Method and apparatus for shaping glass sheets by roll forming

Apparatus for shaping a series of heat-softened glass sheets by the roll forming process comprising:

• a roll forming station adjacent to the exit end of a glass sheet heating furnace, including an alternating series of conveyor rolls and forming rolls, both supported with stationary, horizontal axes extending parallel to each other and transversely to a horizontal, longitudinal path of glass sheet travel defined by said rolls, said conveyor rolls being of cylindrical configuration and aligned to form a transversely flat first path of support for glass sheets, said forming rolls having transverse curvature and aligned to form a transversely curved second path of support for glass sheets, said flat first path intersecting said curved second path, with the flat first path supported at a higher elevation than a majority of the curved second path at the upstream end of the roll forming station adjacent the furnace, and the downstream portion of the flat first path supported at a lower elevation than a majority of the curved second path, and means to rotate the conveyor rolls and the forming rolls to convey glass sheets from the furnace in the downstream direction through the roll forming station, whereby support for each glass sheet gradually transfers from the conveyor rolls to the forming rolls as the glass sheet passes through the roll forming station and sags into conformity with the transverse curvature of the forming rolls.

A method of shaping glass sheets by roll forming comprising:

• heating each glass sheet to a softened condition,
• conveying each heated sheet in a longitudinal direction through a roll forming station on alternate cylindrical conveyor rolls and transversely curved forming rolls, all having parallel, horizontal, stationary axes of rotation:
• initially supporting the majority of the transverse width of the glass sheet on the conveyor rolls, and as the glass sheet passes along the roll forming station, progressively transferring support of the glass sheet to the curved forming rolls until a majority of the transverse width of the glass sheet is supported by the forming rolls;
• and
• as the support is being transferred to the forming rolls, permitting the glass sheet to sag by the force of gravity into substantial conformity with the transverse curvature of the forming rolls.