Apparatus for conveying glass sheets

Abstract

A conveyor roll for conveying glass sheets and a conveyor comprising a plurality of said conveyor rolls is described. Each conveyor roll comprises a curved shaft conforming to the shape of said glass sheets transverse to their path of movement. A plurality of segments of essentially cylindrical configuration is mounted around said curved shaft. The segments have loosely interfitting tongues and grooves and a cylindrically shaped surface of a material that does not mar glass. When torque is applied to one of the end segments of said conveyor rolls, the glass engaging surfaces rotate in unison to convey the curved glass sheets through a treatment station included in glass sheet treating apparatus. A spring mounted about the shaft in position to apply axial pressure against the outer axial surface of the end segment to insure positive tongue in groove engagement would tend to mar said outer axial surface and to cause the end segment to drag in the absence of the present invention. The drag on different segmented rolls is uncontrolled and may easily lead to roll marking of the major surface of the glass sheets transported by the rotating segmented rolls, particularly when different end segments are dragged to different degrees. The present invention interposes a thrust bearing, preferably one comprising a pair of washers defining a race and bearings supported within said race between the spring and the end segment of each segmented roll of the conveyor to reduce and even eliminate said drag. In addition, the thrust bearings protect the end segments from surface marking due to the springs scratching against the axial outer surfaces of the end segments. Scratching that may result in weakening said end segments is consequently reduced by the inclusion of the thrust bearings.

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.