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AssigneeSaint-Gobain Vitrage
InventorsKarl R. Bartusel, Mario Roth, Walter Schamberg, Josef Willems
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The invention relates to a process for regulating the temperature of a glass sheet in a furnace as the glass sheet is moved at a determined rate and heated according to a preestablished program. The furnace is characterized by only slight thermal inertia thereby to provide rapid adjustment of the internal temperature within each of several cells. The physical presence of the glass sheet is checked in synchronization with its step-by-step advance at least at one location upstream of one furnace cell to correct the regulation of the radiation heating output should these be a variance from that of the preestablished program. The process may be carried out with limited fabrication rejects by virtue of the capability of regulation of variations of the conveying rate or as required due to gaps in the succession of glass sheets being treated.
A process for regulating the temperature of a glass sheet in a furnace having several successive cells capable of fast thermal response comprising moving the sheet, in vertical orientation, at a determined rate from cell to cell and heating the sheet at a bending and/or tempering temperature, substantially simultaneously regulating the heating power in each cell at a fixed level, according to a preestablished program and as a function of the wall temperature of each cell, checking the presence of the glass sheet in synchronization with the step-by-step advance upstream at least in one cell of the furnace, and providing a signal which serves as a correction signal to correct the regulation of the power supplied to the following cells.
Apparatus for regulating the temperature of a glass sheet in a furnace having an entrance opening, an exit opening and several successive cells capable of fast thermal response located along the wall of the furnace between the openings, a frame located above the furnace, support means for supporting the glass sheet in a vertical orientation, the support means being mounted on the carriage which, in turn, is movable stepwise along the frame at a determined rate for likewise moving the glass sheet along a path of movement within the furnace from cell to cell, heating means within the furnace for heating the glass sheet at a bending and/or tempering temperature, regulating means controlling the heating power of each cell at a fixed level according to a preestablished program and as a function of the temperature of a wall of a cell, and responsive means providing a signal in synchronization with the stepwise advance indicative of the presence of a glass sheet upstream at least in one cell of the furnace, and wherein the signal also serves as a correction signal in the regulation of the heating power supplied to a downstream cell.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.