Welles
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
Apparatus for producing a glass ribbon includes a convection cooling device including at least one vacuum source configured to promote convection cooling of the glass ribbon by forcing a cooling fluid to flow along the glass ribbon. In further examples, methods of producing glass ribbon include the step of creating a vacuum to promote convection cooling of the glass ribbon by forcing a cooling fluid to flow along the glass ribbon.
Claims20
A method of producing a glass ribbon including the steps of:
- (I) drawing a glass ribbon along a draw direction into a viscous zone, wherein the glass ribbon includes opposed edges and a lateral portion extending between the opposed edges along a lateral direction transverse to the draw direction;
- (II) drawing the glass ribbon into a setting zone downstream from the viscous zone, wherein the glass ribbon is set from a viscous state to an elastic state;
- (III) drawing the glass ribbon into an elastic zone downstream from the setting zone;
- and
- (IV) creating a vacuum to promote convection cooling of the glass ribbon by forcing a cooling fluid to flow along the glass ribbon.
2 more elements
An apparatus for producing a glass ribbon comprising:
- a drawing device configured to draw molten glass into a glass ribbon in a draw direction along a draw plane of the apparatus;
- and
- a convection cooling device including at least one vacuum source configured to promote convection cooling of the glass ribbon by forcing a cooling fluid to flow along the glass ribbon.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.